- Jan 31, 2011
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I am not big on love, its hard to be big on something that you do not understand, or when you have been told all your life that your 'doing it wrong', I have been told all my life, in probably a dozen relationships that I have a strange and uncommon view of love. Well thats ok, if there is anything 46 years have taught me. its that the moment your happiness depends on another person, your going to be in trouble!. So thats all good and ok, I have many many relationships with many many people, none of whom I particularly want anything from, if I want anything to make me happy, I do it myself.
I remember love, and think of it often, its 7am here in the UK, I in my little shop facing the park, the sun is shining, and I am playing old love songs and thinking of 'the old days', it makes me happy, happy that for some short periods in my life, I have experienced the sort of love that I feel in my heart, its hard not to shed a tear, when I think of 20 year old harry, and then 30 year old harry, and now, today, 46 year old harry, I suppose I am the happiest I have ever been, or least miserable I have ever been depending on how you look at it, but I digress.
I consider myself a Sikh, but my problem is there is much talk of love on this forum, and if I do not know what love is, how can I present myself as a Sikh?
How do you know if you love someone, how do you know if they love you, can one love the Creator, if one does not know anything about the Creator, in effect, how can you love god, if you do not know god. Is it the same love that you have for your parents, your lover, a pet, a brother?
So it got me thinking, if I intend to follow Sikhism, I must first learn about love.
I spent most of last night awake, and ended up conceding that the concept of love is actually a very simple one, but it ends up {censored}ised by human nature, its the simplest purest feeling that a human being can feel, and it ties in very nicely with Creator, so in plain english, what is love?
In my opinion, love is when you connect with another human being, or even an animal, hell, even a car. So now we have another word, connect, are we changing one misunderstood word for another? no, we are not, allow me to define connection, its when you can feel another member of Creation (yes, cars count), allow me to illustrate, when I love beings, I feel their pain, I feel their happiness, I feel their hunger, frustration, everything. People have sometimes seen me as an 'easy touch' because of my apparent enthusiasm in assisting others, it is not because I have any pleasure in this matter, or even an interest, its because I can feel their pain, as if it were my own, so I am forced to do something, not so much out of kindness, or empathy, but because I want the pain, the hurt to stop, similarly, when you make someone you 'love' happy, you can feel the happiness, and it raises you, not because it is needed, it is a simple reflection in the being you love.
So what goes wrong? well, many confuse their own desire for another person as love, well it isn't, true love has no payback, it is as simple as wanting the absolute best for another with absolutely no agenda or payback, and the only way you can feel that is bonding, connecting with others and being the rock that you are as a Sikh, and wishing or wanting for nothing.
So how does that tally in with the love spoken about in the SGGS? I have long felt that Creation and Creator are one and the same, I have also long felt that the essence of Creator that lives inside us, is enough that a conversation with Creator is possible, so logically, 'to have love for god' is to able to feel every single living thing and to have a connection with it, not for the purposes of the self, but in order to enter into consonance with the Universe and ultimately all Creation, and therefore for the purposes of Creation itself.
I remember love, and think of it often, its 7am here in the UK, I in my little shop facing the park, the sun is shining, and I am playing old love songs and thinking of 'the old days', it makes me happy, happy that for some short periods in my life, I have experienced the sort of love that I feel in my heart, its hard not to shed a tear, when I think of 20 year old harry, and then 30 year old harry, and now, today, 46 year old harry, I suppose I am the happiest I have ever been, or least miserable I have ever been depending on how you look at it, but I digress.
I consider myself a Sikh, but my problem is there is much talk of love on this forum, and if I do not know what love is, how can I present myself as a Sikh?
How do you know if you love someone, how do you know if they love you, can one love the Creator, if one does not know anything about the Creator, in effect, how can you love god, if you do not know god. Is it the same love that you have for your parents, your lover, a pet, a brother?
So it got me thinking, if I intend to follow Sikhism, I must first learn about love.
I spent most of last night awake, and ended up conceding that the concept of love is actually a very simple one, but it ends up {censored}ised by human nature, its the simplest purest feeling that a human being can feel, and it ties in very nicely with Creator, so in plain english, what is love?
In my opinion, love is when you connect with another human being, or even an animal, hell, even a car. So now we have another word, connect, are we changing one misunderstood word for another? no, we are not, allow me to define connection, its when you can feel another member of Creation (yes, cars count), allow me to illustrate, when I love beings, I feel their pain, I feel their happiness, I feel their hunger, frustration, everything. People have sometimes seen me as an 'easy touch' because of my apparent enthusiasm in assisting others, it is not because I have any pleasure in this matter, or even an interest, its because I can feel their pain, as if it were my own, so I am forced to do something, not so much out of kindness, or empathy, but because I want the pain, the hurt to stop, similarly, when you make someone you 'love' happy, you can feel the happiness, and it raises you, not because it is needed, it is a simple reflection in the being you love.
So what goes wrong? well, many confuse their own desire for another person as love, well it isn't, true love has no payback, it is as simple as wanting the absolute best for another with absolutely no agenda or payback, and the only way you can feel that is bonding, connecting with others and being the rock that you are as a Sikh, and wishing or wanting for nothing.
So how does that tally in with the love spoken about in the SGGS? I have long felt that Creation and Creator are one and the same, I have also long felt that the essence of Creator that lives inside us, is enough that a conversation with Creator is possible, so logically, 'to have love for god' is to able to feel every single living thing and to have a connection with it, not for the purposes of the self, but in order to enter into consonance with the Universe and ultimately all Creation, and therefore for the purposes of Creation itself.
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