This is a continuation of the ‘Happiness’ series of talks.
The craving of the living being for love (to love and to be loved) is, in its’ original form, a spiritual desire emanating from the true self (atma), the soul itself. The awakening of this spiritual love (prema in the yoga texts) is held to be the highest attainment of human existence. One famous text states:
Religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation are known as the four goals of life, but before love of Godhead, the fifth and highest goal, these appear as insignificant as straw in the street.– CC – Adi-lila 7.84
The spiritual happiness experienced by attaining oneness with the ocean of spiritual light known as the brahmajyotiis so great that when it is experienced by the transcendentalist, they lose all attraction for material pleasure. Yet when compared by the ancient sages to the experience of the full awakening of transcendental love, it is like the amount of water contained in a hoofprint of a cow compared to the amount of water in the ocean.
This attainment of spiritual love is not something a person ‘acquires’ from any external source. It eternally resides within the heart of all. The spiritual process of chanting transcendental sounds simply awakens this love as stated in one famous yoga text:
Pure love for the Supreme Soul is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.
