Awakening Divine Love

Falling in love is a natural phenomenon, an inbuilt desire in all humans irrespective of age, educational background or financial status. Regardless of their social and economic circumstances, all people fall in love. There are different types of love, but today, let’s look at a unique type of love: agape. What is agape love?

Agape is an ancient Greek word that implies the divine love for all beings. It is the purest form of love, unconditional and everlasting. In the modern time, agape is considered to be spiritual, universal, and all-encompassing. It is an expression of love that has no strings attached and is not motivated by selfish reward but involves free commitment that is hinged on purity of heart. It is not surprising then that this selfless love has the charisma that makes people who express it have some sense of uniqueness and oneness. When you express agape love towards others, you experience inner satisfaction that other types of love cannot guarantee. As a selfless love, it transcends national, racial, cultural, and religious differences and boundaries, giving it the status of the ideal love. Regardless of who you are, you will be motivated to reach out for others to render necessary assistance to them if you are endowed with agape love. It helps you to see beyond apathy and nonchalant attitude of people toward you. It will open your spiritual eyes to their needs and motivate you to express an act of kindness towards them without being asked to do so.

Agape is quite a mile away from other forms of love like phileo (deep friendship), ludus (childlike love), mania (obsessive possessive desire), stergo (motherly love), philautia (self-love), or eros (sexual love). The difference between agape and these types of love is that agape love does not fade unlike the other types of love that are temporary and conditional. Their flames can be bright like the Olympics torch today and become a smoldering wick tomorrow. They are highly inconsistent. Agape is everlasting.

Why do we need agape in the world today? There is no age in the human history that agape love was required more than now. The world is filled with heart-rending experiences of human inhumanity to human. There are stories of conflicts borne out of greed, fear and selfishness. Today, we are faced with a high divorce rate in the world. According to Stats Canada, about 48% of marriages in Quebec taking place in 2004 will have ended in divorce by 2035. Out of about 59,000 total civil cases decided in all of Canada in 2011, over 53,000 were divorce cases. What about single-parent families? These two marital problems are a result of lack of genuine love that is present in agape love only.

Agape was central to Martin Luther King’s philosophy. He said in one of his speeches: “Agape means understanding, redeeming good will for all men. It is an overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless, and creative.” Agape is described in the Ancient Greek philosophy as divine love, in Gandhi’s writings of nonviolent social change and in the Bible as God’s love. According toJohn (13: 34, 35), Jesus said to his apostles during the Last Supper: “A new command I give you: Love (agape) one another. As I have loved (agape) you, so you must love (agape) one another.” Jesus demonstrated the expression of agape love by making his teachings and healing available for people regardless of their status in the society or their physical attributes. He consummated his unconditional love for the human race that paves way for compassion, forgiveness and peace.

No wonder then that we would do well to eschew lust, greed, and selfish tendencies out of our existence and fill our hearts with agape love, thus awakening our full divine potential! GM Brana

Our DivineYu program is designed to awaken Divine Love within.

The Giant Whose Heart Bore The Whole Universe by Jess Neat

Once upon a time before time even existed there sat a giant. This giant resided in a place of infinite possibility, yet nothing had been created. He spent his days in complete peace and serenity. Until, one day, he noticed a sound emanating from the centre of his chest. The giant was curious, what could possibly make this rhythmic drumming? This sound was so warm and harmonious that the giant was eager to know more about it. He created a reflection to better gaze upon his chest; however, he still couldn’t see himself so he made a spark of light between his two fingers. For a brief moment, his whole being was illuminated and the giant saw his heart for the first time. He saw all the beauty and magnificence of which he held within.

This infinite possibility of creation mesmerized him. He reached to touch this beating heart in pure adoration. But, the moment his fingers grazed it, something was ignited. The energy created by this love and curiosity was so strong that the giant’s heart began to spin and expand more and more rapidly. Sparks began to fly causing an explosion which sent countless pieces of his heart flying in every which direction. Incredibly, this light began to weave a beautifully complex tapestry in what would become known as the universe itself. As the sparks of stardust began to settle, planets started to appear with mountains and lakes, flowers and trees, and animals and birds. It was from this very stardust that humankind also first arose.

These were no ordinary beings, however, as these humans carried within them the giant’s curiosity for how all things work. And, this longing for answers spurred their continual search for beauty and perfection. Unfortunately, this scattering from the giant’s chest had also caused a loneliness within the humans. They missed the giant and didn’t recognize their new form. They had become pieces in the most dynamic and complex puzzle ever created and were always looking for ways to fit back together. It wasn’t easy. There were so many pieces and so many pieces that seemed to be missing. From their limited perspective, they couldn’t see how the tapestry was woven together and they began to suffer. They tried to force fits or change other pieces of the puzzle to better suit them, but this never ended kindly. The giant was sympathetic to their suffering, but had also seen the magnificence and harmony which could be created.

It was through the eyes of these little humans, the giant started to explore the countless possibilities that had been contained within his heart. He watched over them. Guided them when necessary, but for the most part he let the creation unfold as it may. He trusted that infinity would bring it all back together. His trust was not misplaced because miraculously every once and a while human pieces of his heart would begin to click together. And, when this connection was made there was a magnificent feeling of rejoicing, love, acceptance and completeness. They had found each other. They connected back with the giant. They were appreciated for who they are. The humans called this feeling of connection to the whole – unconditional love.

And every day, humans continue to find each other and connect. When this happens, their understanding of the whole puzzle grows just a bit wider and their perspective expands just a bit further. Promising that one day the giant’s heart will find it’s way back together again in all it’s glory.

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