“I love this. I love that. I love you.” Love underlies all life circumstances. Consciously or not, we search for it in every thought, word, and action. It appears in many forms: love between partners, relatives, and friends; love for animals, nature, art, work, and causes. It can lead to joy or suffering, peace or war; it can be temporary or everlasting. Yet all these forms have their root in one love: divine love. It is unconditional, beautiful, kind, changeless, and eternal. It is our essence, our home, our shelter; it is who we really are. The mahāvākyas (“great sayings”) of the Upanishads state exactly that: tat tvam asi (thou art That, that is you, you are that), ahaṁ brahmāsmi (I am Brahman, I am the absolute), prajñānam brahma (consciousness, intelligence, wisdom is Brahman), ayam ātmā brahma (this self is Brahman). Not only the ancient acharyas (scholars), but also poets and scientists pointed to this truth: Albert Einstein said, “Love is holding the universe together,” and Hafiz, in “With That Sweet Moon Language,” wrote of “this great pull in us to connect”.
Kṛṣṇa, an incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu, is often called the all-attractive one. He is known not only as a butter thief but as the thief of hearts. Everyone is drawn to him because he stands for divine love. He is more attractive than any supermodel or Hollywood star, because his beauty is not temporary or constructed, but eternal. By teaching Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa shows him love in multiple facets: as a friend, a relative, a teacher, and ultimately, as God. He teaches that, still in personal crisis and global unrest, there is always a place of refuge. That refuge, śaraṇam, is Kṛṣṇa, thus love itself. When difficulties arise, we create citta vṛttis, whirlings of thought mixed with strong emotions, giving rise to confusion rather than clarity. By remembering Kṛṣṇa, divine love, we gain tranquility of mind and śānti, peace, whether the war outside is created by the natural world, by others, or by ourselves.
The truth is that each of us is a share of that one love. Universal love may be compared to a block of gold: melted, divided, and shaped into many jewels, each having its own form, yet all still gold. In the same way, divine love appears as many beings and many lives without ceasing to be one. Satya, truthfulness, is the second yama. It asks us to live authentically in thought, speech, and action, always balanced with kindness. If our essence is love, then truth should be expressed through compassion, not harshness. Two effective supports for this are japa and mauna: the repetition of a mantra and the practice of silence. Both direct us toward our most intimate home, our heart, and purify thought and speech, so that compassion, tolerance, and understanding may arise. According to BG 4.9, by doing so, we have the potential to become influential in society, contributing to happiness and freedom for all.
Love and heart are always linked. Even before birth, the heartbeat of a baby in the mother’s womb can be heard. Listening to it fills the heart with joy and tenderness, as if love announces itself before words. In the same way, our true nature is always there, even when noise and clutter prevent us from recognizing it. Practice helps us create physical and mental space to hear and feel what cannot be seen. Then śraddhā, innate faith, begins to awaken. The Heart Sūtra expresses this letting go: gate gate pāragate pārasaṁgate bodhi svāhā – gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond.
When everything false falls away, what remains is simple, steady, and enough. What remains is love. And this is all we need.
