The Yoga of love: Give and you shall receive

The word yoga means to join—a higher source. The ability to identify the higher and lower sources is a part of wise living. To be attached to something is to be dependent on it. This is a lower source. This is binding only when one says, “Without this, I refuse to be happy”; such dependence has to be renounced.

We are not talking of mundane things like food, etc., but the psychological dependency that binds us.
Many times, we are victims of our concepts and suffer. Our sufferings are self-made. Our concepts become more important than love and happiness. We create all sorts of imprisonments and boundaries and they become our identities and false protection. We start living in such illusions, thereby creating a great delusion. “I need love from others and without that I am empty. I need attention from others without which I am empty. 

I need respect from others without which I am empty.” These are binding. Why should you be a beggar of love? In fact, you should be a giver of love. If you are more observant, you will find that nature is blessing us with so much love, but we don’t validate it.

Space, water, earth, sun, moon, stars, air… These are nature’s way of showering us with love. But we have not developed the senses to enjoy them and it is this inability that is making us inwardly shallow. To fill this inner void, we start demanding love from others. This demanding state of our mind further deepens this inner void.

We have an illusion that by demanding more love, we will fill our inner void, but this demanding state causes deficiency. If one learns to be a giver of love, then mysteriously one starts receiving love. One will have the ability to validate the love one receives, otherwise, one does not know how to validate it.
When one is in love, one is in a giving mode, but not in a demanding mode. This takes one to a better state of being. In such a state, one knows how to use difficulties rather than being used by difficulties. One knows how to use life rather than being used by life.

The power of love is God. To bring love into your lives is to bring God into your lives. God is the energy of love. If we face the truth with love, with kindness, then a new awakening energy uplifts us. 
The poetry of love is different. I am grateful to the receiver for receiving my love. The act of love is fulfilling. It is like when you exercise, the joy of exercising itself is a reward. One should be grateful to your partner for receiving your love. It is like I give a good lecture and there is no audience. Just imagine how it would be. If there is an audience, then I should be grateful to them for allowing me to share my thoughts.

We have an illusion that by demanding more love, we will fill our inner void, but this demanding state causes deficiency. If one learns to be a giver of love, then mysteriously one starts receiving love. 

Swami Sukhabodhananda is an international management spiritual & corporate gurun (Join Swami Sukhabodhananda for the Janmashtami Bhagavatam Utsav, an  eight-day online session from August 31. Email: [email protected]) 

<br /> The word yoga means to join—a higher source. The ability to identify the higher and lower sources is a part of wise living. To be attached to something is to be dependent on it. This is a lower source. This is binding only when one says, “Without this, I refuse to be happy”; such dependence has to be renounced.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>We are not talking of mundane things like food, etc., but the psychological dependency that binds us.<br /> Many times, we are victims of our concepts and suffer. Our sufferings are self-made. Our concepts become more important than love and happiness. We create all sorts of imprisonments and boundaries and they become our identities and false protection. We start living in such illusions, thereby creating a great delusion. “I need love from others and without that I am empty. I need attention from others without which I am empty. </p> <p>I need respect from others without which I am empty.” These are binding. Why should you be a beggar of love? In fact, you should be a giver of love. If you are more observant, you will find that nature is blessing us with so much love, but we don’t validate it.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <p>Space, water, earth, sun, moon, stars, air… These are nature’s way of showering us with love. But we have not developed the senses to enjoy them and it is this inability that is making us inwardly shallow. To fill this inner void, we start demanding love from others. This demanding state of our mind further deepens this inner void.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>We have an illusion that by demanding more love, we will fill our inner void, but this demanding state causes deficiency. If one learns to be a giver of love, then mysteriously one starts receiving love. One will have the ability to validate the love one receives, otherwise, one does not know how to validate it.<br /> When one is in love, one is in a giving mode, but not in a demanding mode. This takes one to a better state of being. In such a state, one knows how to use difficulties rather than being used by difficulties. One knows how to use life rather than being used by life.</p> <p>The power of love is God. To bring love into your lives is to bring God into your lives. God is the energy of love. If we face the truth with love, with kindness, then a new awakening energy uplifts us. <br /> The poetry of love is different. I am grateful to the receiver for receiving my love. The act of love is fulfilling. It is like when you exercise, the joy of exercising itself is a reward. One should be grateful to your partner for receiving your love. It is like I give a good lecture and there is no audience. Just imagine how it would be. If there is an audience, then I should be grateful to them for allowing me to share my thoughts.</p> <p>We have an illusion that by demanding more love, we will fill our inner void, but this demanding state causes deficiency. If one learns to be a giver of love, then mysteriously one starts receiving love. </p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Swami Sukhabodhananda is an international management spiritual & corporate gurun (Join Swami Sukhabodhananda for the Janmashtami Bhagavatam Utsav, an  eight-day online session from August 31. Email: support@prasannatrust.com) <br />