Among all the emotions that people experience in their daily lives, love is one of the most profound. The concept of love is so profound that most people underestimate its significance – it is, in fact, spiritual. The phenomenon of love as a spiritual process enlightens people on the nature of the human condition and ways to develop.
In its simplest understanding, the spiritual meaning of love is the irresistible magnetic pull that draws folks together. It involves affection, concern, liking, affectionate regard, and love in associations. To some degree, the spiritual definition of love cannot be pinned down, but it always involves a form of embracing and cherishing the essence of another being.
To fill this void and to bring happiness, people have looked to various spiritual influences for guidance and have learned that love has spiritual roots.
The majority of authors who have written spiritual principles concur that love comes from the Supreme Being, Divinity, or the Cosmic Mind. Some religious systems refer to this love as the ‘Holy Spirit’; it is believed to originate from the divine level and reaches the human level. This is why we can love because love is found at the most fundamental level of existence.
It is for this reason that our souls are believed to be fragments of the divine, and have been made in God’s image. We are left with an indelible yearning to go back to the basics, to get back at this higher order of love. This desire can be easily quenched by interactions with others, and such interactions can provide us with a fleeting glimpse of the joy that comes from being united with the beloved God.
The four types of love are: Eros, Ludus, Storge, Pragma
Ancient Greeks identified four main types of spiritual love:
- Eros is the type of love that is sexual, passionate, and/or romantic, love that is based on attraction.
- Philia which is synonymous with brotherly love develops from the process of being friends.
- Storage is a kind of love that is more of familial affection and is usually expressed between relatives like a parent and a child.
- Agape – selfless, others regard “God” love for all existent
These are different types of love and the kind of relationships that exist depending on the closeness and depth that is embraced in a relationship. Interestingly, the idea of agape is to be an example that people should set for themselves, selfless love for the unknown and their loved ones, neighbors, and strangers, as well as divinity.
Pursuing Spiritual Love as a Spiritual Virtue
Wisdom literature and all of the sacred scriptures of the East and the West teach the importance of love as the highest value to develop in a person. Mystics describe spiritual practices we can apply in daily life to grow our capacity for loving presence:
- Meditation – An effective way to calm the mind and help you overcome the anguish that closes the heart.
- Prayer – This relinquishes the self’s will and the self’s desire to the beloved and calls for mercy.
- Forgiveness is a unique virtue that eliminates bitterness and brings back courtesy.
- Compassion – This is the nature of the heart that is willing to serve the needy and the suffering.
- Gratitude – Emphasizes the fact of existence as grace and promotes thankfulness.
This is why as we engage in these practices we lose the focus on fear and find ourselves in love instead. This is the light I speak of within and we start to shine love. This enters as a change in all relationships and endeavors. Love brings focus, meaning, purpose, and fullness to our lives and uplifts us to discover ourselves within. It also yields happiness and brings in more peace.
Spiritual love is the ultimate goal of the spiritual meaning of love and it is attained when two people have a mutual understanding and are ready to commit themselves to the relationship unconditionally.
Since antiquity, many schools of mysticism have propounded that the summum bonum of spiritual practice is the attainment of oneness with God or the Universe or the Absolute. In this manner, as our love deepens through the practice of spirituality, one comes to the ultimate understanding that the union between the two of us as a couple and the larger source is inevitable. We are love, loving ourselves, the feeling of love.
To be precise, there was never a separation in the first place except in the ‘mind’s-eye’ delusion of separate selves. We went through the concept of loneliness as well as duality for the momentary illusion that is life. Now love is calling us to come back to life and to recover the simple harmony in creation.
Conclusion
In this state of awakening, one cognizes everything as consciousness and love that is formless and infinite. Altogether, the cosmos takes place in us. In this context, we acknowledge love as the grand reality that underlies all phenomena that exist within the realm of relativity. This love is now perceived as an innate reflection within the eyes as it radiates blessings, healings, wisdom, and joy.
However, the actual meaning of love is deeply spiritual, as it is revealed to be the life force within all living things. The discovery of this interconnection ignites the flame of agape and opens up our hearts to the divine Self that resides within all of us. Vedantic wisdom suggests that we rise in consciousness to embrace love as the fabric that binds the creation together. Thus in the act of love, awareness goes up into the divine and we are made one with Him again.
Divine Wordsmith is a spiritual guide and writer, weaving tales of wisdom and insight to inspire inner growth and connection to the divine. Join the journey of self-discovery and enlightenment through the transformative power of words.
