LOVE IS GOD GOD IS LOVE
।। दोहा ।।
दादू पाती प्रेम की, विरला बांचै कोई । वेद पुरान पुस्तक पढ़े, प्रेम बिना क्या होई ।।
Meaning
Whosoever reads the letter of love is rare. Reading Veda, Purana and books, Of no use without love, Dadu says fair.
Great saint Dadu Dayal ji describes that rarest of the aspirants are competent to read the letter of true love. This letter of love is from the benevolent beloved Lord to the soul, particularly to the human being.
In fact the God has lots of love in his heart for the soul, so He calls it for coming back to His own radiant and celestial abode home. But everyone can’t understand this mystic indicative letter.
The very rational and sensible seeker of truth reads this letter properly. He then replies accordingly and begins his journey towards his goal and attains it finally.
Here, when we think deeply on these lines we find that the sermons of the enlightened ones and commandments of God in scriptures are taken as letter of love, and reply of letter means remembrance of God with love and affection, and to begin the journey means to perform all spiritual disciplines and devotional contrivances.
Doing such practice constantly in this way, one day the devotee achieves his final goal, the adorable Lord.
On the other hand, the one who only reads Vedas, Puranas and other scriptures but doesn’t have true love of God in his heart is unable to read or understand the above indicated letter of God.
He would be devoid of this sweet fruit of love. What use of reading such literature is for him, if he could not find such lush fruit.
When we read this verse of learned saint Dadu Dayal Ji, we can again explain that true love of God is supreme of all.
That is why it is said ‘love is God and God is love’. – Supreme God loves all human beings equally, at the same time, without any reason and selfishness. Such true wealth of love can only be acquired by the human being and not by other creatures.
Such capability has been bestowed by the nature to the man only.
The soul has separated from its source since a long time and forgot the True beloved Lord. This is its very big mistake, and due to this mistake the soul entrapped in illusion of transitory and painful world. Forgetting the Lord is root cause of all miseries of life and reason of cycle of births and deaths.
The merciful Lord wants to take the soul in His joyful refuge. He calls for him to come back in His own abode. This call of God which is laid down in all the scriptures is said by saint Dadu Dayal ji as a letter of love from God.
First of all, this human body with a mysterious conscience and intellect has been bestowed by the God. This bestowal is itself a call or commandment from the Supreme God.
Then the kind hearted saints come in this world and deliver their holy discourses to remind the man the promise that the soul has made
before taking birth for the recitation of the Name of Lord and to remember him.
All the holy scriptures are giving this massage. So listening the sermons of saints and reading the scriptures is really the letter of love from God.
Now understand that we can easily after attaining human birth and listening the beneficial sermons of the saints, the man who has intense desire and aspiration to meet his beloved Lord is true reader of that letter of love.
Further, when such aspirant remembers the Lord from the core of his heart and calls Him for His Effulgent Envision is a reply of that letter.
Such aspirant and devotee is great in reality. He acquires a precious gem with him in shape of such true longing. Moreover we can say that he himself is utmost precious gem in the world.
Such aspirant takes Spiritual Master. the refuge of The Master graciously initiates him with true Name of God or the divine word which is called Guru-Shabad also.
In fact, recitation of True Name of Lord and meditation on Guru- Shabad is the inner journey towards destination. With the grace of Saint- Sadguru such lover becalms forever. He attains unity with his beloved Lord.
The communication between the devotee and the Lord or unity of the soul and the God is possible through true love only. Such true love is called devotional service also. All the scriptures and enlightened ones describe that the love of the Supreme, the God, is bestowal of all peace and joy.
The devotee can envision his adorable Lord by this very mean easily. Treading on the path of love and devotional service, the soul gets emancipation and liberation leaving all clutches of illusion. This is the final goal of human life.
In this world, the individual love which exists amongst various lives, came into existence from the source of this true love of Lord only. But all such love of the physical forms can’t be called perfect and pure.
They are selfish ones in reality. Without love of the Lord, love of someone else would not be true momentary only. and it will be
Our topic relates to Supreme Love. The appearance of God in our hearts or in any other form is only possible by means of this very true love. So, the Bible says, “Love is God and God is Love.
In fact, God is priority for human being. God is source of love. Love is His nature. He loves all beings without any reason.
In addition to this, we can say that God’s love is must to live the perfect life for a human being. One who loves God with undivided mind enlightens himself and even others. He would be faithful lover and friend of all beings in this world. If we love the God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, then we will not allow the other things to crowd in along with it, and therefore we can’t hate any creature in the world and we can’t be harmful for anyone. The human life is imperfect without love of Lord.
The God, the soul and existence is a their matter of faith whatsoever. Even we can ponder over this fact that the existence of our life, the self, itself seems to be a live proof.
The enlightened ones say – “Behold well with awareness into thyself, you will find there a seed of such proof by which the God, the soul and even the whole universe came into existence. The greatest of all miracles is to be alive.
If we are alive, it seems that is itself soul.” Further it is understandable that there is a source of all lives too and this source of all of lives is the Supreme to whom we can say God.
All the religions teach us love, faith and devotion to Lord in order to live a peaceful life but there are so many situations when the man becomes doubtful and couldn’t be steadfast on his faith.
Looking at this strange creation of the universe, there are so many who do not believe in this truth as this world is full of illusion. The God or the soul is not noticeable by these physical eyes.
Maya and its creation are more attractive than its reality. The man gets attracted towards its shining nature. In this way, his mind gets filled with so many doubts, confusions and suspicions, he finds himself unable to come out of such darkness.
According to the law of nature, the enlightened saints always come in this world. They attain divine light of spiritual knowledge and true. wisdom exercising contemplation, yoga and meditation in their own lives.
In this light, there is no confusion or suspicion about the topic above. They enlighten first themselves. Then help others to remove the darkness of illusive confusions and suspicions from their hearts.
Many times, the learned saints remove the doubts of heart easily who come near them and listen them carefully. There is a story of a saint who went to a barber shop for cutting his hair.
During hair cutting period, the saint asked the barber, “Do you believe in God and recite His Name?” Barber replied, “No sir, I don’t believe in God. If there is God, why the people are full of so many miseries?” The saint was quiet. After hair cutting was over, he went to his way.
After a short while, he came back with a man whose head and face was full of lengthy and scattered hair. He said to the barber, “O brother, there is no barber in this world.” Barber replied, “How it is possible.
I am the barber before you.” Saint said, “But I don’t believe, if there is any barber, why so many people are with lengthy hair like this man.” The barber laughed and said, “What means of such people in case of existence of barber. The people who don’t make their hair cut are at fault. They don’t come to the barber.”
The saint also smiled and said, “Brother, what means of such persons who are in miseries and sorrows in the world in case of existence of God. They are on wrong path. They don’t do good deeds.
They don’t recite the Name of Lord. One who doesn’t believe in the God and forgets His True Name will be in miseries always. In fact, God exists and will be forever. Listening such sermons, the barber saluted the saint and became his devotee.
After getting inner experience by meditation, yoga and contemplation, the saints express their views. They say that God is eternal truth, imperishable, everlasting and immortal one. He is almighty, omnipresent, omniscient and all knower.
Along with it, He is full of all joys, peace, happiness and bliss. Further, this is important to note that the soul of all human beings also has such all qualities. Such attributes can be revealed in this human life by practice of devotional service in the refuge of holy spiritual Master.
Can we think why humans are superior than other animals? Humans have brain to think and imagine. Though, the animals also have brain but not like the human beings. They can’t exercise their brains in the way, humans do. It is evident that God has made men different from the rest and this is due to his intellect.
The God has given a miraculous strength to the human beings to make a search for the Supreme through this human body, mind and conscience. Man is capable of getting envision of Lord within the self by means of yoga and meditation.
That is why, we should use our brain in right way for the – welfare of self and for the welfare of others as well.
People follow different religions. They worship in different ways and different shapes of God. But it is a concrete truth that every religion on the earth teaches us that God
exists everywhere in this creation and even in every being. He loves the creation and the human beings above all. So the man should love the God and everyone as well.
Secondly, the soul living within every flashed creature makes them alive. It is a matter of pity that the man having such an intellectual strength has not been aware of the fact that he is the store house of immense energy, joy and bliss.
He is living himself as destitute thinking. life for a poor and his wishful Beholding this strange formation of the universe, everyone can easily ponder over the fact that God has created this universe.
The soul is part and parcel of the God with all its merits. It cannot be satiated and becalm unless it merges with Him, the source of all the souls. This eminent task has to be done in the human body only.
All the holy scriptures are giving the message that there is a great effect of love and devotion to Lord on the heart and soul of the man. Important definition of devotion to God in the very first verse of ‘Narad Bhakti Sutra’ is –
सा त्वस्मिन् परमप्रेमरूपा
“Devotional service manifests as the most elevated, pure love for God.”
अमृत स्वरूपा च
“This pure love for God is eternal.”
यल्लब्ध्वा पुमान् सिध्दो भवत्यमृतो भवति भवति तृप्ता
“Upon achieving that stage of transcendental devotional service in pure love of God, a person becomes perfect, immortal, and peaceful.”
Similarly, the Holy Bible also declares the importance of love for
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”
(- Matthew 6:33)
“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
(- Matthew 6:20,21)
Lord Jesus proclaims that the kingdom of God, the abode of God is the true home of soul. Such celestial place is not on or above the skies but His indication is in the
inner conscience. When the man becomes pure hearted and stable minded, the door of kingdom of God gets open for him. Pure heart and controlled mind has the capability to imprint God’s divine form within itself. Where there is God, there is His kingdom and all righteousness also. All things will be added automatically to such person.
This is true abode and there is a spiritual treasure for the soul. Such treasure cannot be destroyed by anyone. So a wise man should seek and reveal this kingdom and treasure by meditation under the kind guidance of Holy Spiritual Master.
The devotional service and Name of
Lord can purify the heart, mind and soul of the man who adopts it. Great Spiritual Master Shri Guru Arjundev Ji describes in eminent Sukhmani Sahib Bani –
बेद पुरान सिम्रिति सुधाख्यर ।। कीने राम नाम इक आख्यर ।। किनका एक जिसु जीअ बसावे || ता की महिमा गनी न आवै ।। कांखी एकै दरस तुहारो ।। नानक उन संगि मोहि उधारो |
The Vedas, the Puraanas and the Simritees, the purest of utterances, were created from the One Word of the Name of the Lord. The one, in whose heart the One True Lord
whose heart the One True Lord dwells, the praises of his glory cannot be recounted. Nanak says: O Lord, save me along with them! Those who yearn only for the blessing of Your Darshan.
We should remember always that such devotion can become firm and stable with faith only. Great saint Tulsidas ji describes in his sermons –
बिनु बिस्वास भगति नहिं तेहि बिनु द्रवहिं न रामु । राम कृपा बिनु सपनेहुँ जीव न लह बिश्राम ||
There is no devotion without faith. The adorable Lord Rama doesn’t get pleased on a devotee without
devotion. Without grace or kindness of Lord, one cannot attain calmness and serenity, even in dream too. So, the faith is the basis of devotion.
The learned ones say that faith witch works (action) is alive. Faith without dutiful action can become an unfulfilled fantasy.
For if we have faith that God is leading us, but we do not follow or act according to spiritual disciplines, then faith turns to doubt. Thus inaction leads to downfall.
So the faith should be activated always by devotional actions and daily meditation. Such faith will purify the mind and brings to fruition.