Brahman in the form of Prema enters various minds and creates attachments between man and man. (SSB 1974, p. 40)
Realise and understand full well that the only royal path to reach God is the path of Prema. You will be able to taste this sweet honey of Prema only at the lotus feet of the Lord. Such honey is available at the lotus and it is not as if honey were applied to the feet of the Lord. When we refer to the word lotus, we must realise another significant meaning of the word. A lotus has its origin in the muddy waters and is born in the mud. Yet it does not assimilate in itself either the mud or the water. If there is no water, the lotus cannot survive even for a moment. The interesting thing is that even though it survives only in the presence of water, it does not assimilate water. As in this analogy, human life is born in something external to life which may be compared to mud and we live in this temporal material world which may be compared to water. Having been born out of mud and living in water, and yet not attracting to ourselves the mud or the water, is the aspect of the feet of Lord. That is the reason why all the different limbs of the Lord are referred to as lotus, such as the lotus feet, Lotus eyes, and so on.
(SSB 1974, p. 282)
Prema (love) is the greatest Sadhana (spiritual activity). Prema is not mere reciprocal love. It is an extended and sublimated form of self-love. It is an extension of love to humanity and to the entire creation. The essence of Prema as a sadhana lies in the cultivation of humanitarianism, universal compassion and altruism. (SSB 1979, p. 98)
From time immemorial, the love which one shows towards God has been called bhakti by the citizens of Bharat. To enable us to earn the grace of the Lord, there are so many different paths. To reach God, to be close to God, and to understand the Lord and his miracles, it is this kind of prema and bhakti that will help us. Bhakti has also been used by man as an instrument in order to go closer to the Lord in some way or the other. The meaning and significance of bhakti is to get close to the Lord by some means such as by showing love as a father, as a mother, as a brother, as a wife, or as a son, etc. (SSB 1976, p. 234)
Fill the heart with love, then the words coming out of the heart will be full of vitality and power. There is no Shakti more effective than Prema, Love. The grammar of Love makes the words enter the hearts of the listeners and moves them into acceptance, appreciation and action. (SSS Vol.9, p. 63)
Prema, or Love is a much-misused word. Any positive response to the attraction is called Love; any feeling of attachment, however trivial or transitory is characterised as Prema. We must certainly coin new words or set aside specific words to indicate the forms of love. The attachment of parents to their children, or of the children to the parents must be called affection. The response to the attraction of sex is best described as fancy, fascination or delusion, Moha. The feeling of kinship or comradeship evokes dearness. The pleasure one gets through a sense of possession, especially of material objects can be known as satisfaction. The yearning to reach for the sublimity that lies inherent in Truth - this alone is entitled to be called by that holy word, Prema, for that is the sweetest, the most charming, the most satisfying possession of man. Prema is strong and steady enough to overleap all obstacles, confront with equanimity all changes of fortune, and defeat all attempts to delay or deviate. It does not judge one incident as good and another as bad; it does not ascribe them to different agencies. Just as the same Sun causes both day and night, the same Divine Will causes joy or grief so, the devotee does not wince or exult, whether ill or well. (SSS Vol.9, pp. 95-96)
Prema is cultivated through two methods:
- Consider always the faults of others, however big, to be insignificant and negligible. Consider always your own faults, however insignificant and negligible, to be big and feel sad and repentant. By these means, you avoid developing the bigger faults and defects and you acquire the qualities of brotherliness and forbearance.
- Whatever you do, with yourself or with others, do it, remembering that God is omnipresent. He sees and hears and knows everything. Whatever you say, remember that God hears every word; discriminate between the true and the false and speak only the truth; whatever you do, discriminate between the right and the wrong and do only the right. Endeavour every moment to be aware of the omnipotence of God.
The body is the temple of the Jiva, so whatever happens in that temple is the concern of the Jiva. So too, the world is the body of the Lord and all that happens in it, good or bad, is His concern. From the observed fact of the Jiva and the body, know the truth of the unobservable fact of the Lord and the world. (Prema Vahini, pp. 17-18)
If you want to get realisation, then it is not necessary for you to follow all the various types of bhakti that have been described. If you attach yourself to the Lord through one chosen path like prema, it will be possible to realise Him. Yashoda was such that she was filled with prema at all times; she never spent one moment separated from Krishna or not thinking of Krishna. She regarded this baby form of Krishna as that of the Lord and she expressed prema to that form and thus she realised God. In this Vatsalya prema of a mother to a son, she was getting immense pleasure and emancipation.
The next is Sakhya bhakti, and this was demonstrated by the Gopis. They played with Krishna and were One with Him. They never thought that he was God, or an incarnation or an Avatar. They thought that Krishna was one of the Gopalas and that kind of intimate relationship of being One with the Lord is described as Sakhya bhakti. (SSB 1976, p. 109)
The third type of prema is called the Virodha prema or inimical prema. In some way or the other, they also become closer to the Lord. Kamsa, Dantavakra, Jarasandha, Poundarika Vasudeva were examples of such persons. They hated Krishna so much that even during their sleep, if Krishna’s name was heard they would jump in excitement. The inimical prema is such that at all times and under all circumstances, they are afraid of the Lord although they think of the Lord only in an inimical way. In this way, God’s name and form get permanently imprinted in their hearts. By such a close relationship, they become close to the Lord. (SSB 1976, pp. 110-111)
The shining brilliance of Krishna was such that it always purified whether one came near it willingly or unwillingly. It does not matter how or why one does it, but when one thinks of the name and form continuously, one gets liberated. (SSB 1976, p. 111)
The fourth one is called Gopika bhakti or Madhura bhakti. In this category, the gopikas always thought of Krishna and they completely surrendered themselves, their thoughts and ideas to Krishna. They would say that all their wealth, their body, their mind and whatever else they had was all surrendered to Krishna. Whatever they did, or ate or spoke of was all in the name, of Krishna.
They regarded their entire life as being dedicated to Krishna. If there was a moment of spare time, it had to belong to Krishna. If Krishna was not there, even for a moment, they regarded themselves as lifeless. If we think of God, and if our ideas are turned towards God, we will become One with God. ‘Brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati’. (SSB 1976, p. 111)
Shri Krishna, time and again, teaches us to cultivate Prema (Love) to counter anger, envy, jealousy and pride.
Prema knows no hatred
Prema knows no selfishness
Prema seeks no reward
Prema ever gives but never takes.
Prema tattva (the principle of love) is Daivatva (Divinity) itself. God is Prema swarupa (the embodiment of love). He can be realised only by promoting Prema in us. You need neither japa nor dhyana to see God. You have to carry on with the sadhana till Prema ripens in your heart. How can you see the moon with closed eyes though he is shining brightly in the sky? Japa and tapa, dhyana and bhajan should help to make your vision clear. You can find fulfilment in life by listening to noble teachings, understanding their significance and putting them into practice. (SS April 87, p. 101)
Be embodiments of Prema. Do not hate any one or fear any one. Develop love towards all. Understand the grief and the joy of all. Be happy when others are happy. Don’t exult when others are in misery. (DA, p. Inside Cover)
By means of Nama, Prema is developed. Through Prema, Dhyana of the Lord can be practised. If Prema is deeply rooted in you, the Lord who is composed of Prema, becomes your own. However many the paths for the realisation of the Lord, may be there is none so easy as this. (LS, p. 92)
Prema is Trikaala-badhyam (Love is that which lasts through all the three categories of time-the past, the present and the future). Such love can exist only between God and the devotee and cannot apply to any other kind of relationship. (SSS Vol.28, p. 18)
What is Prema (Love)? It is the quality that enables one to help others without seeking a reward. In the Gita, Krishna used the word Suhrid (well-wisher). In fact, God is our real Suhrid, for, He always comes to our rescue and fulfils our desires without expecting anything in return. In the worldly relationships the mother loves the son with the hope that he would support her when she becomes old. The father too brings up the son with the same hope. Only God loves all beings selflessly. Hence, He only deserves to be called Suhrid (Friend and well-wisher) who will constantly protect us. Today, people attribute different meanings to the word love and take a distorted version, forgetting the real meaning. Thereby they land in difficulty and sorrow. In fact, love has only one meaning. That is, heart-to-heart love. (Beacons of Divine Wisdom Part 2, p. 81)
Prema is the Amrita-rasa (essence of nectar) which fills the Upanishads. When man realises the inefficiency of the senses, the mind and the intellect, to grapple with the Reality and know the inner core of his truth, then, he discovers he is the Atma which is Sathya, Dharma, Shanti and Prema. Or, He realises that there is God who is the basis of all this superstructure, who has designed and contrived all this and he surrenders his ego to Him. "Let Your will prevail," he proclaims and resigns himself fully to His plan. That moment is a supreme moment of joy, Ananda. Troubles, miseries, handicaps, grief and pains that were hitherto causes of distress suddenly take on a new and magnificent r01e: they are "His handwork, His gifts, His Grace." They are no longer unwelcome; they are as welcome as the successes, the pleasures, the happiness are. Both are His Will. When you go to a new place, you seek out a friend and hand over to him all the money you have for safe keeping; but, if you start suspecting him later, you will have no peace. Have faith in him; you are free; you have no worry. So too, give all your desire-driven activities to God; have faith in Him and be unconcerned for ever.
Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharaṇam vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣhayiṣhyāmi mā śhuchaḥ,
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज |
अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुच: || Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18,66||
(giving up all your desire-driven activities through various codes and regulations) maam ekam sharanam vraja (give everything to Me and have full faith in Me).
If the match-stick is soaked in water, how can it ignite when struck? If the mind is soaked in vishaya (worldly desires), how can it be ignited into spiritual endeavour? The Prema with which you are endowed must be directed towards God; then only can it expand, grow, deepen, fertilise all your actions, benefit all those around you. If it is confined to the world, it will be sucked up soon, by the sands of envy greed and malice. Without that expansive Prema which is Divine, man is worse that a pashu (animal), he is a Danava (demon). The pashu or cow yields milk, when its dead calf is stuffed and taken near its udder. That is the measure of its vatsalya (parental love)! (SSS Vol. 7)