Divine Love and Human Love – Sri Harold Klemp
What is the difference between the love that one has for one's mate and the love Soul has for God?
Is one sort better than the other? And is it still possible to fall in love with someone after you reach God Consciousness?
The highest love is a pure love for God.
A pure love for one's mate is the same as a pure love for God. There is no difference. But, frankly, pure love is a rarity — whether for God or for mate.
"Falling in love" usually means falling into karma. Karma — good, bad, or neutral — sets the tone for a relationship. For example, some couples love to fight.
The attraction between people of a high state of consciousness is a mutual desire to serve God and life. Such a couple join forces to help each other reach even higher states of being.
A high, pure love is sweet indeed.
The Key To Love
I have been lonely for many years, and I don't understand how to bring love into my life. Can you help me?
We all experience loneliness at one time or another. But we each differ in the ability to adjust our attitudes to bring light and divine love into our lives.
Some make a great mistake in thinking that the way of ECK, Divine Spirit, is to withdraw from life. This is not so. It enhances our interests and activities, for we gain insights into ourselves through experiencing a wide assortment of activities, thoughts, and feeling.
The key to bringing divine love to us is to first give selflessly of ourselves in some way. It can be a small service for the ECK, although it can also be visiting the elderly or helping with some community project. But we must give of ourselves without any thought of reward.
First, do one small thing for the love of God, something small but important to us.
Loneliness is Soul's desire to find God. The Spiritual Exercises of ECK bring the Light and Sound of God.
How can I learn the nature of love? I feel so afraid of it. Recently I had a dream where a monster was chasing me, and I shone a flashlight on it. I think the monster is fear.
Your question gets to the crux of the problem in spiritual growth: Fear is a poison that paralyzes a person, and the only remedy is love.
You've asked to learn the nature of love, and so it will be done in the ways that are suited for you. Quite frankly, love scars the heart, but it is the only way to get purification.
You got a clear picture of the dream's meaning, that the monster is fear. The flashlight's beam is the blinding light of Soul that pierces the blackness of not understanding. A change can begin to come gradually into your life in regard to love, because you had the courage to face fear.
The heart of the ECK teachings is indeed love. For example, a businessman in his early forties got married recently, and the couple has a baby girl. All of a sudden he knows something about love and giving that had eluded him. A new world opened itself to him in a way that suited him.
He'd seen parents and children every day, but until he had a child to care for and love, he was seeing in black and white. Please do not misread that I'm suggesting marriage. It is the power of love, however it comes, that makes you a new creature. And you will have it.
Deciding If Love Is Real
How does one know if a relationship is based on love and is worth developing?
No one has the final word on love, but consider the following points in deciding if you really love someone: (1) Does he bring joy to your heart when you think of him? (2)Do you want to make him happy? (3) Will you love him for what he is and not try to change him? Will you let him be as he is and not what you want him to be? (4) Young people tend to fall in love with their ideal of love. This means that one has the the ideal of a Prince Charming who is really a toad. Not all Prince Charmings are toads, and not all toads are Prince Charmings. (5) Don't forget your self-worth. How does he treat you — like a treasure or someone to be used?
Love is the expression of the ECK, Divine Spirit, on earth, and these points should give you a fairly good opportunity to see what kind of relationship you are in.
No Strings Attached
How can one have a healthy, loving relationship without getting too attached?
Not to get attached is often taken to mean "not to get involved." It actually means not to let your idea of how things should be dictate the relationship. That kind of love has strings attached. It means always trying to have your partner do what you think is right.
Those with pure love do all they can to let their mates grow in every way.
So we come to the real meaning of detached love. It means to let others exist without forcing our will upon them. That is spiritual love.
Higher Levels Of Giving
How can one remove ego when being a channel for Divine Spirit and give and receive without the little self becoming involved?
It's a battle that's never won as long as Soul lives in the physical world. We usually trip over ourselves when giving or receiving both human and divine love.
A friendship, for instance, may start on a high level. But once two people begin to know each other better, the friendship is threatened when one gives a gift with strings attached. That's control, or power, trying to enter the relationship. See the ego at work?
Perhaps the hardest thing to learn is to offer a gift, but then to let the other freely accept it or not. This is nonattachment. Our training to be a Co-worker with God occurs in the classroom of our daily life. The lessons are tedious at times, but always thorough.
Mixed-Races Relationships
I have heard that one should not get involved in relationships of mixed races. If true, why is that?
Everything depends upon the people, time, and place. If those three parts go against what a society accepts as normal, then members of that society will make life rough for the couple.
Let's draw a picture of an extreme case for you. Consider this: two people of the same sex and of mixed races who expect all the legal rights of a couple of opposite sexes. They would have a lot of problems in man parts of the world today. In a lesser way, a heterosexual couple of mixed races would have more problems in a lot of places than would a similar couple of the same race.
Weigh the odds, and do as you please. It all adds to your spiritual unfoldment if you love another.
Sanctity Of Personal Space
A friend on the path of ECK who was visiting me disapproved of the nonspiritual books on my coffee table at home. Was I wrong in feeling he was getting into my personal space?
Whatever reading material we keep at home is our own business. The protection of our state of consciousness depends upon us. We must tell somebody else to leave us alone if they do not know better. There is a tactful way to remind a friend, who forgets, to give total beingness to others.
Surround Yourself With Love
How can I feel the love of God on the path of ECK when I am surrounded by people with negative attitudes? It seems so difficult.
It is difficult. There are two things you can do: (1) Be polite when these people are near you, but sing HU, the sacred name for God, silently. Listen to them while you sing, rather than getting into a long conversation with them. Say as little as possible while still remaining cordial. (2) In your imagination, see the Inner Master near you.
The negative force is using them as its channel to see whether you will agree with their opinions. Each confrontation is a spiritual test.
Problems In Marriage
My husband has told me that as long as we stay in the higher states of consciousness, our marital relationship will be smooth. But I can't always hold this high viewpoint, and he blames our difficulties on my inability to keep a spiritual outlook.
General speaking, marital difficulties stem mostly from these areas: (1) communication between the couple breaks down, (2) disagreement over finances (also communication), and (3) unfaithfulness.
The best way for any couple to address marital problems that have gone beyond their ability to handle is to seek marriage counseling. It's usually not any one person;s fault that the marriage stumbles, although that is possible.
Those on the path of ECK must avail themselves of responsible counseling whether the problem is marital, health, or economic. That's the way to live in this world. Divine Spirit provides a number of different ways for people to choose the most appropriate solution. It is for the people involved to their own decisions.
Communication Tools
Can you help me with an advice on how to keep the love flowing in my marriage? It's been strained lately.
Communication is a difficult thing to keep open in any marriage. One useful technique when things get strained is for one person to interview the other, for twenty minutes, with notes.
The interviewer is free to ask whatever he wants. The only limitation is no question can be phrased so that it can be answered with a simple yes or no. That doesn't open communication.
The interviewer is not able to defend himself against any accusations but must sit there and take it. Of course, the roles change in twenty minutes.
The other spouse becomes the interviewer of hopes and dashed dreams. It is surprising what marriage partners learn about their companions that make them truly interesting people with goals too.
Soul Is Unique
Is there a difference between dating someone on the path of ECK and someone who is not?
The best answer is a question: Are two different Souls the same?
Naturally, not. What, then, do you look for in a date? Can you respect her beliefs and feelings? Does she respect yours? Are you a better, happier person in her company?
A light friendship is fairly easy to deal with, but when a special woman brings thoughts of marriage or a lasting relationship, look carefully at her family, her education, her plans for a family, her housekeeping habits, her handling of money. Are they like yours?
New love overlooks a lot of shortcomings, like a partner who spends more than she earns. But what happens when the debts pile up and a baby is suddenly on its way? Where is the money for doctor bills? Problems like these can make for two very unhappy people.
No matter how great your love for each other, things will always tugs at its seams. The song of love is sung through respect and thoughtfulness for each other. They are the best assurance of a gracious and loving bond for years to come.
ECK And Other Paths
Recently I have met and fallen in love with a devout Christian. He cannot follow my spiritual path, and in order to maintain a harmonious home I made the choice to become a Christian. But in letting go of my path and accepting Jesus, I feel such disloyalty and loss. How do I deal with these new feelings?
In regard to your personal situation, love will overcome all. This does not mean we will be without problems, but that love is holy and must come before any other consideration.
Follow whom you will in your heart. It is the same Holy Spirit working through yet another of Its instruments. There are many ways to reach the kingdom of heaven, otherwise why would there be so many religious paths, even within Christianity (Baptists, Episcopals, Pentecostals, etc.)?
Life does not bring two people together without a reason. Our past lives get mixed up in this, and we find new friends in this life are actually old acquaintances from before. Love is what drew you to your Christian friend. The relationship, if followed through, will bring spiritual enrichment to the person who recognizes the hand of Divine Spirit as the motivating factor.
One's inner life may be in harmony with whatever Master is able to be there in joy and sorrow. No one else, no matter how close they are to us, actually ever knows what all is in our hearts.
How To Love
Fear has paralyzed me and left me cold and unfeeling. I want to learn how to love. Can you show me?
There is a lot of pain that goes with love, as you surely know firsthand. But the fire of love brings a change in the spiritual outlook that cannot come by a shorter path. So, without love, we die; but with love, we are face-to-face with the agonies that burn the heart deeply.
On the one hand I see a person without love, who wants it. On the other hand, there are many who've had it, have lost it, and must decide whether to gamble on it again.
The secret is that one cannot live without love. You've got to find the kind that agrees with your spiritual makeup. Once you have it, you find it a delicate thing that can slip away like water trough the fingers.
Missing A Loved One
My precious husband passed away recently. We were married for twenty years and loved each other very much. It is unbearable to live without him. I need your help.
Your love for your husband and his for you shone on his face for all who know what love is. Words of condolence do not begin to put salve on the bite of separation.
We love our dear ones deeply and miss them when they leave us. But we know that the bond of love is greater than death.
He lives in your heart. When you are lonely and cry, look for him there, for he is happy to walk by the side of the Mahanta. He is now able to taste of the freedom he knew was there.
The sorrow of parting heals slowly. Let your tears fall, because they are tears of love too. And in your darkest hours, I am with you — giving all the love of God to you.
Your Personal Life
I would like to know the implications of homosexuality from the spiritual viewpoint.
Thank you for your letter regarding homosexuality and living your spiritual life. Your personal life is for you to choose.
Divine Spirit begins uplifting Soul from Its present state into higher ones. As this happens, those practices which are obstacles on your next step to Self- and God-Realization will dissolve through the purification given by the ECK.
Whatever one does in his personal affairs is a matter solely between Divine Spirit and himself.
Where Is Love?
I have many physical problems this lifetime and have had to overcome many obstacles. I've come to the conclusion that love is not for me this time around. How can I begin to have love in my life? Is it too late for me?
Your life is certainly an extraordinary one, and its uniqueness might let you think that love is only for others and not for you. You may find this hard to believe, but people can live together for years and still not know love.
It would be wrong for me or anyone else to try to change your mind about anything that is between God and you, so I won't. This world has its torture camps (as in World-War-II Germany and elsewhere) and places for breaking the human spirit. Yet for some reason, a few among many who faced the same prospects of fear and death on a daily basis ad a fierce desire to live. Why? Who can say? Perhaps the survivors were those with the strongest spiritual heartbeats.
Where is love? Again, who can say? We know it's all around us like an ocean, but where's the little stream to nourish the garden of our heart?
We don't mind if all the world has love, but we'd like a little too. Sure, we know about Helen Keller, who became blind, deaf, and mute at the age of nineteen months. With the help of Anne Sullivan, who was her friend and teacher, Helen became a renowned writer and lecturer. She raised funds for training the blind and other projects.
What I'm saying to you here is that most people with exceptional problems like yourself must work many times harder than the average person for love or for anything else. But your success can also be much more than that of others.
Love begins in a small place in your heart. Love your music, which can reach out to bring love to others, and so the love you have can grow larger.
There are other people with handicaps who are looking for love as much as you. Some have found it. How? Can you connect with an organization of handicapped individuals to see how its members cope with their search for love?
Love is something we all need as much as air and light.
What Keeps Me From God's Love?
How can I get closer to the love of God? I seem to stumble often
.
First, one must learn to love, to give love to someone or something else. This means a sacrifice of one's self in the little things for the better interests of another.
The next part is one which few reach, because they cannot jump the hurdle of giving. This second step involves the art of receiving love from another. It takes humility to accept it with an open heart.
The third, unspoken part is when the love that is given or received is transformed and passed along to somebody else. No one can hold on to God's love and expect to get any more of it.
In summary, first one learns to give love; second, to receive it; third, whether it's given or received, the sender or recipient must pass it along.
It takes enormous courage to follow where love leads. Its fruits are bittersweet, most certainly. I doubt whether the love of God can really be known by someone who avoids human love.
Human Love, Divine Love
What is human love and what is divine love? How can I learn to live divine love?
You want to know the difference between love and divine love. Begin with love, and that grows into divine love. I know that's not the answer you look for, but the mind has nothing to do with love.
Begin with the love you have. Love gratefully. This love expands your heart into a greater vessel which can hold yet more love. On the outside, divine love is joyful, thankful. It gives of itself fully.
Let love be what it will. Don't let the mind tell you one is human and the other divine. Just love without expecting its return.
From A Modern Prophet Answers Your Key Questions About Life – Sri Harold Klemp
© 1998 Eckankar
http://www.eckbooks.org/items/A_Modern_Prophet_Answers_Your_Key_Questions_about_Life-91-0.html
