Three words describe the basic principle of human life and society: Love, Fear, and Morality.

 

Love means Love for God, while fear means fear of sin. If both these govern our lives, then Morality would automatically prevail in society. If you cultivate Love for God, then you would find it easy to adhere to Satya and Dharma; and you would experience Shanti.

 

Prema or Love is thus the ultimate basis of all human values. It is unthinkable for a person immersed in Love to be violent or indulge in immoral acts. If Love is made the loadstone, then life will be peaceful. The compass needle always points to the north and guides mariners. God has similarly given us the compass of Love so that we can come to Him easily. Suppose you take a glass of milk and ask: Where is the butter? You will not be able to see any butter. But does that mean that there is no butter in the milk? No. How then to make this latent butter visible? Very simple. All you have to do is to churn the milk and butter would float on top. Your Heart is the container vessel. Into that pour the milk of Love. Now churn this milk — meaning offer this Love to God. You would then have the vision of God, and that is the equivalent of the butter on top.

 

Desire, anger and greed are three enemies of man. Desire kills devotion, anger blunts wisdom, and greed debases actions. These three are more dangerous than cancer. There is, however, a sure cure for these diseases — Love. Burn them all and reduce them to ashes in the fire of Divine Love. Iron turns soft and liquifies when put in fire. Divine Love can similarly melt your evil traits. Many people think they can get rid of bad tendencies by meditation. They are eliminated only by mental drill and discipline. Cultivate good habits, engage in good activities and avoid bad company. Being good requires steady effort. No practice is needed for turning bad, but developing good character is a different matter. It doesn't take much effort to roll a boulder downhill but it calls for tremendous exertion if it has to be transported from the bottom of the hill to the top.

 

True Sadhana or spiritual exercise consists in avoiding the bad and assiduously cultivating the good. Develop Love for God. There can be no greater Sadhana than this. It doesn't matter if you don't do any of the prescribed Sadhanas, just have Love for God and it will take care of everything. God is Love and Love is God. Live in Love.