Now, That’s Love

Ananda Vrindavan Devi Dasi

Mother Theresa once said that the only real hunger we all have is a hunger for love. To give and receive love is what will truly satisfy us. In this attention-craving world that we currently live in, the underlying motive behind all activity is a search for love and belonging. 

The good news is that the essence of our self, our soul, is made for love; the soul's dharma is loving service to God. The not-good news is that we regularly forget this, and sometimes forget for lifetimes. We are so enamored, so in love with our material selves and the material world, that our original love gets deeply covered. 

It generally takes a bit of suffering to crack that illusion. A bit of old age, some pain, disease, or death to come upon our path and expose our helplessness and dependency. These moments of suffering push us to take shelter in a higher power.

When we find Krishna, we discover the source of love and the true object of love. All love is fed from this reservoir of love, and once we start expressing our love and affection for Him - our gratitude, our respect, our awe, our service - then we start to see everything in this world as touched by His love, as loved by His love. 

Through a daily practice of connecting with Krishna–of nurturing our relationship with him–we begin to experience the sweetness of such love, a unique feeling in our heart that is ours alone. 

Krishna is known as Madan Mohan: He who attracts Cupid.  Cupid shoots his arrows of material love all over the place, but before Krishna, Cupid melts. Being loved by Krishna is our birthright - He loves each and every one of us unconditionally. No matter what kind of trouble we get up to in this world, He is ready to haul us out of it if we turn to Him. Now, that’s love.