The following is an excerpt from How to Cultivate Divine Love By Paramahansa Yogananda — Read more: http://yogananda.com.au/pyr/love1.html#reallove
The world as a whole has forgotten the real meaning of the word love. Love has been so abused and crucified by man that very few people know what true love is. Just as oil is present in every part of the olive, so love permeates every part of creation. But to define love is very difficult, for the same reason that words cannot fully describe the flavor of an orange. You have to taste the fruit to know its flavor. So with love. All of you have tasted love in some form in your hearts; therefore you know a little about what it is. But you have not understood how to develop love, how to purify and expand it into divine love. A spark of this divine love exists in most hearts in the beginning of life, but is usually lost, because man does not know how to cultivate it. (…) —
Love comes from the Lord. It is the panacea for all our human sufferings. There is nothing greater than love, for it is a quality of God Himself within our beings. When we manifest this love, under all circumstances – in family life, in our social and national life – it expands to greater, universal love. Such love is divine. When you have that kind of love, then and then only are you One with Him. There is no greater tonic than love, which can beautify the body and mind of man. Love cannot be described; it can only be felt. All our love in its native purity is the love of God. If pure love beams in our soul, we will be clothed with the ever-attracting universal beauty and love of God….
May Thy love shine forever on the sanctuary of my devotion, and may I be able to awaken Thy love in all hearts.
