Things You Could Do For LOVE ...this Valentine!!!

“How Deep is your Love Deepak?” the question kept vexing me as Valentines’ day drew near. I searched frantically for the meaning of “Deep”. The first thought that clouded my mind was that she want’s me to dig “DEEP” in my pockets to buy her an EXPENSIVE Valentines’ Gift!

Ok! So…what could I give her, well I could give her an iPad, or a designer phone, Jewelry perhaps, as I couldn’t make up my mind, It struck me “HOW stupid” of society to gauge the magnanimity of Love with price-tags!! How have we come up with “Opening of Hearts (LOVE)” measured by the “Opening the Purse strings”!!!

How could the height of Love be scaled by the depths of my pockets???

St. Valentine be blessed, as many tales about the revered saint arrived just in time, “gift to the needy”, “anonymously expressing Love” and finally the tale where he “married lovers secretly against the wishes of a Roman Emperor” and sadly even “got martyrdom for LOVE!!!”

Love is Priceless!, that’s why great saints pay for it through their lives!!!  It’s DEEP,  “profound”, “boundless”, “unending”, “Intense”, “transcendental”, and besides, Love never demands anything in return…that’s why, St Valentine did his gifting ANONYMOUSLY…

Satisfied, I finally deduced that by “Deep Love” she meant, I give her a “PRICELESS gift ANONYMOUSLY…”

What could be …PRICELESS… can be given ANONYMOUSLY…and yet SOMEHOW “SHOW” that I CARE, while “BEING” ROMANTIC all the TIME!!!

( I definitely want to SHOOT  the guy who said “LIFE IS EASY”, well,  he needs to LIVE MINE!!!)

Nevertheless, I came up with the following ideas …. (maybe you like them too for your Valentine…) HAPPY  VALENTINES’ J J J

1.    Do Kaar seva in Mandir, Gurudwara, Church, Mosques …YOURSELF ….and MENTALLY  transfer the “Good Karma” to your Valentine…(anonymous, priceless and spiritually romantic…at least for you) J

2.    Clean the House, cupboard or simply “DO” what your Valentine has been asking you for a LONG Time and fain ignorance for having done it…

3.    Cook lot of Food together and donate it in an orphanage …see the smiles on the hungry faces…PRICELESS..

4.    Buy Lots of captured Birds (in cages) and set them free …let them reach the depths of the sky…like your love… “DEEP”

5.    Donate Money to Charity (for Food, Clothing, Housing, Education, Animal shelter, Cancer foundation….anything) and get a Gratitude Souvenir/ Card, posted by the organization to your Valentine…see the surprise on their faces …priceless..romantic!

6.    Shop for a destitute family/ person. Take them to the shopping mall and buy them things they aspire for…priceless…feeling is simply divine… as if you became a demi-God…

7.    Let your Personal Diary be discovered by YOUR Valentine…(of-course it should read “how DEEP is your LOVE for your Valentine)…and capture her/him reading it…pricelessly romantic…

8.    Improve / Clean the Neighbourhood at night (along with your neighbours) …enjoy the gratitude of your respective Valentines in the Morning… priceless…

9.    Play a Sport Together (yeah, yeah you could play games of love too)…and Let your Valentine Win … see the smile … “priceless”…

10.  Teach your Valentine a skill (that you know) or take a class together… expand your intellectual boundaries together or read your valentine’s favourite book, together …priceless…

11.   Spend the day together (in lap of nature) just look into each other’s eyes…and just connect as souls mates… or mate as “souls”…priceless..

12.   Improve the school premises, clean the school graffiti walls…with your valentine or for your valentine (teachers) priceless…

13.   Hide small little gifts, everywhere in the house, where they could be discovered by your Valentine… and again deny putting these…

14.   Listen about “LOVE” in your Religion text. And promise each-other to live by those ideals

15.   Keep sending romantic anonymous sms to your Valentine (hope they don’t report it to police)

I wish that this Valentine and every next you (re)discover “LOVE” as expounded by great saints/ sages and exemplified in our great texts.

Explaining, Love as the crux of all happiness, growth and fulfillment, The Dalai Lama says, "If you want to be WISELY SELFISH, care for others." All the happiness and virtue in this world comes from selflessness and generosity and all the sorrow from egotism, selfishness and greed.

Oh by the way…I finally got the meaning of “DEPTH of LOVE” – that can only be experienced by an Ecstatic Awareness of Eternity, apperceived by Consummation with the all-pervading Consciousness and the “perpetual bliss” can only be found by reaching the depths in the sea of your EGO and locating the pearl of DIVINITY.

St Valentine Bless Us All and do share your “Priceless” Ideas…. :)

WHY do WE LOVE ???

Why do we Love??? I asked.

“To procreate”, he said and released all kinds of funny hormones to make do the same.

“I am talking to Mr Heart, and not to YOU – You Mischievous Oaf. So please let there be PEACE between us”, I rebuked my MIND and hoped that this will arrest his enthusiasm of Minding MY business.

Having decided to operate from my HEART, it was imperative that I know What, Why and How of the operations of the Heart (aka Love).

And, as usual I asked the God in Me…my HEART!

“Love is a FEELING YOU get when, you meet the Right Person, it’s the pure Chemistry (literally) in MY neurons, that make that sensation happen”, butted in my Bolshie Brain, with a scientific reply.

“Oh Get Out”, I rebuked again, “Chemistry, Physics, Biology, how ironical, that an ethereal concept like LOVE relies on the material world for its presence being felt.”

“But, do tell me, Mr Mind, how do you decide the “Right Person”, how does Mr. Brain, suddenly and magically secretes all the right hormones for that ONE Special Person and not for others?”, I asked.

There was silence, as if it was the crux, the answer of which could define the Locus of LOVE!

“Just concentrate on the GOOD and you’ll LOVE”, said Mr. Heart finally breaking his silence, “It’s when we concentrate on the GOODNESS in the other person – WE LOVE – when that gets tarnished we also do FALL OUT of love! We by Default seek Goodness in Ourselves and Others.

A deafening Silence again, with all of us basking in the Sunshine of Goodness …of Love!

We all realised that GOODNESS could be the least common denominator for All Love (Divine or Human, Material or Ethereal, Short-term or Long-term) 

“So it can be Programmed”, quipped Mr Mind, desperately trying to control the conversation.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, that’s how it is conceptualized i.e if you focus ONLY on the Good you can LOVE ANYBODY, easily and Stay in LOVE perennially”, replied the Heart.

Mr. Brain helped me recollect, how my parents used to say, “We Love Her” invariably for all my girl-friends, even when they met them for the first time. LOVE is REALLY a CHOICE!

Just then I caught Mr. Mind, who was smiling impishly all this time, ….as if waiting for me to either concentrate on GOOD in Him or simply say that I LOVE Him.

Things had just started to look bright, when Mr Brain, inquired, “What about Love at First Sight”, there’s no programming there! Where’s the time - even to do that!

Bemused Heart continued, “Love at first sight – is like falling for the Product, because we like the Advertisement, which promises that the said “product” (potential partner) will meet our need of GOODNESS (qualities). Good Looks, Pleasant Personality, Inciting Intelligence or some Striking Skills / Talents – all could be the GOODNESS we seek.”

Engrossed Mr. Brain then imparted yet another piece of knowledge, “Hmmm… Psychologist Abraham Maslow, had already proved that LOVE is a basic human need. We all are Motivated to have it, pursue it or achieve it. My (brain’s) “nucleus acumens” region gets ignited during such feelings. The chemicals (hormones) make us believe the reward in LOVE. This surge of exhilaration happens in procreation too.”

“Yes”, consented the Heart, “That’s the reason why a new-born falls in love with his/her  Mother (Father), because she (he) provides, Comfort, Food & Protection. These rewards, enkindles the fire of “LOVE” in you - Mr Brain!”

“Oh, Ok!”, feeling a little felt out, Mr Mind interceded with yet another quixotic quandary, “but, why can’t the reward centers be ignited ALL THE TIME by ONE PERSON!”

“Haha, Good “YOU” asked this Question”, said Mr Heart, “As we grow old there are more needs that the mother can’t satisfy, we find relatives, colleagues, friends to satisfy these unmet needs. Finally we find a mate which is complementary to our mothers to provide that unmet needs.”

“Oops”, I exclaimed, “so by definition mothers and wives are complimentary to each other! This explains the perennial rift/ opposition between the two.

“The rift is only when the there’s no focus on Good”, said Mr Heart looking at Mr. Mind, “…not to mention the corruption of this focus by Ego, Greed and Pride.”

“So in a way you’re saying, that we can LOVE more than one person at a time?”, asked Mr. Mind.

“Yes! we can, don’t we love many Gods for their respective Goodness!”, said Mr Heart beaming brightly. “LaxmiJi for Wealth, Hanumanji for Strength, GaneshJi for Wisdom, and so forth. Krishanji is said to be in LOVE with his 108 Gopis (Goodness), every night he comes to do RAAS with them! ALL kind of Goodness are his bosom buddies/cohorts/ consort!”

Mind, interrupted yet again, “Can we have pragmatic examples, please? Tell me Dr. Heart, how can the Food of LOVE be stopped from going STALE? Before marriage, the intensity of Love is Large, but after marriage, it Leaks Away! Familiarity breeds contempt…. and Children!!

All of us burst in a gregarious laughter, Mr. Heart composed quickly and continued, “Love is Active, the focus on Goodness, should translate into Actions of Goodness. The idea is to rejoice even on an iota of Goodness and avoid jealousy, dominance, anger, envy etc.”

Mr. Heart continued to explain, “God is the Pinnacle of GOODNESS …thus, is our Ultimate Goal. Loving OTHERS, Finding Goodness in Each and Everyone is just a practice to be in LOVE with the Infinite GOODNESS.”

All of us had not even begun to understand the gravity of these profound words, Mr Heart, added, “The Cycle of life and birth will continue till we LEARN to LOVE ALL. With each successive birth we practice LOVE till we GET the REAL MEANING of LOVE - because GOODNESS is EVERYWHERE, as GOD!!!”

“Love is the ONLY Tool to Transcend the DUALITY, the Distinction between Bhagwan and the Bhakt, husband and wife, girl-friend and boy-friend, baby and mother - as it creates ONENESS”, continued Mr. Heart eyeing both Brain and Mind. “It may manifest as Birth of BABY (in Marital LOVE) or DEATH of DUALITY as in Nirvana (in Divine LOVE)”.

Before, we lost our consciousness (like Mr. Heart) in the Omniscience (Orgy) of Goodness (Love), all three of us (I, Brain and Mind) resolved to drench our highest plane of our conscience - Karan Shahira (our respective EGOs) in LOVE.

Rang De Rangreez Mere, Rang De (Colour me Oh, my Lord, dye me in the Colour of YOU (Goodness))!!!

So what you just read was it ….g…. bad or ugly?? Let me know!

(I left out the Good because.. as Mr Heart said, it’s EVERYWHERE.. ;) and a further reminder… ……SEE “GOOD” IN ALLL (sorry for the extra L – I really mean ALL ;) )