Pass the Love

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“All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction” – Swami Vivekananda
Taking inspiration from the above mentioned quote by Swami Vivekananda I would like to present the power of an altruistic love, the possibility of a universal brotherhood brought forth out of love and respect for one another and the consequences that selfishness has on the person.

India – A land that promoted love and universality

For a long time now, India had been considered as the land beaming with cultural diversity, love and harmony. The peaceful blending in of the various religions ranging from Buddhism to Hinduism, from Sikhism to Jainism, from Christianity to Islam and the various other religions prevalent in specific parts of the country has really been an example for the world that a universal brotherhood is possible. However, that has been the past; but the present is very different. The present times see conflicts between various religion groups, language groups and cultural groups. The spread of ‘One Religion, One Nation’ has also disturbed the peaceful harmony between the various religions.

Love as a Universality

This is when the Swami Vivekananda’s thoughts on love become ever more relevant. Vivekananda wanted and promoted a ‘Universal Brotherhood’ in which one could call their neighbor their brother/sister. According to me, he believed in a love that was universal. When I think of a universal love, I feel that this universality is inseparable from the words respect, care and altruism. One can only truly love the other if there exists mutual respect between the two and care for the other. I cannot love my brother if I am not able to care for him in times of his needs and respect him for who he truly is. This love for the other is truly challenging as it calls one to be altruistic. To me, that would mean to go out of oneself and reach out to others. It means to move from the comforts of fulfilling my needs to reaching out to the peripheries and comforting the needs of others. This type of love is a reciprocating love because the joy that one receives when experiencing an altruistic person. The person who experiences altruism cannot withhold the love that he has received and will move out to share it with others. This altruistic love is manifested in a variety of ways through acts of kindness and generosity. These acts of kindness continue to spread, expanding exponentially thus promoting a universality in love.

A Universality of Humanness

By a universality of humanness, I wish to seek the oneness of all human beings in which each one cares for the other as his/her brother/sister. The theme of a universality of humanness is grounded in acts of mutual sharing, kindness and love. In our present society, where terrorism, cultural hatred and religious domination are popularized, the promotion of a universality of humanness is a need of the times. The change begins with us. The individual and group biases that we possess need to be consciously silenced if we ever want to light the spark of the universality of happiness. It is the spirit of dialogue and altruism that can help us to truly bring about a peaceful society that is enwrapped in the fraternity.

Conclusion

All of this is a challenge put forth to us by nature itself. As we try to grow in altruism and spread the love that we receive we may be tempted to be self-centered. Rather than preserving the love that we have received by keeping it to ourselves, we need to share it with others. A selfish love isn’t essentially real love. A real and authentic love is what can be expressed in this little song that I have heard so many times:
“Pass the love around, pick right up and take your neighbour’s hand and pass the love around.”
This is a call for all of us; a call to spread the love. Our task here as humans is primarily to bend down to the needs of others, to pass on the love that we receive, and so in turn to discover ourselves because the fruit of all altruistic acts are merely a deepening of self-discovery. Hence, pass the love, discover yourself and spread the universality of humanity.

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