V for Valentine

A loquacious lover kept on mumbling, “I love you” mantra-like to his beloved. “Then, are you ready to die for me ” she inquired. “No,” he replied quickly, “Mine is an undying love!” Isn’t undying love precisely that love which is ready to die Love ought to be cultivated, cherished and celebrated daily. But, at least, let’s reflect upon love on Valentine’s Day. “The flute of the Infinite is played endlessly, and its melody is love,” wrote Kabir. “God is love” (1 John 4:8) is a basic Christian belief, and many religions propose love as a reflection of the Infinite and the root of dharma. While human beings have love for others, God is love. Divine love assures us that deep within our hearts lies an immense capacity to love. It’s up to us to unleash the power of love. Beyond religion, the word “love” is daily used and abused in many ways. We speak of “making love” as if love were a commodity produced in some factory. Instead, why not strive for “a breaking love”, love that’ll break down our ego so as to selflessly respond to others Furthermore, when someone’s bowled over by a maiden or has a “crush” on some macho-man, they’re “falling head-over-heels in love” since emotions totally control their actions. “Falling in love” is understandable, but true love ensures that there’s always a “rising in love” since lovers ceaselessly seek to bring out the very best in each other. Valentine’s origins are as many as the meanings given to love. Legend has it that a 3rd century priest, Valentine, secretly blessed marriages despite a ban by Emperor Claudius who held that unmarried men made better soldiers. When captured for defying the ban, Valentine was thrown into prison, and later beaten with clubs and beheaded. Medieval Europe also floated the flighty theory that birds begin mating on February 14. So lovers celebrate their love on that day. Archies and Hallmark certainly love Valentine’s Day — that’s the day when their coffers get full, their shelves go empty. Commercialisation apart, let’s be happy and grateful for the great mystery of love. But let our love also be vulnerable. Jesus said: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Truly, much as one seeks love’s pleasures, one must bear love’s pain, be ready to be crowned and crucified. Kahlil Gibran wrote: “When you love you shouldn’t say, ‘God is in my heart,’ but rather, ‘I am in the heart of God’.” Let’s rejoice that all those we love, and all those who love us, abide in the heart of God.

Francis Gonsalves is the principal of the Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi. He can be contacted at fragons@gmail.com