Daily Devotion - Jan 24, 2026 (English)- The True Secret of Love
Sarvathā dhvaṃsarahitaṃ satyapi dhvaṃsakāraṇe (Roop Goswami)
Even though there is a reason for love to be destroyed, it remains completely undisturbed. This is pure love. Say you love someone so much that you forget to eat and sleep. When you go to meet them, they say, "You shameless fool, why did you come here? Throw him out." If the love is pure, you would laugh and not feel disturbed upon hearing this.
There is a vast difference between worldly love and love for God. They are entirely opposites.
In worldly love, our love depends on the other person's love. The relationship will stay normal if they love us as much as we love them. If they love us less, our love will decrease as well. If they don't love us at all, we won't love them back either. And if one acts adversely, people even go to the extent of shooting the other person.
But in the realm of God and saints, there is a principle - As much as the soul loves, God and Guru will have to love them back that much. This is guaranteed. So even if they scold you and shoo you away, don't think they don't love you. They love you as much as you love them. Understand that they are just acting to test you. With this understanding, you should progress in your love for God and not retreat.
Saints challenge God: "Oh, Shyam Sundar! You may outwardly love me intensely or be indifferent. You may even turn away from me outwardly. You may outwardly send your Sudarshan chakra at me. But inwardly, you can't help but love me. "
Lord Krishna picked up the wheel of His chariot and rushed to kill Bhishma Pitamah. This was to demonstrate that for His devotee's sake, He breaks His own vow and is willing to be defamed. Krishna had promised that He would not pick up any weapons in the war. But Bhishma challenged Him, saying, "I will force You to break Your promise." Bhishma shot so many arrows at Arjun and Krishna that they were frightened. Shri Krishna jumped out of the chariot to pick up the wheel and attack him. God performed this act of anger. But Bhishma knew Shri Krishna's anger was just an act to glorify His devotee. Smiling, he admitted to the challenge, saying, "Come forward, come on, let's see how You kill me." As he continued challenging, Krishna's eyes and eyebrows became normal. His grip on the wheel loosened, and He dropped it. Bhishma did succeed in forcing Krishna to pick up a weapon.
The true meaning of love is to give without expecting anything back. The moment one desires reciprocation, it becomes a business transaction, and such love can never be sustained. There remains confusion in it. Even if the love is genuine and the external behaviour changes even slightly, one starts calculating - "I called her three times, and she called me back only once. Okay, now I won't call her either." There is absolute competition in worldly love - between mother-father, husband-wife, father-son, and siblings. This is not love but a business deal.
In the material world, foolish people only know how to take, like robbers, goons, ruffians, and demons. Sensible people understand give and take. They know that in the world, one can't simply keep taking without giving back. Otherwise, relationships get spoiled. When there is an imbalance in the give-and-take, problems arise. A discussion turns into an argument, finally leading to a total breakdown of the relationship. People even stop talking to each other. This is how the material world functions. However, even giving and taking cannot be sustained for long, as selfishness ultimately dominates. Wherever there is intense selfishness, there are bound to be quarrels. Hence, there will always be unrest, depression, and tension everywhere in the world. No one can escape it.
But before entering the spiritual realm, if we understand this theory, as much as you love God and Guru, They are obliged to love you back equally; this is guaranteed. Then, your love will never decrease because His grace is certain. However, in surrender to the Guru, you must not pretend, act, or cheat because they can see right through you through the divine power called Swaroop Shakti. If you try to act, they will also start pretending back, and you will not benefit from them. So you must be very careful if you want to attain something from God and the Guru.
In essence -
To always give is Love
To always take is Selfishness
To Give and Take is Business
So those who love God should never think - "I wonder if He loves me or not. How much does He love me? Let me find out." Just measure your own extent of surrender. He will reciprocate exactly according to that - this is the precise mathematics. This is the real secret of pure love.
Recommended books by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj related to this topic:
