As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, we must contemplate the significance of the word ‘Love’ which I believe is the greatest
of all words in the English Language. Many great writers, poets, film makers, philosophers, etc. based their philosophies around this simple and precious word’ Love’. When this fascinating word is traced to its root from the Greek concept it gives us the true meaning of the word ‘love’ from the three Greek words: Eros, Philia and Agape. Eros has to do with sexual love between a man and woman; philia has to do with friendship; but the greatest love is what most experts call the ”agape” or the God kind of love, meaning the unconditional love of all human beings. This is the God kind of love that Jesus spoke about in St.John’s Gospel,chapter 15:12 which is as follows:

”This is my commandment,that you love one another as I have loved you.”

This is the type of love Gandhi, Mandela, and King demonstrated to their enemies in the world. Gandhi wrote:

”An eye for an eye gives the world a blind eye”

If we can follow this profound philosophy of love we can live in a better world devoid of hate, greed, and malice; if every man would help his neighbour no man would be without help. Jesus commanded us ”to love our neighbour as ourselves”. This means we ought to help all those whom we encounter with needs in life from day to day; as we do a good deed unto the less fortunate we have done it unto God.

Love is the power that moves the universe. The radiance of this universe sends us a message of love and says all creation came from love: the love of God. Love impels evolution and at the end of their time love returns all things to eternity. God’s love can be seen in nature in the wonder of a flash of lightning; love comes to our soul in the wonder of a flash of vision. St. Paul wrote with a vision to
love in I Corinthians 13,verses 3 and 13,when he said:

”And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three: but the greatest of these is love.”

Here we have seen words of wisdom that give us the true essence of ‘agape love’. We can love the infinite in all, and we can find joy in all. This joy and love is beautifully expressed in the, ”Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad: ”It is not for the love of a husband that a husband is dear; but for the love for the soul in the husband that a husband is dear; it is not for the love of the wife that a wife is dear; but for the love of the soul in the wife that the wife is dear. It is not for the love of children that children are dear; but for the love of the soul in children that children are dear. It is not for the love of all that all is dear;ut for the love of the soul in all that all is dear”

The poets of these verses expressed inner devotional love between a husband and wife; love for children; love for the human race, that’s the true expression of God’s love. The poetic philosophy of love can also be seen by some of the greatest poets from the East and West such as Tagore, Gibran,  Dante, Petrarch,  Shakespeare etc.

The illustrious Italian poet Petrarch wrote his passionate love sonnets to his lover Laura. He was so moved by Laura’s death that as a result he told of his love for her, his hopes, and despair; his bitter sorrow at her death. His immortal love sonnets ranked among the finest of their kind. This touching couplet from one of his sonnets really moved me:

”That heavenly soul hath left its earthly place/ Oh, then, not distant may my death-day be”

In these magnificent lines the poet explores the death of his lover compared to his own death in time to come.

World renowned English poet Shakespeare wrote a collection of 154 sonnets, some based on love he dedicated to a dark lady that could have been his wife or a woman he admired. While some of his sonnets included his autobiography hidden in intricate imageries still unexplored by man. He begins and ends his 151-sonnet with the following lines:

”Love is too young to know what conscience is;
Yet who knows not conscience is born of love.
No want of conscience hold it that I call her ‘love’
For whose dear love I rise and fall……….”

Here the poet explores the relationship of youthful love by using the word ‘conscience’, meaning his love is governed by his thoughts that involve his truth and justice about his love. Yet his love is unstable but his love for this woman he writes about is wavering like
the waves in the sea of his young mind. This entire sonnet gives the reader a vivid picture about ‘love’ in its deceptive manifestations.

A very dedicated woman poetess by the name of Elizabeth Browning wrote a fantastic series of 44 sonnets to challenge the genius of Shakespeare and Petrarch. She wrote these sonnets during the months of her courtship by Robert Browning. Her most famous love lines are as follows:

”How do I love thee? Let me count the ways
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach when feeling out of sight
I shall but love thee better after death……..”

The eternal imagery in these lines came from deep within the soul of this noble poetess. She sees her relationship of love beyond sexual or romantic love; she sees love not on the external but on the inner spirit of her being; she lays bare her heart of love’s true nature that is the God kind of love or the agape love.

We can evaluate from this literary discourse that ‘love’ is the answer to man’s basic needs and desires. If we can comprehend the love of God, we will be able to love the world, love ourselves, love our families, our country and build a bridge of peace among all mankind. As we mourn the Lusignan massacre at this critical time of our Nation’s History, only the love of God will bring healing and deliverance to the relatives of the dead victims; if men can walk in God’s love all the killings and massacres will be obliterated from our society. May we find divine bliss and Joy on Valentine’s Day.