By: Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji
Sai Satcharitra and Bhagavad Gita talk of universal love. Is it possible? Someone will ask – How can I love a child on the street as much as my child? Love my parents or spouse the same way as some stranger? If we define love as a feeling, then it is not possible. We have different feelings towards different people. However, universal love is possible as Sai Satcharitra insists on understanding our connection with everything else.
If we analyze the emotion of love as per Sai Satcharitra, it is an expression of our deep connection. We end up loving the person in whose presence we feel accepted, connected, cared for, and completely validated. On the other hand, loss of connection with others leads to our feeling a deep void, emptiness, loneliness, sadness, or grief.
According to the Gita and Sai Satcharitra, connection is the reality of the universe. The entire world is one vast, intelligent cosmic order, which connects us to everyone and Sainath Parabrahman everything. For example, the iron in the hemoglobin molecule, which runs in our blood comes from iron particles that were released by the collision of stars. The food that we eat is a product of the plant kingdom with the help of the sun, water, and earth. The houses that we live in, the cars in which we travel, and the entire economic, social, and physical infrastructure available to us are an outcome of the contribution of countless people whose names and identities are not known to us. Sai Satcharitra describes the world as a vast network of connections, and our existence is deeply intertwined with everyone else through the intelligent order – ‘Ishvara.’
If we are alive to this connection, we can live our lives with different expressions of love described in Sai Satcharitra. We understand that all our accomplishments can be attributed to countless factors, including our efforts, and the contribution of parents, teachers, friends, and employees. This makes us more grateful and less conceited.
As we see generosity in the creation, we begin to open our hearts and reach out to others. We
feel empowered as we understand that what we do today connects us to future outcomes.
As we are all part of one large cosmic order, we take utmost care not to harm any being including humans, animals, and plant kingdoms through thoughts, deeds, and speech. Sai Satcharitra makes us more accommodative towards others. We protect ourselves against abuse and exploitation but without anger or hatred towards others. For instance, if teeth bite the tongue, we take enough precautions to ensure that our tongue does not get hurt again but we do not start hating the teeth.
Recognizing and honoring this connection through the above attitudes and acts is an expression of universal love. Our connection to countless others can be expressed through care, compassion, non-labelling, and gratitude, not hurting living beings and the environment. As we express love in different forms through our behavior, we not only bring about external harmony but increase our levesl of satisfaction, cheerfulness, and joy. On the other hand, if we are oblivious to the guidance imparted by Sai Satcharitra toward the reality of connection, emotions such as hatred, pride, loneliness, isolation, dissatisfaction, and depression, can emerge.
In closing, Sai Satcharitra and Gita do not advise us to love everyone. They show us the reality of connection. If we grasp this reality, different expressions of universal love toward every being will flow naturally and organically.
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