Method of creating worldly Love and Spiritual Love

Whenever we have a desire to express our love for someone, we should try to discover what kind of love the beloved would prefer. We should then inculcate in ourselves those qualities or actions by which the beloved is pleased and we should always talk about those things only, for by listening to them he will naturally be attracted.

Love is not created by sight alone. It is also awakened by constantly listening to speech or song about the beloved, and by talking about him. When you are able to develop the qualities that are liked by the beloved and he is satisfied that you have actually developed them, he will then automatically bestow his love on you. Take an example.

If you are interested in painting and have mastered the art, then as soon as a lover of art sees your proficiency or hears about it, you will naturally become the object of his interest or love. Someone else may be fond of music or may be interested in poetry, and you may study music or poetry and attain proficiency in it. Then, whenever that person listens to your music or poetry, he will be automatically attracted towards you.

We have many such examples in nature. When one is attracted by a certain quality or action, the lover should also develop the same kind of quality or type of action in order to become eligible for the love of the beloved.

The above methods are the means for the development of worldly love. But if such a love is developed with the object of satisfying one’s own sensual desires or is subject to any other ulterior motive, it becomes the cause of attachment and must be shunned. If one indulges in this type of love, he loses his own good qualities and retards his progress towards the real love.

On the other hand, if this worldly love is not covered with the filth of sensual pleasure nor motivated by some selfish aim, then the True Love, which is pure and divine, will ultimately be developed.

Maulana Jami says:

If you have physical love which is not subject to any selfish or ulterior motive, then such a love is welcome, because it is the means of creating in you, love for God.

Sufi Saints have also described physical or worldly love as the first step towards spiritual love.

They say:

Love, whether it is material or spiritual, should be in every heart, because in the mirror of material love there is the reflection of spiritual love. The light of worldly love illuminates the Path of Love Divine.

Everybody, whether consciously or unconsciously, is in search of a beloved. And every place is suited for love, whether it is a mosque, a temple or a church. This universal search for a beloved is a reflection of the Divine Love.

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