Life is useless without God’s Love

Of what use is the drinking of nectar to one who has not tasted the unique Elixir of True Love! Of what use is life for one who has not sacrificed himself on the Path of Love! Of what use is the reading of scriptures or even the reciting of them if one has not understood their meaning! Such a one is only superficially calling the Beloved by the names of love, and has not created True Love for Him within himself. Of what use is it to weep outwardly if one has not shed silent tears for the Beloved within!

Of what use will it be to a person to drink the Amrit (Divine Nectar) if he has not tasted the Elixir of Love?

Of what use is life to one who has not sacrificed himself at the altar of Love?

Worldly people have seen the world and have enjoyed its fruits and its orchards. They have also read and recited books and scriptures, but all this is without gain.

Wali calls his Beloved incessantly but the Beloved demands the surrender of the heart, without which He cannot be won. Thus Wali’s crying „Oh my Beloved!“ throughout the night is fruitless.

Wali Ram

The people of the world are engrossed in reading scriptures, but they have not really understood them. If one should read only ‘two and one-half’¹ letters of love, he would then understand the real meaning of love.

Shamas-i-Tabrez says:

The soul that does not contain Love for God would be better off, if it did not exist at all, for if such a soul is dwelling within a human form, it is receiving no benefit therefrom and is living a life of shame.

A person who has not been dyed in the hue of Love has no more value in the eyes of God than a piece of wood or stone.

The life that is passed without Love is without any benefit, for Love is an Elixir for the heart.

Shamas-i-Tabriz further states:

Love is attained only through great good fortune. Without it, life is fruitless. Only a very few extremely fortunate persons are blessed with the gift of love. The part of life that is wasted without love for God should not be counted, for it is all useless. If life is passed without love, one will be shamed before the altar of God.

Kabir Sahib also says the same thing:

A person in whose heart there is no love, and who does not have the Name of God in his tongue, is no better than a beast; and he dies without having received any of the benefits of his human birth.

Devotion without love is all shame. Ignorant people lose all the benefits of the valuable human form, with which they have been endowed, by simply filling their stomachs like beasts.

The body in which love does not exist should be considered a crematorium. Such a one is breathing without life, like the bellows of a blacksmith.

Guru Arjan says:

A person may be very handsome, may belong to a prominent family, may be extremely wealthy and clever, and may be a gifted speaker; but if he does not possess devotion to God, he should be considered no better than a corpse.

Except for the Divine Love, all other types are undesirable. So long as we do not sacrifice that to which we are most attached, at the altar of God’s Love, we cannot obtain Salvation. Our soul is the hidden treasure of love, and it is most essential that we turn our attention from the world and its objects and direct it towards Him.

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Footnote: 1) In Hindi language the word Prem (Love) consists of two and half letters.