When Amma, the guru from India , hugged the thousands who lined up, many said they experienced a kind of peace they could not explain. This is the way Amma showed love to them, and people were willing to queue up for hours for that one moment of experience. When people asked her, how she was able to hug everyone, she took the credit saying love flowed from herself – it was her inborn nature.
If you believe in the powers of meditation & ‘shaktipat’ (power transferred from guru to another person), you might see it as a spiritual act. If you look at it from a pure humanitarian perspective, you will see a simple woman from a poor background, showing love.
Either way, people seem to find it really impressive.
It made me think about the way we love people. Do we give every stranger we see, a ‘feel good’ moment?
The more I thought about it, I realize, we already do! Think about your day, the moment you wake up. If you’re single, you’ll find that you will be greeting your colleagues and clients with nice words. You will be hugging strangers. You will say a lot of nice things to people on your way. It’s part of your job. You make others feel good, and you get the benefit. People will say good things about you to your boss, or enjoy doing business with you. Words about your goodness will spread around. There’s something in it for you, that’s why you do it.
In life, we show love to others, but 90% of the time, it is to benefit our own SELF.
Think back – why do you do something? Is it really for LOVE, or is it because you want it to benefit your SELF?
For example, some people do many good things, because they want to cancel off the bad things they have done in their life. They are hoping to improve their own ‘karma’. They think that performing good works will take them a step closer to achieving their goal. What is the motive? SELF.
Some are terrified of being born again into this world as a mosquito or a worm. They believe, they need to do more good things to have a good life as a better animal or a human being in their next life. What is the motive? SELF.
Others are afraid to go to hell, so they think they need to do a lot of good works to earn themselves a better place in the life after death. They become very religious & sacrifice their whole life, doing charity to others. But again, what is the motive? SELF.
Some people give a lot of donations & do plenty of social work - they don’t like to keep it secret. They like the name they get – the label & attention as a ‘good person.’ When people give them compliments, they are more than happy to take all the credit for themselves. The motive is clear – SELF.
Some people achieve great success in life. They are great leaders and do a lot of good for mankind. At the end of the day, they think “I did it my way!” – Again, the motive is SELF.
People adopt a pet to take care of it. Yes, it’s a good thing. But the real reason they do it is because the pet makes them feel warm & loved. They like the benefit of having a pet; an eager puppy licking their face when they come back from a long day at work. See – even the reason for loving their pet is SELF.
Husbands & wives say they love each other. But really, many people love because the other person benefits them in some way or another (gives them happiness, company, sex, children, maybe money etc.) You see, the reason for love is again, SELF.
When your motive is SELF, it is easy to do a lot of good things in the name of Love to others. You want to get something in return (whether you realize it, or not). If it doesn’t benefit you, or you find it irritating, you will stop loving.
Doesn’t it show that we humans are very SELFISH by nature? Even when we love, it’s SELFISH.
The REAL TEST of LOVE comes in the scenarios below:
1) Imagine someone stabbed you behind your back. The person talked a lot of lies and bad things about you, to people you know. Your friend ruined your image and caused you a lot of hurt. There’s nothing you can do about it, and your heart holds a strong revenge.
2) Imagine you are a girl (or boy), who was molested or raped as a child. You suffered in silence for many years. That incident created a scar in your life, and destroyed your self-esteem & trust towards others.
3) Imagine you help someone to have a better life because of mistakes they have made. You help silently & no one knows. You are paying for someone else’s mistakes & you have to sacrifice many things so that the other person can have a better life.
Which would be easier for you?
1) To hug 1000 strangers?
2) Or to look at the ONE PERSON (your enemy / the one who hurt you/ the one who’s mistakes you are paying for) in the eye, give a warm hug & say with a sincere heart, “What you did was wrong, but I truly LOVE & FORGIVE you!”
If your focus is YOUR SELF, you will find it easier to hug 1000 strangers than to LOVE 1 enemy sincerely. “Why should I love my enemy. He hurt ME – he doesn’t deserve love,” is what a SELFISH heart would say.
The kind of LOVE I find TRULY IMPRESSIVE can be found in Jesus Christ.
1) He left his throne in heaven to come to earth as human – to pay the price & die a very painful death for humans’ sins. He didn’t have to do it, but he chose to - because it was the only way to save us. He had nothing to gain, & everything to lose. The motive was to LOVE US, NOT himself.
2) When He was being tortured & killed on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they are doing.” He wanted his enemies to be forgiven! Again, the motive was LOVE, NOT self.
3) When questioned about his miracles, he always pointed back to the Father in Heaven. He never went around ‘performing,’ to get credit. His purpose was LOVE, NOT self.
4) Even when he performed miracles (healed the lepers, made the blind see etc.), he told them to be silent about it. His reason was LOVE, NOT self.
5) His encounter with people changed their lives. He didn’t make everyone just feel good for one moment. He met a woman who had an affair with more than 5 men, & told her about her sin, because He wanted her to change. In that moment, she experienced something she never felt before. It changed her life. Telling people about their sins won’t bring popularity, yet Jesus did it. His motive was LOVE, NOT self.
I find it very difficult to understand, how come people are not equally impressed by the SELFLESS LOVE shown by this man.
Perhaps, people just want a ‘feel good’ moment & an ‘out of this world’ experience. Maybe, they don’t like to be reminded of their sins. They don’t like to be told about ‘right & wrong,’ because then, they would feel like a sinner & need to ask God’s forgiveness. They are enjoying life their own way, & don’t like change. They just want someone or something, to give a blast of ‘happiness’ into the lifestyle of their own choice. They always want something just for SELF. Even when they love, it is for SELF.
But Jesus OFFENDED the world, because of LOVE. He knew that our sins will take us to Hell. He knew that Hell is a place of terrible torture & suffering. Jesus knew that even if we did 1,000,000 good things in the world, even if we sacrificed our life to save 100 people, even if we quit our jobs to go and join a mission to help the slums; it will never be enough to save us from our sins. Our own good actions cannot save us & grant us a place in heaven. In the end, we will die as a sinner, if our sins are not forgiven & we don’t change from our evil ways.
Did you know – that focusing on SELF instead of GOD, is already a SIN (violation of the 1st Commandment in Exodus 20:3). Even if we have done 1,000,000 good things in the world, but our motive is SELF – then EVERY THING we have done in our life, is SIN!
Jesus came to tell us He is the only one who can forgive our sins & let us go to Heaven. He came to tell us that He really loves us – to the extent of dying for us. He came to die for a world that did not bother about sin, heaven or hell. Even after He died for us, the world does not believe Him. Yet, He loves us much…even though we killed him. Truly, we don’t deserve His love.
We tend to live purely for our SELF…even when we love, we love SELFISHLY…But, Jesus is not selfish…He really LOVES you & me…We truly need His forgiveness... we need to turn away from our sinful ways…
-JJ-
If you believe in the powers of meditation & ‘shaktipat’ (power transferred from guru to another person), you might see it as a spiritual act. If you look at it from a pure humanitarian perspective, you will see a simple woman from a poor background, showing love.
Either way, people seem to find it really impressive.
It made me think about the way we love people. Do we give every stranger we see, a ‘feel good’ moment?
The more I thought about it, I realize, we already do! Think about your day, the moment you wake up. If you’re single, you’ll find that you will be greeting your colleagues and clients with nice words. You will be hugging strangers. You will say a lot of nice things to people on your way. It’s part of your job. You make others feel good, and you get the benefit. People will say good things about you to your boss, or enjoy doing business with you. Words about your goodness will spread around. There’s something in it for you, that’s why you do it.
In life, we show love to others, but 90% of the time, it is to benefit our own SELF.
Think back – why do you do something? Is it really for LOVE, or is it because you want it to benefit your SELF?
For example, some people do many good things, because they want to cancel off the bad things they have done in their life. They are hoping to improve their own ‘karma’. They think that performing good works will take them a step closer to achieving their goal. What is the motive? SELF.
Some are terrified of being born again into this world as a mosquito or a worm. They believe, they need to do more good things to have a good life as a better animal or a human being in their next life. What is the motive? SELF.
Others are afraid to go to hell, so they think they need to do a lot of good works to earn themselves a better place in the life after death. They become very religious & sacrifice their whole life, doing charity to others. But again, what is the motive? SELF.
Some people give a lot of donations & do plenty of social work - they don’t like to keep it secret. They like the name they get – the label & attention as a ‘good person.’ When people give them compliments, they are more than happy to take all the credit for themselves. The motive is clear – SELF.
Some people achieve great success in life. They are great leaders and do a lot of good for mankind. At the end of the day, they think “I did it my way!” – Again, the motive is SELF.
People adopt a pet to take care of it. Yes, it’s a good thing. But the real reason they do it is because the pet makes them feel warm & loved. They like the benefit of having a pet; an eager puppy licking their face when they come back from a long day at work. See – even the reason for loving their pet is SELF.
Husbands & wives say they love each other. But really, many people love because the other person benefits them in some way or another (gives them happiness, company, sex, children, maybe money etc.) You see, the reason for love is again, SELF.
When your motive is SELF, it is easy to do a lot of good things in the name of Love to others. You want to get something in return (whether you realize it, or not). If it doesn’t benefit you, or you find it irritating, you will stop loving.
Doesn’t it show that we humans are very SELFISH by nature? Even when we love, it’s SELFISH.
The REAL TEST of LOVE comes in the scenarios below:
1) Imagine someone stabbed you behind your back. The person talked a lot of lies and bad things about you, to people you know. Your friend ruined your image and caused you a lot of hurt. There’s nothing you can do about it, and your heart holds a strong revenge.
2) Imagine you are a girl (or boy), who was molested or raped as a child. You suffered in silence for many years. That incident created a scar in your life, and destroyed your self-esteem & trust towards others.
3) Imagine you help someone to have a better life because of mistakes they have made. You help silently & no one knows. You are paying for someone else’s mistakes & you have to sacrifice many things so that the other person can have a better life.
Which would be easier for you?
1) To hug 1000 strangers?
2) Or to look at the ONE PERSON (your enemy / the one who hurt you/ the one who’s mistakes you are paying for) in the eye, give a warm hug & say with a sincere heart, “What you did was wrong, but I truly LOVE & FORGIVE you!”
If your focus is YOUR SELF, you will find it easier to hug 1000 strangers than to LOVE 1 enemy sincerely. “Why should I love my enemy. He hurt ME – he doesn’t deserve love,” is what a SELFISH heart would say.
The kind of LOVE I find TRULY IMPRESSIVE can be found in Jesus Christ.
1) He left his throne in heaven to come to earth as human – to pay the price & die a very painful death for humans’ sins. He didn’t have to do it, but he chose to - because it was the only way to save us. He had nothing to gain, & everything to lose. The motive was to LOVE US, NOT himself.
2) When He was being tortured & killed on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they are doing.” He wanted his enemies to be forgiven! Again, the motive was LOVE, NOT self.
3) When questioned about his miracles, he always pointed back to the Father in Heaven. He never went around ‘performing,’ to get credit. His purpose was LOVE, NOT self.
4) Even when he performed miracles (healed the lepers, made the blind see etc.), he told them to be silent about it. His reason was LOVE, NOT self.
5) His encounter with people changed their lives. He didn’t make everyone just feel good for one moment. He met a woman who had an affair with more than 5 men, & told her about her sin, because He wanted her to change. In that moment, she experienced something she never felt before. It changed her life. Telling people about their sins won’t bring popularity, yet Jesus did it. His motive was LOVE, NOT self.
I find it very difficult to understand, how come people are not equally impressed by the SELFLESS LOVE shown by this man.
Perhaps, people just want a ‘feel good’ moment & an ‘out of this world’ experience. Maybe, they don’t like to be reminded of their sins. They don’t like to be told about ‘right & wrong,’ because then, they would feel like a sinner & need to ask God’s forgiveness. They are enjoying life their own way, & don’t like change. They just want someone or something, to give a blast of ‘happiness’ into the lifestyle of their own choice. They always want something just for SELF. Even when they love, it is for SELF.
But Jesus OFFENDED the world, because of LOVE. He knew that our sins will take us to Hell. He knew that Hell is a place of terrible torture & suffering. Jesus knew that even if we did 1,000,000 good things in the world, even if we sacrificed our life to save 100 people, even if we quit our jobs to go and join a mission to help the slums; it will never be enough to save us from our sins. Our own good actions cannot save us & grant us a place in heaven. In the end, we will die as a sinner, if our sins are not forgiven & we don’t change from our evil ways.
Did you know – that focusing on SELF instead of GOD, is already a SIN (violation of the 1st Commandment in Exodus 20:3). Even if we have done 1,000,000 good things in the world, but our motive is SELF – then EVERY THING we have done in our life, is SIN!
Jesus came to tell us He is the only one who can forgive our sins & let us go to Heaven. He came to tell us that He really loves us – to the extent of dying for us. He came to die for a world that did not bother about sin, heaven or hell. Even after He died for us, the world does not believe Him. Yet, He loves us much…even though we killed him. Truly, we don’t deserve His love.
We tend to live purely for our SELF…even when we love, we love SELFISHLY…But, Jesus is not selfish…He really LOVES you & me…We truly need His forgiveness... we need to turn away from our sinful ways…
-JJ-
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