What is Love ??

It is unfortunate that we have to ask this question. In the natural course of things everybody would know what love is. But I understand that nobody knows - or only very rarely -what love is. Love has become one of the rarest experiences. Yes,it is talked about, filmed , stories are written about it, songs are composed about it. Films are made, on the TV you will see it, on the radio, in the magazines - a great industry continuously goes on supplying you with the idea of what love is. People are continuously involved in it,helping people understand what love is.Many Poets,authors, novelists - they all go on.

Still, love remains an unknown phenomenon and it should be one of the most known. It is almost as if somebody comes and asks, "What is food ? " Would you not be surprised if somebody came and asked , "What is food ? " If somebody has been starved from the very beginning and he has never tasted what food is, the question will be relevant. So is this question.You ask, "What is love? " Love is the food of the soul. But you have been starved , your soul has not received love at all, so you don't know the taste.Your question is relevant, but it is unfortunate.The body has received food so the body continues; but the soul has not received food so the soul is dead , or is not born yet, or is always on its death-bed .

People think that they can love only when they find aworthy man- nonsense! You will never find one.People think they will love only when they find a perfect man or a perfect woman.

Nonsense! You will never find them because perfect women and perfect men don't exist.And if they exist they won't bother about your love.They will not be interested .I have heard about a man who remained a bachelor his whole life because he was in search of a perfect woman.

When he was seventy, somebody asked ,"You have been traveling and traveling from Kabul to Kathmandu, from Kathmandu to Goa, from Goa to Poona; you have been searching.Could you not find a perfect woman? Not even one!"

The old man became very sad .

He said ,"Yes, once I came across one: once I came across a perfect woman."

The inquirer said ,"Then what happened ? Why did n't you get married ? "

He became very,very sad. He said ,"What to do?She was looking for a perfect man."

And remember, when two beings are perfect, their love need is not the same as your love need .It has a totally different quality. You don't understand even the love that is possible for you so you will

not be able to understand the love that happens to a Buddha or the love that is flowing from me towards you -you will not be able to understand it.First you have to understand the love that is a natural phenomenon.Even that has not happened .First you have to understand the natural, and then the otherworldly.So the second thing to remember is: never be in search of a perfect man or a perfect woman. That too has been put into your mind -that unless you find a perfect man or a perfect woman you will not be happy.So you go on looking for the perfect, and you don't find the perfect, so you are unhappy. And you have a reason to be unhappy. To flow and grow in love needs no perfection.Love has nothing to do with the other.