Ancient Love
Suppose someone shows a lot of love to you, what do you do?



1. Often, do not know how to respond 2. Feel obliged and bound 3.
Shrink or shy away 4. Feel foolish and awkward 5. Try to reciprocate
even though it is not genuine 6. Doubt the love expressed and one’s own
worthiness 7. Are afraid of losing respect because love does not allow
distance and respect tends to keep distance 8. Your ego hardens and
does not allow you to receive and reciprocate.



The ability to receive genuine love comes with the ability to give
love. The more you are centered and, by experience, know that you are
love, the more you feel at home with any amount of love expressed in
any manner, for deep inside, you know: Love is not an emotion. It is
your very existence.



There are three kinds of Love. The Love that comes out of charm,
that which comes out of comfort, and the divine love. The love that
comes out of charm does not last long. It comes out of unfamiliarity or
attraction. In this you lose the attraction fast, and boredom sets in,
like in most love marriages. This love may diminish and bring along
with it fear, uncertainty, insecurity, and sadness.



The love that comes out of comfort and familiarity grows. But this
love has no thrill, no enthusiasm, joy, or fire to it. For example, you
are more comfortable with an old friend who is a familiar person,
rather than with a new person. Divine love supersedes both the above.
It has an ever present newness. The closer you go, there is more charm
and depth. There is never boredom and it keeps everyone on their toes.



Worldly love can be like an ocean, yet an ocean has a bottom.
Divine love is like the sky which is limitless, infinite. From the
bottom of the ocean, soar into the vast sky. Ancient Love is beyond
relationships. Often our love is in terms of some relation, ie, father,
mother, brother, sister, wife, friend, master, disciple.


But Ancient Love transcends all these relationships and is
inclusive of all the relationships. Any relationship brings a
limitation but Ancient Love is beyond limitations. Let love be. Don’t
give it a name. When you give it a name it becomes a relationship, and
relationships restrict love.



Often, one experiences love at first sight. Then as time goes on it
decreases, decays, becomes hatred and disappears. Ancient Love never
decays. Although its mortality rate is high, love dies very young.
After a few days, weeks, months, or years, it dies. In society you say
love is never a tree, it is a seasonal crop. All the letters, all the
gifts exchanged, all that happens is only in a short period.



When the same love becomes a tree with the manure of knowledge,
that becomes Ancient Love that goes from lifetime to lifetime; keeps
growing bigger, wider, stronger. That is our own consciousness. You are
not limited to this present body, this present name, this present form
and the present relationships around you. You may not know your past,
your ancientness, but just know you are ancient, that is good enough.



You have gone through every experience and you have still come out
the same — shining, innocent, pure, untainted. That is why you are the
Ancient Love. Being on the spiritual path means uncovering the Ancient
Love. In that state, whatever I am that is what you are.


Stop looking for anything; if there’s anything more to look for,
you are only looking for misery. When the search stops, the goal
begins. The search was necessary to get here; once you have got here
drop your search, just rest, relax. If you can get on by your own
searching, then what you get is not what you are looking for. If one
teaspoonful could hold the entire ocean, then it is not the ocean.


What are you searching with? Your little mind? Do you think this
little mind will realise the Divine, God, whatever? If it does, it is
hallucination. This little mind cannot contain the infinity. So the
searching can go on forever. I tell you, instead of running all around,
give it up right away. That is called surrender.



Surrender is giving up the search for truth. You have always heard
the other way around. Search, seek the truth! But I am telling you stop
seeking. You have to look for water in the spring, in the river, if you
still look for water, you will only move away from the spring. Wherever
you are, right now, right there stop seeking. Relax into the
fulfillment that is your very nature.



These are two different paths — one is seeking, the other is
devotion. Seeking and searching should ultimately bring you a place of
helplessness; when you become so helpless you give up, then devotion
begins. And when devotion begins, when you surrender, you have it right
there.


Pain goes with Love. Because you love someone, even a slight
action, whatever it is, can hurt you. And in hurt, you feel very
delicate, very deep. Love also creates the same sensation. Separation
creates the same symptom. If you don’t love somebody, you’ll never get
that hurt from them. Understand, accept this. Then you will not turn
that hurt into a sore feeling. Rather, that very hurt will take you
deep into dispassion and meditation.



Usually, when you love something, you want to possess it. And in
the process of possessing, you make the beautiful thing ugly. Puja is
the contrary. Puja earns honour. Honour creation. Honour your own body.
Honouring leads to devotion; surrender. Surrender to the divine brings
total rest from all anxieties, from all wants.


In devotion, in that process of burning, longing will arise in you.
With love, there is bound to be longing. If there is longing, know that
there is also love. They are two sides of the same coin. Usually, when
longing arises, we are in a hurry to finish it off. But this longing is
very beautiful. It will transform your mind so totally.



Ancient Love says, ‘‘okay, you want to play, go play for some time.
Want to get into the mud, okay get messy, doesn’t matter. We have a
good soap and detergent to bring you back home’’. Ancient Love is not
judgemental. Ancient Love does not punish you. God is thought to be
sitting there as a judge and that on Judgement Day, He’s going to give
rewards for your merits and punishment for your bad actions. That
doesn’t indicate love.



Any judge, any businessman can do that, any distributor can do
that. Then God is just like a ‘duty bound’ somebody. Why then should
you worship God if He is going to give you according to your merits?
Why should you bother about God? Your merits will give you good fruits
and demerits will give you problems. Just look to merits and demerits,
don’t bother about God.



No, no there is no judgement, no punishment at all; no teaching a
lesson to you either; it is all just a game, a play. That is Ancient
Love. Love knows only to play, not judge. Realise every moment, it is
all a game, it’s all fun, although it doesn’t appear to be. And if you
don’t understand any of those things, never mind.



Devotion is your nature. When you rest in your own nature, there is
no conflict. But usually we feel a conflict. We feel bad about a
negative quality we have. Negativity pulls you down. Your positive
qualities bring pride and arrogance in you. Your whole life becomes a
big weight. When you offer it all to the Master, you become free. You
become like a flower. You can again smile and rejoice in the moment.
What remains in you is pure love.



When love glows, it is bliss,/When it flows, it is compassion,/When
it blows, it is anger,/When it ferments, it is jealously,/When it is
all Nos, it is hatred,/When it acts, it is perfection,/When love Knows,
it is me! (self)



You don’t need to worry to maintain knowledge. When knowledge is
lodged in you as wisdom, it will never leave you. Wisdom lodges itself
in your heart. Make the Divine your Valentine (your sweet beloved).
This is the last thing to do and the first thing to do. Keep your heart
in a safe place; it is too delicate. Events, small things, make strong
impressions on it. And you cannot find a better place than the Divine
to keep your heart safe and your mind sane.



See the Divine in your Valentine and make the Divinity your
Valentine (your sweet beloved). Just BE... and know that you are
LOVED... that is BELOVED!