We may be great men in the eyes of the world, yet our heart longs to be with our loved ones. We may have the whole world at our beck and call, yet when we fall sick, it is our mother’s love and care which soothes us on our way to recovery. We may possess tremendous knowledge of things, yet there is a joy in being defeated by the broken words of a little child. Whatever our external position or accomplishments, what touches the heart is love, which becomes manifest to us in various forms.
Even Krishna, who possesses the strength to kill all the demons, enjoys wrestling with his friends and is happy being defeated by them. He has the whole cosmic manifestation within himself, yet he enjoys being tied up by Mother Yashoda for being naughty. He is the husband of the Goddess of Fortune, yet He finds pleasure in stealing butter from the homes of Vraj. And the list is endless. We see Him as Supreme, but for Him, love for His devotees is supreme. Moreover, he conceals his supremacy and divinity so that there is an unceasing flow of this love.
Love as the natural longing of the soul
Love, according to the ancient literatures, is the culmination of the process of self-actualisation that a living being undergoes. In the theistic traditions of India, love is said to be the essential characteristic of the soul or the atma. ‘Dharma’, according to Srimad Bhagavatam, is defined as the inseparable and defining characteristic of something or someone. Just like the characteristic of sugar is to be sweet, the defining characteristic or dharma of the soul is to love and serve. The misdirection of this innate propensity to love and serve towards the temporary things of this world is what keeps the soul in a state of constant anxiety and dissatisfaction. All we have to do is to redirect this same propensity towards the Supreme Lord Krishna, and that is when the soul attains the zenith of fulfilment, a stage where he is completely aware of his true nature and the nature of his loving relationship with God.
Reviving love as life's ultimate purpose
The Srimad Bhagavatam goes a step further to say that reviving our lost relationship with God, which is of eternal love, is the most sublime cause, which every human being should be striving for, as is evident from the teachings of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and many other prominent saints like Ramanuja, Madhva etc. Rightly so, the Srimad Bhagavatam is replete with numerous stories of loving exchanges between the Lord and His devotees, and the pastimes of Chaitanya Charitamrta further exemplify this love.
The journey towards attaining that goal begins when we start hearing about God, chanting His Holy Names, engaging in His loving service, and is accelerated when we perform these activities in the association of like-minded people. We may not experience the kind of loving emotions towards God that His pure devotees do, still there is some taste we get in these activities, reciprocal to our sincerity and dedication, which certainly uplifts us and gives us a renewed vigour to face life's vicissitudes.
Love for Krishna as most uplifting
The Puranas are filled with innumerable stories of how people engaging in heinously sinful activities were transformed by the message of love, which they gratefully received through the saints of their times. Srila Prabhupada was the messenger of God, who by his causelessly merciful endeavours, transmitted this message of love to the western world, and subsequently to India too, and enabled millions to raise themselves to the spiritual level by giving them an opportunity and a wonderful platform in the form of ISKCON, to express their love towards God.
During one of my spiritual trips to South India, a famous saint in the Madhva tradition told us, "The commonality between Krishna and this world is attraction. But the difference is that attraction to this world pulls down a person who is moving upwards whereas attraction to Krishna enables a person to rise and move upwards, even if he is moving downwards in the journey of spiritual evolution."
Thus, we rise from whichever level we are on the spiritual ladder, when we start performing activities expressing our love for God, Krishna. So if one decides to love Krishna with all his heart, it is guaranteed that he will rise to attain the supreme fulfilment of life.