Often
what we consider as love for our family members, relatives, friends and even gurus
is mere asakti or moha.
But, in fact, they are opposite to each other.
Love
is the nature of consciousness (purush) whereas moha is an
attribute of the mind (prakriti).Love has no object (it is universal – for everyone and everything around) whereas moha is directed towards identified persons, ideas or things.
Love is beyond ego whereas moha is offspring of ego.
Love
is an effortless expression of consciousness whereas the moha arises
from the need for physical, emotional, material and even perceived
spiritual needs which one expects to get fulfilled through others – a person
under the spell of moha tries to use others for his own sake (sacrifice
is also a device for getting something in return) – it makes a person beggar
(being in needs, as aforesaid) though he often pretends to be otherwise.
Love
is liberation (mukti) for the self as also for everyone around whereas moha
results in possessiveness of the object of moha.
Moha,
being offspring of ego, creates an illusion of responsibility (self worth) –
concern for the welfare and well being of near and dear ones. This concern causes anxiety, guilt etc. in
the person and he suffers. The concern
also causes a need to control and guide the lives of others – imprison them –
trample on their independence. Others also
suffer as the saying goes – paradheen sapnehu sukh nahin. If one consciously looks around, one will
become aware of reach and consequences moha – it's reach is far and wide.
Love
is remedy for all the ills (it heals and liberates) whereas moha is root
cause of all the ills (it injures the self and also the objects of moha).
Till
we experientially know love (through bhakti and gyan), the false
coin, moha will continue to be mistaken for love. But to know love experientially is the
ultimate object of life. On the way, a sadhaka
may only have some vague perception of the distinction between love and moha.
But
the vague perception is also good enough for moving forward if one is conscious
of it. To clear the vagueness and making
the distinction clear; apart from regular reading of scriptures, satsang
and other spiritual practices; what one needs to be conscious of is the fact
that others need freedom – others are as much individuals in their own right as
one is – they come from the same source – they have their own aspirations and
reservations – they require to be accepted as such with their preferences,
prejudices and perceived limitations.
One needs to deeply understand and be conscious of the fact that not
respecting freedom and individuality of others is an act of aggression (himsa).
This
consciousness and understanding is the key to one’s transformation and then one
will gradually find that one is unburdened and others are comfortable and happy
in his presence. Whole atmosphere is
light.
