Is true love a dream, or can it be reality?

So, what is the quality of love that we all seek, and yet seems so absent in our world? Love is often associated with emotions of attachment or romance; however, love of a spiritual nature offers something deeper: A feeling of being genuinely cared for and valued. It creates a sense of belonging.

Of being protected and safe. This love heals, transforms, and nurtures. It becomes the foundation for growth, balance, stability, and a true sense of self-worth.

Dadi Janki’s teachings say to experience true love, we should ask: ‘Is my heart clean? Is it honest? Is it open?’.

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If it is not, if my heart is still broken, I will not be able to experience true love. It is honesty that shows us what love is, and real love shows us what honesty is. This invites us to consider that love is not simply an emotion, but an innate quality of the soul – a value one chooses to live by.

Love expresses acceptance, closeness, and above all, deep respect. To develop such a quality of love requires deep inner work. Often, the obstacles are personal desires, expectations, and the clash of egos.

One must be prepared to let go and allow others to be as they are. Without this inner work, dependencies are often mistaken for love, leading to a rollercoaster of possessiveness, jealousy, insecurity, fear, and selfishness. Patterns that seem all too common today.

One tool for cultivating this awareness is Raja Yoga meditation. This practice begins by grounding the individual in the awareness of one’s spiritual identity, the core of one’s being. We often define ourselves by the many labels and roles we carry: race, gender, nationality, religion, position, or possessions.

These identities are circumstantial and subject to change, yet many of our emotions remain tied to them. Beneath these layers lies a spiritual core imbued with the qualities of peace, love, wisdom, power, and joy. It brings the realisation that all I need is within me.

I am enough. From this understanding, a natural love for the self emerges, fostering contentment and reducing the neediness that fuels the pursuit of the elusive dream of perfect love. As Khalil Gibran beautifully expressed, love gives naught but itself, and takes naught but from itself.

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed. For love is sufficient unto love. From this awareness, I become more open to the presence of divine love.

The universe and all creation are expressions of that divine love – the one source of pure love. Through silence and meditative practice, I learn to attune myself to this subtle, pure love. It is like a river meeting the ocean, expanding into vastness and a sense of being unlimited.

This experience naturally translates into care, compassion, kindness, generosity, and a life of benevolence. In silence, I look into the mirror of divinity and recognise my own truth and beauty. The love I cultivate for myself becomes the love I reflect in all my interactions, with myself, with others, and with the environment. I am love.

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