Volume
Vol. 11, Mysticism in Life
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11. Love
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Selflessness
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Vol. 11, Mysticism in Life
11. Love
Selflessness
When we look at this subject from a mystic's point of view, we see that love has two aspects: love in itself, and the shadow of love fallen on the earth. The former is heavenly, the latter earthly. The former develops self-abnegation in a person, the latter makes him more selfish than he was before. Virtues such as tolerance, forgiveness, mercy, or compassion rise of themselves in the heart which is awakened to love; and infirmities such as jealousy, hatred, and all manner of prejudice begin to spring up when the shadow of love has fallen on the heart of the mortal. The former love raises man to immortality, the latter turns the immortal soul into a mortal being. A poet has said that the first step in love teaches selflessness; and if that is not experienced then one has taken a step in the wrong direction, although one calls it love. For man has learned from the moment he is born on earth the words "I am", and it is love alone that teaches him to say, "Thou art, not I"; for no soul can love and yet affirm its own existence.
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