Spiritual love – the best motivator

Love is a healthy motivator

Every one of us need motivation in life. We encounter distractions and difficulties in our lives. We need support and encouragement to overcome difficulties. We need a focused heart to overcome distractions.  We need appreciation and fulfilment for our achievements. We may think that we are self-motivated. Then, we are being driven by a sensual pleasure or an egoistic pleasure: “Let me enjoy this or that, Let me show to the world what I am”. Our relationships will all remain utilitarian and selfish. We are more prone to confusion and distraction because there is no one else to observe us. Our achievements at most may pander to our senses or they may bloat our ego (BG 16.13-15). We remain empty hearted or hard hearted.  It is entirely different when our motivation is love – pure selfless love. When we feel loved through affection and care from our beloved – be it mother, friend, spouse etc, we feel grateful and we wish to reciprocate by pleasing our beloved. There is someone to support and encourage us in our difficulties. The love in the heart produces determination and intense focus in our endeavors to please our beloved. For eg: a mother is ready to go to any extent to care for her child. There is someone to appreciate our achievements. Our achievements are fulfilling to the heart. We will radiate the same warmth and selflessness in our interaction with others. Thus, motivation by love is far better and efficient than being self-motivated.

Why spiritual love?

The loving relationships in this world are based on the body. Our bodies are subjected to decay and death. So are the relationships based on the body and the resultant motivation. The relationships in this world are also tainted by selfishness. Eg – a mother may see her son to some extent as an earning member rather than as a loving child. The motivation based on worldly relationships is limited by space, time and selfishness. On the other hand, the spiritual love – the love of God for us is not limited by anything. It is eternal, completely pure and selfless. God’s love for us is so intense that our heart is completely inundated with love (BG 6.20-23). The resultant determination to reciprocate with God is beyond comparison (BG 18.33). We will be able to understand our self properly becoming aware of our potential skills and talents. God is fully powerful to help us surmount any type of obstacles. Through spiritual love, our mind and senses become purified and we will become immune to the worldly distractions. Therefore, spiritual love is most sustainable and effective form of motivation.

How to develop spiritual love?

The first step in developing spiritual love is to become aware of God and his love for us. This is described in various spiritual texts like Bible, Bhagavad Gita, Quran and others. They also describe the process of gradually developing this love. This is done through worship, meditation and service, learnt from experienced and expert spiritual teachers and practitioners. As we develop this spiritual love, we will be able to see all the activities from a spiritual perspective. Every activity will be an offering of love to God (BG 6.30). Being spiritually motivated, we will be able to put our best effort and full heart in everything we do.

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