Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD.
Published on www.academy-advaita.com
The Netherlands
20 December 2017
Prema
“Love”
Prema means love in the Sanskrit language. Prema, meaning, love is a human value preached by every religion around the world. If prema is not lived in every moment of the day a human being remains an animal, though he or she may behave like a human.
Therefore, it is important to understand what prema really means. Prema is repeatedly preached to everyone who believes God, that prema should be lived in every moment of the day anywhere, which includes in the house as well.
Everyone says that they love everyone in their house and family. So it is important to understand what prema really means. If an individual lives with prema in every moment of the day in their house, religion will not repeatedly preach to live in prema. That every religion does repeat indicates that the preacher knows that everyone does not live prema, but only behaves as if they do.
Everyone loves everyone in the family if everyone in the family lives according to his or her expectations. This expectation is not prema. This expectation is business and not prema, because an expectation is business.
Prema is unconditional, meaning it is not based on expectations. Prema is living with everyone in the family as they are, because the intelligence in life or God has manifested every member of the family.
Prema means that everyone who understands God loves his or her mother-in-law unconditionally, just as everyone who understands God loves his or her own mother unconditionally.
Prema means that everyone who understands God loves his or her father-in-law unconditionally, just as everyone who understands God loves his or her own father unconditionally.
Prema means that everyone who understands God loves his or her brother-in-law unconditionally, just as everyone who understands God loves his or her own brother unconditionally.
Prema means that everyone who understands God loves his or her sister-in-law unconditionally, just as everyone who understands God loves his or her own sister unconditionally.
Prema means that everyone lives in the house with unconditional love. Prema means that anger and argument by anyone to anyone in the house is never present. If everyone who understands God lives in prema in every moment of his or her daily life in the house or out of the house, he or she is close to God or the intelligence in life, otherwise not.
Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
© Copyright V. S. Shankar 2017
Editor’s Note:
Not only is it customary, but it is also irresistible, when one human being wishes to express his or her love for another, to declare this with words such as ‘I love you’. This expression serves as an exclusive bond between two people and is usually confirmed as a social and legal bond in a public ceremony. It may be the case, however, that this bond weakens as the initial expression of love weakens. Prema, love, is gifted to man as an enduring value that needs no words for confirmation. ‘Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.’ Deep understanding of prema as gifted in this article is itself prema.
Julian Capper, UK.
German Translator’s Note:
Love by the mind is measured in quantity. This is a superficial love of the mind: Based on opposites such as conditioned preferences and reluctances, the measurable love of the mind comes and goes and is replaced by hatred and anger from time to time. On the other hand, wise understanding of love is not measured in quantity but realized as a certain quality. It is the quality which Dr. Shankar explains as Prema: unconditional love. Prema is the hallmark of every true family, in which love is unmeasurable and invaluable.
Marcus Stegmaier, Germany.