'Love Is A Many Splendored Thing' is one of the most poignant movies I have ever seen. At the time (which was several decades ago) the real significance of the title did not register with me. Now after all these years it has dawned on me that it was not just a movie title but also the statement of a universal truth. Love is such a common word. Everyone uses it in some context or other; but do we really understand what love is? To put it more bluntly, can we ever understand love? Understanding is always of the mind and in its true sense love transcends mind.

The graphic representation of this transcendence is seen in the practice of using the heart symbol in the context of love. But the significance of this symbolism is lost in its commercialization. The marketing of products related to the observance of Valentine's Day is a perfect example of exploitation of this symbol. It is an unfortunate fact that in the modern world anything, however sublime, is exploited for material gain. Love is essentially spiritual; when brought to the material level it ceases to be love.

In the normal usage of the word 'love' there is an inherent tendency to associate it with an object. But love is a sublime feeling that is not directed to anything or anyone. Leaving that aspect aside for the moment let us consider love only from the common human perspective. In this limited usage also it has many, almost infinite hues and colors. There is mother's love for the child, sister's love for brother, husband's love for wife, friend's love for friend, and so on. The list is as long as that of relationships. Then there is the love for abstract things - love for nature, love for music, love for books, love for work, love for country, and so on.

In all these categories of love there is a relationship involved. Whenever love has an object it involves a sense of gratification consciously or subconsciously. Even if it is a selfless love in a worldly sense, the self is involved through the desire for gratification. True love does not have a motive of any kind.

Love is often described as a (or the most) sublime emotion. However, emotion by its very nature involves feelings for someone or something and thus it is related to some object. But love can be devoid of any emotion even in this context. Love for mankind or for life in general need not have any emotion involved. Emotions come into play only if there is some form of attachment. When there is no motive and no desire love is not an emotion but the innate human nature in action. In that sense love is divine.

When love is considered only in terms of physical relationships it gets to its lowest denominator. It then becomes lust and loses all its purity. Unfortunately in this material world that has become the most frequent degeneration of the concept of love. The modern epidemic of broken marriages is a sad reminder of the difference between lust and love. To be an enduring relationship a marriage needs some substantial values to rest on when lust and passion die, as they inevitably do.

In this so-called civilized world the societies are based on relationships, which are reciprocal. So love is also considered a reciprocal relationship; but true love does not require reciprocation. It is like sunshine, it is not directed toward anything in particular and does not expect any return.