Develop Natural Love
In the spiritual journey, the cultivation of love is not an optional virtue but an essential practice. The great masters teach that the natural state of the soul is unconditional love, and that all spiritual practices are…
What Is Natural Love?
Natural love is not the emotional attachment that the world calls love. It is a state of being in which the heart remains open to all beings, without discrimination or condition. It is the love that a mother feels for her child, expanded to encompass all of creation.
How Kriya Yoga Develops Love
The practice of Kriya Yoga develops natural love through several mechanisms:
Opening the Heart Chakra
As kundalini energy rises through the chakras, the Anahata (heart) chakra opens, dissolving the barriers that separate us from others.
Dissolving the Ego
The ego is the root of all division. As the practitioner experiences the Self beyond the ego, the sense of separation from others naturally falls away.
Expanding Awareness
Meditation expands the field of awareness until the practitioner perceives the same divine essence in all beings, from the smallest insect to the greatest saint.
The Bhakti Path
In the yoga tradition, the path of devotion (Bhakti Yoga) is one of the four main paths to realisation. Through practices such as kirtan (sacred chanting), prayer, and surrender to the Divine, the practitioner cultivates a heart that overflows with love.
Love as the Foundation
All the great masters emphasise that without love, spiritual practice is incomplete. Knowledge without love becomes pride. Power without love becomes tyranny. But love with knowledge and power becomes service to all beings.
Practical Exercises
Begin each meditation session by generating a feeling of love in the heart. Direct this love first toward yourself, then toward a loved one, then toward a neutral person, then toward a difficult person, and finally toward all beings without exception. This is the practice of Metta, or loving-kindness, adapted for the Kriya yogi.