Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I Times of India I 8th June '12 | Page 18

Love means strong affection. Love is a natural phenomenon; an elevated kind of positive response towards someone you feel is loveable. Love cannot be created in a vacuum; it requires a strong base of affection.

Love of God is this same kind of strong affection. The basis of this love is quite natural when one discovers that one was created by God and that it was God who has given us human beings such bounties as planet earth, the life-support system, oxygen, water and food, for instance. All these things were not created by humans. They are precious gifts bestowed by someone else. When one discovers this fact, one naturally becomes a lover of God. Thus, love of God is the outcome of one's discovery.

Every sincere person reaches a stage in life when he faces some basic questions such as, how did i come into existence, how is it that i find myself in a world that is extremely favourable to me? One realises that this compatibility between man and the rest of the universe is so unique that science has observed that the universe has been custom-made for man. Love is in fact an acknowledgment of this. When we endeavour to acknowledge our super-benefactor, we call it love of God.

Although love is an inner feeling, it comes naturally to us to give it an external expression. It is said that man is a social animal, so it is but natural that one's inner love should also find some expression in terms of social relationships. It is this social expression of one's inner feeling that is called peace. In terms of God, love is a psychological acknowledgment of the Creator, and in terms of society, love is manifested in peaceful living among other members of society.

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It is not relevant to ask how, if we cannot see God, we can express our love towards Him. This contention may have been valid in the era before nuclear science, but after the emergence of nuclear science it is totally invalid. Nuclear science has successfully established that nothing is observable in this world. For example, everyone loves his mother, but in terms of modern science, no one is able to see his mother. One's mother, as well as other things, is nothing but a combination of numerous unobservable electrons. In fact, 'mother' is an unobservable inner being whom we see with reference to her external body. Similarly, God is an unobservable being of this kind whom we see through His creation. In such a world, it is irrational to say that one cannot love God because one cannot observe Him.

Love of God is not simply a philosophical issue: it is rooted in the very nature of man. The fact is that if you receive some good things from anyone, you cannot do other than acknowledge his generosity. In this sense, love of God is a natural phenomenon.

If you add a pinch of dye to a glass of water, all of the water becomes coloured. So, too, in the case of love. When a person has love in his heart for his Creator, at the same time he cannot resist showing his love to his neighbours. And in this electronic age, the whole world is one's neighbour.

Love has two dimensions: theoretical and practical. In terms of the theoretical dimension, love means love of God and in terms of the social, love means love of all beings.