Love is not the purpose of life is it? Dear Dr. Chopra, you always hear everyone talk about Love and how it’s really the only important thing in life, and finding and experiencing Love is our purpose in life – “its all for Love” but that’s not true is it? Most people when they talk about Love, are talking about emotional Love and that’s just an illusion…right? Our purpose in life is to become self aware – Enlightened, and Enlightenment is beyond emotion. I find it really depressing and heartbreaking to think that the emotional Love I have for my family, people and the world is nothing more than an illusion, and really meaningless. As desperately as I want to attain Enlightenment, there is a part of me that finds it unappealing and cold. What is the point of feeling emotions when its all just an illusion? One day when I attain Enlightenment will I lose all my emotion? Or do I have this all wrong?
Deepak's Response:
Awakening to a full awareness of our essential nature is the purpose of life. What we discover in enlightenment is that our true self is pure love, joy and knowledge. This love is our real and immortal existence, and if we were to compare this love with the love of infatuation and ego desire, then we could say the former is real and the latter is an illusion.
However, when we realize our pure loving essence as our Self, we imbue all our emotions and feelings with depth and reality of our core consciousness. That means that the love we feel for lovers, family and friends is just as real and full as our soul. So forget the old false notion that enlightenment is some cold, dry unemotional existence where one gives up all illusory feeling for the sake of “reality.” That misguided idea of spirituality is the actual illusion here.
In truth, when you find your true Self, you find your love and joy, and you will express that in every thought and action in your life.
Love,
Deepak
