No doubt that the topic of discussion is a universal concept all over the world that transcends both natural and artificial boundary, however inasmuch as we are different, different perspective exists from which ‘love’ is perceived.
This makes the definition contentious, the mode of practice to vary and the type to be diverse. The theme in fact x-ray the way ‘modern man’ perceive love, he sees love as a game! Though a rational being is won't to agree, this statement that grew out of our unconsciousness has directed our attitude and dominated our disposition to the concept of love.
Love exists in various forms. Generally speaking, three major forms of love exist, these are:
- Agape love,
- Filial love and
- Sensual love.
Agape love which is from the Greek word that means pure, is contended to be the purest state of love that have been declared impracticable by the most pragmatic of human beings. This love is the one preached by Jesus in the Bible, the love that knows no race, color, affiliation, religion, sex nor gender.
The love lends sainthood to your enemy and bares no grudge! The rigor of exhibiting this form of love has made many to contend that it only exists as a figment of our imagination!
The second form of love is quite understandable and obvious; this is filial love - derived from the Greek word ‘phyla’, which means fellowship or brother hood.
As it implies, it is that form of love which exists between relatives, it is the proverbial ‘blood is thicker than water’. Comparably, it is that which would make a President commute the death sentence on his errant son notwithstanding the political implications, it is the one that would make Mr. Walker defend Lindh Walker till the justice department stop labeling him a terrorist, it is the form of love that knows all barriers except blood!
The last form in which love exists I normally choose to call lust, it is called sensual love.
It is the most ephemeral, the most hypocritical and the most practicable! It is the most practicable because we as human are naturally selfish, hypocritical and ephemeral; hence, this seems to be ‘love made for man’.
It naturally exists only between people of opposite sexes but with civilization and its anomalies, this case is no more exclusive. Sensual love can exist this moment and evaporate the next, it is the most outlandish, most overwhelming and celebrated, it is also the only form of love that ensures man persistence on mother earth, it is love with a ‘sinful’ product, and it is ‘Adamnic’ love!
Over the years, as civilization grew and as man grew to be more materialistic and carnal, a day emerged to celebrate ‘love’ as practiced by man. This day was called the ‘Valentines day’ in commemoration of a man that was Agape love impersonated, St. Valentine!
This is sure an irony. It has become more apparent that the day is now meant for a celebration of hypocrisy, an allusion to the pitiable state of the human soul and the lack of love that persist in the world. Much as we would want to prove that all religion preach love, though in different forms, increased spirituality has marked increased wickedness, from religious bigotry of the medieval era to the slavery of the last four centuries, to the colonialism and imperialism that replaced it, down to the racism that was a follow up.
Today it exists as terrorism, as pacifism, as capitalism, as communism all these ‘sms’ are the different forms of wickedness man have perpetrated in the last two millenniums.
Though the three dominant religion in the world, Christian, Islam and Hinduism profess love as a basic tenets of their religion, all have used these religions as a potent tool of violence, oppression and repression in the world. The Christian crusaders come to memory, the Roman Catholic oppression of the middle ages, the slavery and colonialism perpetrated by the United Kingdom and the sheer wickedness called racism of which the United States was chief!
We are quick to remember the unholy wars called Jihad of the famous assassins in the 12th Century Arab world, the many Jihads across the Sahara, the countless shedding of innocent blood from Spain to Namibia even to the coast of the Indian Ocean, the recent wave of fundamentalism and terrorism are the unholy heritage Islamism in its wicked form has bequeathed to the world, what shall we say of the mindless act of the India-Pakistani separation, where nearly a million Muslims were killed by their Hindu counterparts, all in the name of religion!
Jesus Christ preached love, Mohammed though preached love but only to your Muslim brother, he preached tolerance to an ‘infidel’, the Bunya of Hindu mountain abhors uncalled violence; why then the mindless killing in the name of religion, yet we hypocritical celebration of such that we lack.
Finally, this pinpoints the fact that we as human can only celebrate love if we learn to accept and tolerate our differences, live in peace and not boss one another. It is only when the rich nations of the world learn to help the poor ones which they impoverished, when the poor learn not to terrorize the rich that we can truly celebrate love and then we shall say Happy Valentine, without our cheeks turning red! We would then be able to look our fellow brother and sisters in the face and say, "love is not a game, it is life!"
Guides
