Christianity
The Christian understanding is
that love comes from God. The love of man and woman—eros in Greek—and
the unselfish love of others (agape),
are often contrasted as "ascending" and "descending" love,
respectively, but are ultimately the same thing.
There are several Greek words for
"love" that are regularly referred to in Christian circles.
§
Agape: In
the New Testament, agapē is charitable, selfless, altruistic,
and unconditional. It is parental love, seen as creating goodness in the world;
it is the way God is seen to love humanity, and it is
seen as the kind of love that Christians aspire to have for one another.
§
Phileo:
Also used in the New Testament, phileo is a human response to something that
is found to be delightful. Also known as "brotherly love."
§
Two
other words for love
in the Greek language, eros (sexual
love) and storge (child-to-parent
love), were never used in the New Testament.
Sacred Love Versus Profane Love (1602–03) by Giovanni Baglione. Intended as an attack on his hated enemy
the artistCaravaggio, it shows a boy (hinting at Caravaggio's
homosexuality) on one side, a devil with Caravaggio's face on the other, and
between an angel representing pure, meaning non-erotic, love.
The Apostle Paul glorified
love as the most important virtue of all. Describing love in the famous poem in 1 Corinthians, he
wrote, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not
boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not
easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and
always perseveres." (1 Cor. 13:4–7, NIV)
The Apostle John wrote, "For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16–17,
NIV) John also wrote, "Dear friends, let us love one another
for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:7–8, NIV)
Saint Augustine says that one
must be able to decipher the difference between love and lust. Lust, according
to Saint Augustine, is an overindulgence, but to love and be loved is what he
has sought for his entire life. He even says, “I was in love with love.” Finally, he does fall in love and is
loved back, by God. Saint Augustine says the only one who can love you truly
and fully is God, because love with a human only allows for flaws such as “jealousy,
suspicion, fear, anger, and contention.” According to Saint Augustine, to love
God is “to attain the peace which is yours.” (Saint Augustine's Confessions)
Christian theologians see God as the source of love, which
is mirrored in humans and their own loving relationships. Influential Christian
theologian C.S. Lewiswrote a book called The Four Loves. Benedict XVI wrote
his first encyclical on "God is love". He said that a human being, created in the
image of God, who is love, is able to practice love; to give himself to God and
others (agape) and by receiving and experiencing God's love in
contemplation (eros). This life of love, according to him, is the life of the
saints such as Teresa of Calcutta and
the Blessed Virgin Mary and is the direction Christians take
when they believe that God loves them.
In Christianity the practical
definition of love is best summarised by St. Thomas Aquinas,
who defined love as "to will the good of another," or to desire for
another to succeed.[10] This
is the explanation of the Christian need to love others, including their enemies.
As Thomas Aquinas explains, Christian love is motivated by the need to see
others succeed in life, to be good people.
Judaism
In Hebrew, Ahava is the most commonly used term for
both interpersonal love and love between God and God's creations. Chesed,
often translated as loving-kindness, is used to describe many forms of love
between human beings.
The commandment to love other
people is given in the Torah,
which states, "Love your neighbor like yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). The Torah's commandment to
love God "with all your heart, with all
your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5)
is taken by the Mishnah (a central text of the Jewish oral law)
to refer to good deeds, willingness to sacrifice one's life rather than commit
certain serious transgressions, willingness to sacrifice all of one's
possessions, and being grateful to the Lord despite adversity (tractate
Berachoth 9:5). Rabbinic literature differs as to how this love can be
developed, e.g., by contemplating divine deeds or witnessing the marvels of
nature. As for love between marital partners, this is deemed an essential
ingredient to life: "See life with the wife you love" (Ecclesiastes 9:9).
Islam
Love encompasses the Islamic view
of life as universal brotherhood that applies to all who hold faith. Amongst
the 99 names of God (Allah), there is the name Al-Wadud, or "the Loving
One," which is found in Surah [Quran 11:90] as
well as Surah [Quran 85:14]. God is also referenced at the
beginning of every chapter in the Qur'an as Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim, or the "Most
Compassionate" and the "Most Merciful", indicating that nobody
is more loving, compassionate and benevolent than God. The Qur'an refers to God
as being "full of loving kindness."
The Qur'an exhorts Muslim
believers to treat all people, those who have not persecuted them, with birr or "deep kindness" as stated
in Surah [Quran 6:8-9]. Birr is also used by the Qur'an in
describing the love and kindness that children must show to their parents.
Ishq, or divine love, is the emphasis of Sufism in the Islamic tradition.
Practitioners of Sufism believe that love is a projection of the essence of God
to the universe. God desires to recognize beauty, and as if one looks at a
mirror to see oneself, God "looks" at himself within the dynamics of
nature. Since everything is a reflection of God, the school of Sufism practices
to see the beauty inside the apparently ugly. Sufism is often referred to as
the religion of love.[citation
needed] God
in Sufism is referred to in three main terms, which are the Lover, Loved, and
Beloved, with the last of these terms being often seen in Sufi poetry. A common
viewpoint of Sufism is that through love, humankind can get back to its
inherent purity and grace. The saints of Sufism are infamous for being
"drunk" due to their love of God; hence, the constant reference to
wine in Sufi poetry and music.
Eastern religions
Buddhism
In Buddhism, Kāma is sensuous, sexual love. It is an
obstacle on the path to enlightenment, since
it is selfish. Karuṇā is
compassion and mercy, which reduces the suffering of others. It is
complementary to wisdom and is necessary for enlightenment. Adveṣa and mettā are benevolent love. This love is
unconditional and requires considerable self-acceptance. This is quite
different from ordinary love, which is usually about attachment and sex and
which rarely occurs without self-interest. Instead, in Buddhism it refers to
detachment and unselfish interest in others' welfare.
The Bodhisattva ideal
in Mahayana Buddhism involves the complete renunciation of oneself in order to
take on the burden of a suffering world. The strongest motivation one has in
order to take the path of the Bodhisattva is the idea of salvation within
unselfish, altruistic love for all sentient beings.
Hinduism
Kama (left)
with Rati on a temple wall of Chennakesava Temple, Belur
In Hinduism, kāma is pleasurable, sexual love,
personified by the god Kamadeva.
For many Hindu schools, it is the third end (Kama) in life. Kamadeva is often pictured holding a bow
of sugar cane and
an arrow of flowers; he may ride upon a great parrot. He is usually accompanied
by his consort Rati and his companion Vasanta, lord of the
spring season. Stone images of Kamadeva and Rati can be seen on the door of the
Chennakeshava temple at Belur, in Karnataka, India.Maara is another name for kāma.
In contrast to kāma, prema –
or prem – refers to elevated love. Karuna is
compassion and mercy, which impels one to help reduce the suffering of others. Bhaktiis
a Sanskrit term, meaning "loving devotion to
the supreme God." A person who practices bhakti is called a bhakta.
Hindu writers, theologians, and philosophers have distinguished nine forms of bhakti,
which can be found in the Bhagavata Purana and
works by Tulsidas.
The philosophical work Narada Bhakti Sutras,
written by an unknown author (presumed to be Narada),
distinguishes eleven forms of love.
In certain Vaishnava sects within
Hinduism, attaining unaldulterated, unconditional and incessant love for
Godhead is considered the foremost goal of life. Gaudiya Vaishnavas who worship
Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the cause of all causes
consider Love for Godhead (Prema) to act in two ways: sambhoga and vipralambha
(union and separation) — two opposites .[32]
In the condition of separation,
there is an acute yearning for being with the beloved and in the condition of
union there is supreme happiness and nectarean. Gaudiya Vaishnavas consider
that Krishna-prema (Love for Godhead) is not fire but that it still burns away
one's material desires. They consider that Kṛṣṇa-prema is not a weapon, but it
still pierces the heart. It is not water, but it washes away everything — one's
pride, religious rules, and one's shyness. Krishna-prema is considered to make
one drown in the ocean of transcendental ecstasy and pleasure. The love of
Radha, a cowherd girl, for Krishna is often cited as the supreme example of
love for Godhead by Gaudiya Vaishnavas. Radha is considered to be the internal
potency of Krishna, and is the supreme lover of Godhead. Her example of love is
considered to be beyond the understanding of material realm as it surpasses any
form of selfish love or lust that is visibile in the material world. The
reciprocal love between Radha (the supreme lover) and Krishna (God as the
Supremely Loved) is the subject of many poetic compositions in India such as
the Gita Govinda and
Hari Bhakti Shuddhodhaya.
In the Bhakti tradition within
Hinduism, it is believed that execution of devotional service to God leads to
the development of Love for God (taiche bhakti-phale krsne prema upajaya), and
as love for God increases in the heart, the more one becomes free from material
contamination (krishna-prema asvada haile, bhava nasa paya). Being perfectly in
love with God or Krishna makes one perfectly free from material contamination.
and this is the ultimate way of salvation or liberation. In this tradition,
salvation or liberation is considered inferior to love, and just an incidental
by-product. Being absorbed in Love for God is considered to be the perfection
of life.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar