Universal love

Expressions researched:
"universal love"

CC Madhya-lila

Śrīla Vāsudeva Datta Ṭhākura is universal love itself, for he was willing to sacrifice everything and fully engage in the service of the Supreme Lord.

CC Madhya 15.163, Purport:

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives the following commentary on this verse. In the Western countries, Christians believe that Lord Jesus Christ, their spiritual master, appeared in order to eradicate all the sins of his disciples. To this end, Lord Jesus Christ appeared and disappeared. Here, however, we find Śrī Vāsudeva Datta Ṭhākura and Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura to be many millions of times more advanced than even Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ relieved only his followers from all sinful reactions, but Vāsudeva Datta is here prepared to accept the sins of everyone in the universe. So the comparative position of Vāsudeva Datta is millions of times better than that of Lord Jesus Christ. A Vaiṣṇava is so liberal that he is prepared to risk everything to rescue the conditioned souls from material existence. Śrīla Vāsudeva Datta Ṭhākura is universal love itself, for he was willing to sacrifice everything and fully engage in the service of the Supreme Lord.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

As such, if we concentrate our loving propensities upon Kṛṣṇa only, then immediately universal love, unity and tranquillity will be automatically realized.

Krsna Book Preface:

Since Kṛṣṇa is all-attractive, one should know that all his desires should be focused on Kṛṣṇa. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the individual person is the proprietor or master of his own body but that Kṛṣṇa, who is the Supersoul present in everyone's heart, is the supreme proprietor and supreme master of each and every individual body. As such, if we concentrate our loving propensities upon Kṛṣṇa only, then immediately universal love, unity and tranquillity will be automatically realized. When one waters the root of a tree, he automatically waters the branches, twigs, leaves and flowers; when one supplies food to the stomach through the mouth, he satisfies all the various parts of the body.

Because your minds are now fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Soul, universal love has automatically developed in you.

Krsna Book 47:

Since the perfection of such austerity was completely manifested in the lives of the gopīs, Uddhava was fully satisfied upon seeing their transcendental position. He continued: "My dear gopīs, the mentality you have developed in relationship with Kṛṣṇa is very, very difficult to attain, even for great sages and saintly persons. You have attained the highest perfectional stage of life. It is a great boon for you that you have fixed your minds upon Kṛṣṇa and have decided to have Kṛṣṇa only, giving up your families, homes, relatives, husbands and children for the sake of the Supreme Personality. Because your minds are now fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Soul, universal love has automatically developed in you. I think myself very fortunate that I have been favored, by your grace, to see you in this situation."

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

That universal love can be possible when you actually love God. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. In material platform that is not possible. But a devotee, a pure lover of God, he loves everyone.

Lecture on BG 3.27 -- Melbourne, June 27, 1974:

Just like you are the son of your father. So when you love your father, naturally you love your brothers also because you know, "My father will be pleased." So this is love. That universal love can be possible when you actually love God. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. In material platform that is not possible. But a devotee, a pure lover of God, he loves everyone. Just like we are. Because we have tried to love God, therefore we are wandering, touring all over the world, and the same message, "Please try to love God." We have no other message because we have understood to some extent that without love of God, they are suffering. So they will be happy when they begin to love God. This is our mission.

Therefore, if you love Kṛṣṇa, then your universal love is counted. Otherwise it is nonsense. You cannot love. That is not possible. If you love Kṛṣṇa, then the word love, universal love, so many things as it is very much advertised.

Lecture on BG 6.30-34 -- Los Angeles, February 19, 1969:

Prabhupāda: Yes. This consciousness, this studying of the tree as Kṛṣṇa's energy, as part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Why you take account of the tree so nicely? Because you have love for Kṛṣṇa. Just like you love your child and your child is away from your side. You find the shoes of your child. "Oh, this is the shoe of my child." Do you love the shoe? No, you love the child. Similarly as soon as see the energy of Kṛṣṇa manifested in a different way, that means you love that entity because you love Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, if you love Kṛṣṇa, then your universal love is counted. Otherwise it is nonsense. You cannot love. That is not possible. If you love Kṛṣṇa, then the word love, universal love, so many things as it is very much advertised. And if you don't love Kṛṣṇa, then you see "Here is my American brother, and the cow is my food." Because you do not love the cow. The cow is American and my brother is American. My brother is good, and the cow is food. This is my universal love. Why? But a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, he sees, "Oh, here is a cow. Here is a dog. He's a part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. By someway or other he has got a different body than me. That does not mean he's not my brother. So how can I kill my brother?" That is Kṛṣṇa's love, due to Kṛṣṇa's love.

There are so many doctrines of universal love, universal friendship, fraternity, but they are fighting, and they are killing simply, because there is no God consciousness. If you are universal, if you are after universal love, then how you can maintain regular slaughterhouse?

Lecture on BG 10.8 -- New York, January 6, 1967:

This is universal. As soon as you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, as soon as you become God conscious, then your real universal, ideal, universal consciousness develops. Otherwise it is all simply jugglery. There are so many doctrines of universal love, universal friendship, fraternity, but they are fighting, and they are killing simply, because there is no God consciousness. If you are universal, if you are after universal love, then how you can maintain regular slaughterhouse? How you can think that an American gentleman or lady is your countryman and not a cow, and not a goat, not a serpent? Where is your universal idea?

So unless there is development of God consciousness, this universal ideas, oh, these are nonsense. There cannot be. It is all false, jugglery of words. So first business is to understand your identity, identity of God, your relationship, and your action reformed in that way. Then there is question of universal, brotherhood, universal... Otherwise it is simply jugglery of words.

Universal love means to love God.

Lecture on BG 10.8 -- New York, January 6, 1967:

Prabhupāda: No. Not limitation. The point is: if you love the root, then you love everything. Just like if you pour water on the root of the tree, then the branches, the flowers, the leaves, the fruits, and everything is nourished. So you have to know the technique, how to love the whole. If somebody is loving the tree—he is putting water in each every leaf, every branch, every flower—he is spoiling his time. Another intelligent man goes and he pours one bucketful of water on the root. Oh, it is distributed. This is foolishness, that without knowledge of the root, you want to love the branches. Your body. You love your body. Why do you supply your food in the stomach? Why not to the eyes, to the ears, to the nose? Why not individually, every finger, every hand, every part, every hair? No. As soon as you put the foodstuff to the stomach, the energy is at once distributed everywhere. Similarly, universal love means to love God.

Simply by theoretical knowledge you cannot make any improvement. And these are practical examples. Because there is no love for God at the present moment, all this nonsense universal love, fraternity, are going to hell.

Lecture on BG 10.8 -- New York, January 6, 1967:

People are accepting Bhagavad-gītā as something Indian or Hindu, but actually it is not. It is universal. Kṛṣṇa says that there are so many forms of living entities. There are 8,400,000 different types of bodies. "And all of them are My sons." So if you love Kṛṣṇa, then you love white man, you love American, you love European, you love Indian, you love cow, you love dog, you love serpent—everything.

So you have to know the techniques. Simply by theoretical knowledge you cannot make any improvement. And these are practical examples. Because there is no love for God at the present moment, all this nonsense universal love, fraternity, are going to hell. Therefore we are interested in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. You have to change your consciousness, make it full with Kṛṣṇa or God. Then everything will be all right. All right. Thank you. And if you kindly come and inquire in this way, we shall be very glad to answer as far as possible.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Similarly, if we reestablish our relationship, or our original relationship with Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is for everyone, therefore I become for everyone. That is real universal love. The artificial, so-called universal love cannot be established unless you have established your relationship with the central point.

Lecture on SB 6.1.8 -- New York, July 22, 1971:

In India, the system is when a girl is married to a boy, so—in your country also, everywhere, the same system—just like the nephew of the boy calls the girl "Aunt." Now, how she becomes aunt? Because, in relationship with her husband. Before the marriage, she was not aunt, but as soon as he (she) is related with her husband, the husband's nephew become the nephew. Just try to understand the example. Similarly, if we reestablish our relationship, or our original relationship with Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is for everyone, therefore I become for everyone. That is real universal love. The artificial, so-called universal love cannot be established unless you have established your relationship with the central point.

Arrival Addresses and Talks

But the Kṛṣṇa conscious person will never kill an animal or give trouble to animal even. But that is universal love. If you love only your brother or sister, that is not universal love. Universal love means you love everyone. That universal love can be developed by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, not by otherwise.

Arrival Lecture -- Gainesville, July 29, 1971:

And if people are trained to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then automatically everyone will be happy. Any one who will join, one, anyone who will hear, anyone who will cooperate—everyone will be happy. So our process is natural process. You love God, and if you (are) actually expert in loving God, naturally you love everyone. Just like Kṛṣṇa conscious person, because he loves God, he loves the animals also. He loves birds, beasts, everyone. But so-called humanitarian love means they're loving some human being, but the animals are being killed. Why they do not love the animals? Because imperfect. But the Kṛṣṇa conscious person will never kill an animal or give trouble to animal even. But that is universal love. If you love only your brother or sister, that is not universal love. Universal love means you love everyone. That universal love can be developed by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, not by otherwise.

Initiation Lectures

Because one who is conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa, he'll know how His energies are working in so many ways; therefore he'll be sympathetic. That is universal vision. That is universal love. If you love Kṛṣṇa, then there will be universal love. Otherwise it will be simply talks.

Initiation Lecture and Bhagavan dasa's Marriage Ceremony -- New Vrindaban, June 4, 1969:

As soon as the word "Kṛṣṇa" is there and the more you are practiced to this habit, then simply we'll see Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa—nothing more. You'll see nothing. Sarvatra sphūrti tāra iṣṭa-deva mūrti. As you make advance, then you'll see a tree, but you'll see Kṛṣṇa. You'll not see the form of tree. Sarvatra sphūrti tāra iṣṭa-deva... Because one who is conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa, he'll know how His energies are working in so many ways; therefore he'll be sympathetic. That is universal vision. That is universal love. If you love Kṛṣṇa, then there will be universal love. Otherwise it will be simply talks. So yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ sa bahyābhyantara. He is always in the uncontaminated stage, noninfected stage. So this is very nice. One should take it very seriously. One should try to understand it seriously. Your life will be sublime. The meaning of this namo apavitraḥ pavitro vā sarvāvasthām—any condition. We don't make any condition. There is no condition. Why shall we...? Anyone can accept. Sarvāvasthām, any position. There are two position only, contaminated or uncontaminated. That's all.

General Lectures

Because you don't want it. Because you don't want it. You do not want.

Lecture at Bharata Chamber of Commerce 'Culture and Business' -- Calcutta, January 30, 1973:

Guest (1): Sir, this..., why we did not have a world with universal brotherhood, universal love?

Prabhupāda: Because you don't want it. Because you don't want it. You do not want. That, that, that is explained in the previous verse, that Kṛṣṇa says,

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi...

(BG 18.66)

These miserable conditions are there because we are all sinful. So Kṛṣṇa gives protection that "You surrender unto Me, and I give you protection from the reaction of all sinful life." So who wants Kṛṣṇa? You do not want. Kṛṣṇa says, canvassing, but who is accepting? Then how you can get, I mean to say, liberty or liberation from these sinful activities? Ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo. People suffer on account of sinful activities. There are two things, pāpa and puṇya.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

How do you speak of universal love? When you do not know how to love, how do you speak universe, big, big word. You do not know the art of love, and you are speaking universal love.

Room Conversation -- February 13, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Then how you love the whole universe, if you are in ignorance?

Guest (1): You do your best.

Prabhupāda: If you are ignorant, you do not know how to love.

Guest (1): That's true, of course. Ignorance is...

Prabhupāda: Then how do you speak of universal love? When you do not know how to love, how do you speak universe, big, big word. You do not know the art of love, and you are speaking universal love.

Guest (1): Well, certainly every...

Prabhupāda: That is ignorance. First of all you say that you do not know how to love, and you are speaking of love the universe. It has already...

Guest (1): Certainly each being in the universe is a part of the universe...

Prabhupāda: But you cannot love each being. That is my point.

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's message of universal love and fellow feeling requires to be preached in an organized manner and we Bengalis the countrymen of Lord Caitanya have a responsibility for this transcendental task.

Letter to Mr. Banerjee -- Bombay 28 July, 1958:

I beg to inform you that one gentleman has allowed me to sit down in his office for propaganda work in Bombay city and I am seeking your help in this matter. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's message of universal love and fellow feeling requires to be preached in an organized manner and we Bengalis the countrymen of Lord Caitanya have a responsibility for this transcendental task.

Some years ago Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja my spiritual master attempted to preach this message throughout the world but unfortunately after His departure the movement was not carried by the entrusted successors. I am feeling for it and I have come to Bombay for organizing this movement.