towards his own son was, in fact, largely selfish. The feeling of “mine” is there in the background of the mind, though it can be brought to the surface only through searching analysis. If his response to the son of the stranger is the same as to his own son, then only can he be said to have pure and selfless love.
Pure love is not a thing that can be forced upon someone, nor can it be snatched away from another by force. It has to manifest from within with unfettered spontaneity. Pure love easy and difficult What can be achieved through bold decision is the removal of those factors which prevent the manifestation of pure love. The achievement of selflessness may be said to be both difficult and easy. It is difficult for those who have not decided to step out of the limited self, and it is easy for those who have so decided. In the absence of firm determination, attachments connected with the limited self are too strong to break through, but if a person resolves to set aside selfishness at any cost, he finds an easy entry into the domain of pure love.
The limited self is like an external coat worn by the soul. Just as a man may take off his coat by the exercise of will, so through a bold decisive step he can make up his mind to shed the limited self and get rid of it once and for all. Need for bold decision The task which otherwise would be difficult becomes easy through the exercise of bold and unyielding decision. Such decision can be born in his mind only when he feels an intense longing for pure love. Just as a man who is hungry longs for food, so the aspirant who wants to experience pure love has an intense longing for it.
When the aspirant has developed this intense longing for pure love he may be said to have been
