Is it impossible to love God?

[tackleberry 1]

Or is it only possible to fear Him? I mean, if you don't love him, you'll suffer on this planet. That's one fear. If you don't follow his rules, you'll suffer again based on karma. That's another fear. Likewise, there are so many fears, so how to love Krishna, when he's creating countless obstacles to our happiness? One can only fear him, his power. At best, we can respect or revere him for this, but is it possible to truly love him?

[Arjuna Haridas 0]

There was an incident in Ramanujacharya's life. What happened was that he learned the secret to liberation; the "Om Namo Narayanaya" chant. He was warned not to tell anybody or else he'll go to Hell. Ramanujacharya then proceeded to gather the public together, not caring about caste, and told them this chant. His teacher learned about this and confronted Ramanujacharya about this. Ramanujacharya said "Punish me as you wish". His teacher didn't punish him, but was impressed.

 

What I'm saying is that Ramanujacharya, out of his love for Lord Vishnu, risked his own suffering in Hell in order to help others worship Lord Vishnu. This is an example of how a man can overcome fear and engage in pure love for Lord Vishnu.

[gauragopala dasa 0]

 

Or is it only possible to fear Him? I mean, if you don't love him, you'll suffer on this planet. That's one fear. If you don't follow his rules, you'll suffer again based on karma. That's another fear. Likewise, there are so many fears, so how to love Krishna, when he's creating countless obstacles to our happiness? One can only fear him, his power. At best, we can respect or revere him for this, but is it possible to truly love him?

 

We always love Krishna because we are part and parcel of Krishna, its just that sometimes we choose to forget, just like sometimes we do not see the sun because our view is covered by choosing to be indoors or like forgetting our own material body while we dream at night. Our love for God and His love for us is perpetual, it's all basaed on the choice to recognize that love or ignore it for ones own self interests.

[HerServant 0]

 

Or is it only possible to fear Him? I mean, if you don't love him, you'll suffer on this planet. That's one fear. If you don't follow his rules, you'll suffer again based on karma. That's another fear. Likewise, there are so many fears, so how to love Krishna, when he's creating countless obstacles to our happiness? One can only fear him, his power. At best, we can respect or revere him for this, but is it possible to truly love him?

 

 

 

" Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.

In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. " - 1st John 4:7-11

[gHari 0]

Can we love our parents even though they may slap our hands when we try to touch the fire?

[theist 1]

 

Is it impossible to love God?

No it is very possible. The urge to love God is natural to every soul. As it begins to awaken the force of this urge causes questions to arise in the mind like, "Is it impossible to love God?" You are contemplating the idea of loving God which shows that at some level you already want to love God in some measure. This means you are awakening to eternal life, to your eternal self and to the Lord.

 

Ask yourself this question. Why would the Lord make loving Him impossible for any soul? The idea makes no sense. Of course He wants us to love Him for He knows only then will we be happy. He already loves us so why would He not allow us to love Him?

 

 

The obstacles Krsna creates for us prevent us from thinking we are happy away from Him. When we become fully exhausted of all our failed material plans and schemes we can turn to Krsna in all sincerity.

 

 

TRANSLATION SB1.8.26

My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.

 

PURPORT

Being materially advanced means taking birth in an aristocratic family and possessing great wealth, an education and attractive personal beauty. All materialistic men are mad after possessing all these material opulences, and this is known as the advancement of material civilization. But the result is that by possessing all these material assets one becomes artificially puffed up, intoxicated by such temporary possessions. Consequently, such materially puffed up persons are incapable of uttering the holy name of the Lord by addressing Him feelingly, "O Govinda, O Krishna." It is said in the sastras that by once uttering the holy name of the Lord, the sinner gets rid of a quantity of sins that he is unable to commit. Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. There is not the least exaggeration in this statement. Actually the Lord's holy name has such powerful potency. But there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere. A materially puffed up person may utter the holy name of the Lord occasionally, but he is incapable of uttering the name in quality. Therefore, the four principles of material advancement, namely (1) high parentage, (2) good wealth, (3) high education and (4) attractive beauty, are, so to speak, disqualifications for progress on the path of spiritual advancement. The material covering of the pure spirit soul is an external feature, as much as fever is an external feature of the unhealthy body. The general process is to decrease the degree of the fever and not to aggravate it by maltreatment. Sometimes it is seen that spiritually advanced persons become materially impoverished. This is no discouragement. On the other hand, such impoverishment is a good sign as much as the falling of temperature is a good sign. The principle of life should be to decrease the degree of material intoxication which leads one to be more and more illusioned about the aim of life. Grossly illusioned persons are quite unfit for entrance into the kingdom of God.