In today’s world, when two people enter into a relationship, the word love is often the first label placed upon it. But what is the first idea they build in their minds about each other? Most of the time, it is attraction—towards appearance, emotions, and the comfort of care, trust, and support. This attraction creates a bond, but we must ask: is this attraction truly love?
Attraction and the Illusion of Love
Attraction feels powerful. It draws two people close, gives rise to tenderness, and builds shared experiences. Yet when an unexpected event forces separation, the test begins. Physical closeness fades, but the emotions, memories, and attachment remain.
This creates a conflict: people try to detach from the lingering thoughts, but they cannot truly overcome them. The attraction continues to echo in the mind, long after the relationship has ended. If love is reduced only to attraction and attachment, then separation exposes it as fragile—perhaps even an illusion.
The Nature of True Love
To understand love in its deeper form, we must step beyond attraction. True love is not simply about the pull of mind, body, or even soul as separate entities. Rather, it is about oneness—a merging of being.
In true love, one’s mind, body, and soul are no longer owned by the individual alone, but shared with the other. It is a state of profound unity, much like a painter becoming one with their painting, a singer becoming one with their song, or an actor dissolving into their role.
In such a bond, love is not possession but liberation. It is not “me” and “you” but a single flow of existence.
Liberation Through Love
If separation occurs within this higher love, does separation truly exist? The answer is no. When two selves have already merged, external events cannot divide them. The mind no longer clings to appearances or memories, because it has been freed through unity.
In contrast, attraction-based love leads to attachment, and attachment always demands detachment when tested. But detachment itself becomes another conflict, another burden. True love requires no detachment, because there was never bondage in the first place. It liberates rather than binds.
Conclusion: Love as Unity, Not Illusion
Modern relationships often begin with attraction, which may masquerade as love. But real love is not about being captivated by appearance, emotions, or even shared trust. Real love is about becoming one with another, a bond where selfhood dissolves into unity.
When such love exists, separation loses its sting, because nothing can divide what has already merged. In this way, love is not an illusion of attraction, but a path of liberation—where the self is set free through true union.
– Harsh Yadav