Realize Love, Realize God

A wandering ascetic camped in a village. A man came and told him he wanted to realize God. The ascetic asked, "Have you ever loved anybody?" "No, I am not guilty of such a mundane thing," the man replied. "I have never stooped so low; I want to realize God." The ascetic asked again, "Have you never felt the pangs of love?" The seeker was emphatic. "I am telling the truth," he replied. The poor man spoke honestly. In the realm of religion to have loved is a disqualification. He was sure that if he said he had loved someone the ascetic would ask him to rid him of love then and there -- to renounce the attachment and to leave all worldly emotions behind before seeking his guidance. So even if he had loved someone, he felt he must reply in the negative. Where can you find a man who has never even loved a little? The monk asked for the third time, "Say something. Think carefully. Not even a little love -- for somebody, for anybody? Haven't you even loved one person a little?" The aspirant said, "Pardon me, but why do you keep harping on the same question? I wouldn't touch love with a ten-foot pole. I want to attain self-realization. I want Godhood." To this the ascetic replied, "Then you will have to excuse me. Please approach someone else. My experience tells me that if you had loved somebody, anybody, that if you had even had a glimpse of love, I could help enlarge it, I could help it to grow -- probably to reach God. But if you have never loved any one, then you have nothing in you; you have no seed to grow into a tree. Go and make inquiries of someone else. My friend, in the absence of love I do not see any opening for God."