Thy Self, Thy Love, Thy Life

Thy Self, Thy Love, Thy Life

The subject tonight is Love

And for tomorrow night as well,

As a matter of fact

I know of no better topic

For us to discuss

Until we all

Die! — Hafiz

P.D. Ouspensky said, “Love is not a phenomenon of this world, and it does not belong to men, but is infinity itself.” In harmony with the idea of infinity, my Teacher says that “Love has no limits,” but he diverges from Ouspensky’s conclusion by stating that on the contrary, “Conscious love is a phenomenon of this world” and together with the influence of a conscious School, the Teacher and students are able to generate conscious love. He explains that “Perfect presence is perfect love” and conveys to us that when we are present, “We all have it. Conscious love can only come from consciousness—the divine presence of self-remembering.”

Ouspensky’s statement could be more accurately expressed by a slight edit: “Love is not a phenomenon of this sleeping world, and it does not belong to sleeping men.” Of course, at the outset it must be clear that Ouspensky and the Teacher are not speaking about romantic love. Conscious love is not the same as the experience of what the Greeks describe as “eros” or romantic love; nor is the Teacher referring to familial love; but conscious love is selfless, unconditional, and devotional and more akin to what the Greeks called “agape.” My Teacher further explains that “Love is an internal state. It does not depend on an external person. To awaken, we have to fall in love with our own Self—presence.”

For those who have fallen in love with their own higher self, the present is the most romantic of all places. — The Teacher

When I came to the School as a young student, I recall yearning to discover the secret meaning of life and love. Discovering the meaning of life and love was even more prominent in my search than the attraction to the idea of self-remembering and consciousness. I sensed that the psychological system of the Fourth Way provided me tools of observing and knowing myself, which could lead to a deeper understanding of my life and how to love unconditionally. At the same time, I knew that all types of love had their place and could on a lower-level mirror the experience of conscious love and inform and guide my understanding of it. The Teacher explains that “Only love can break the lower self” and that “Conscious love will conquer the lower self.”

Tracing the history of past schools of consciousness, it is easy to see the influence of a particular Teacher on the direction and teachings of these schools. Even Ouspensky himself imprinted his powerful intellect on his systematic approach to awakening through the Fourth Way. Other examples such as the Romanesque and Gothic cathedral builders impart esoteric knowledge through the Moving Center; Monks and Nuns taught through the emotional center, schools of yoga through the Intellectual Center, and Fakirs fashioned their teaching around the Instinctive Center. Even though each school has a particular “flavor” of instruction, the Teacher reminds us that “All the teaching aims toward conscious love.” To my delight, he has said that his school is the way of love and what I have learned from him is that “All schools are the way of love.”

In our sleeping world of chaos and conflict, the sharing of conscious love could not be more important. It creates harmony where there is discord, it awakens the best in us.

To love is to forgive. Transformation of suffering not only produces consciousness but conscious love. In the end, it is all about how much conscious love one can share. — The Teacher

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The Divine Couple, Krishna and Radha Looking into a Mirror (detail)