Love is not just a feeling, but also a doing; not just an emotion, but also an action. In fact, love as a feeling is the root that grows and blossoms into the flower of love as an action. And, paradoxically, love as an action acts as the root that grows and blossoms into the flower of love as a feeling. Thus, when we cultivate simultaneously the feelings and the actions of love, they nourish each other mutually, and our heart transforms into a beautiful garden filled with blossoming flowers of love.

The love in our heart may blossom temporarily in the presence of a person who seems attractive, but the blossom soon dries and dies when that person disappoints or departs. Our heart’s love blossoms completely and permanently only in the presence of the all-attractive supreme person, Krishna, because:

1. He is the perennial reservoir of all endearing qualities, so he never disappoints us
2. He is eternally committed to loving us, so he never departs from our hearts.

No wonder the Bhagavad-gita (09.13-14) indicates that those who are connoisseurs of love are one-pointed and undistracted in focusing their love on Krishna (bhajanty ananya manaso); they are convinced that by loving Krishna they will get everything that they might get by loving anyone else, for he is the imperishable source of everything (jnatava bhutadim avyayam). Significantly, these two verses also reflect the feeling and acting aspects of love: the first verse describes their feelings, and the second, their actions.

By following in their footsteps and cultivating both the feelings and the actions that express love, we too can transform our heart into a garden blossoming with the flowers of love.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 09 Text 13

“O son of Prtha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.”