Celebrating St Valentine’s Day

This post is also available in: Hindi Polish

St. Valentine was a pastor in the church during the Roman period. The king of Rome announced that if the soldiers are married, they are not productive – therefore, the king motivated those who were not married and did not show attachment to any relatives or family members. St. Valentine opposed this and he was imprisoned by the king. St. Valentine was recognised as a “friend of Love” and as a remembrance of his sacrifices, St. Valentine’s Day is generally celebrated on the 14th of February.

Dates are only a reason to get people to remember the true purpose. The true purpose of St. Valentine’s Day is to understand the importance of and increase the following qualities in our lives:

• Sensitivity
• Receptivity
• Starting and finishing things on time (Well in time)
• Timely service
• Seeing and loving the world as one family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam)

Those who are “friends of Love” are in love with qualities of love that was seen in St. Tukaram, St. Mary etc. Let us understand the real meaning of this in more detail.

Love is the only thing that you get when you give – not when you take. To receive love you should be receptive i.e. ‘well tuned’. A radio that is tuned catches the frequency right when it is turned on so you do not have to keep tuning it and lose time in doing so. Similarly, we should not waste too much time in tuning ourselves to receive the final truth of life. We must understand and fulfil the true purpose of human life. When you receive a call on your cell phone, you try to reach a place where the reception is clear. Similarly you should tune yourself to go within to listen and receive truth clearly.

Always use your ‘understanding’ to interpret the meaning of rituals and do not go by what the majority of people say. St. Valentine’s Day should help us understand the meaning and importance of “Oneness”. Whatever you are in Love with you become receptive and sensitive towards that. If your level of consciousness is low, you will love lower things.

Receptivity is catching the signal or the channel you want among many different signals. If you are less receptive, then the sounds will be less and other channels will also show. But you will choose to see the channel you want even though the sound is less. Sensitivity is catching even the slightest signal. Ideally you should have both qualities of sensitivity and receptivity, but if you have to choose, you should choose receptivity. When you are receptive, you are more tuned to what you want to see. Therefore, decide what you want to see, what you want to choose.

The higher your consciousness level is, the better are things you will love. Do not fall in Love, “Rise in Love”. If your love for someone easily turns to hatred, jealousy or ill-will due to a simple event or a misunderstanding then you must realize that there was no love at all. When your level of consciousness is low, then you will be influenced by the company you keep. Tough events in your life are a means to test the existence or persistence of love amidst an environment of low consciousness.

With time, the word saint vanished and the meaning and real essence of the word Valentine disappeared too. In order to maintain the sanctity of this day, we should wish each other as “Happy St. Valentine’s Day.” Valentine’s Day should be addressed as St. Valentine so the meaning is not lost with time. It should serve as a reminder for us to contemplate on the real purpose, to become sensitive and receptive to “Bright Love”. Once you experience and become one with such Love, you will be able to express the best qualities and achieve your full potential.

~Sirshree