Definition

• Unconditional Love (prema) is the natural expression of the self when the barriers of the separate self (jiva) have dissolved. It is not an emotion but the very nature of brahman.

Key Teachings

• Unconditional Love is not dependent on the qualities or behavior of its object — it flows from the fullness of the self.

• It differs from conditional love (which is based on desire, attachment, or expectation) in that it expects nothing in return.

• When the illusion of separation is removed through self-realization, love arises naturally as the recognition of the Self in all.

• Unconditional Love is the same as compassion (karuna) — it is the spontaneous response of oneness to the suffering of apparent others.

Related Concepts

• Love

• Compassion

• Prema

• Bhakti

• Self

• Oneness

• Nonduality