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Articles: Philosophy | 'prEma' meeda vyaasam
- Miss ANJALI
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Love is a powerful force in human life. Some people say that it is love that makes the world go ’round. In medieval theology, it was thought that love is the principal force behind human life, and there was a firm belief that love literally set the universe in motion.
Sanskrit has ninety-six words for love; ancient Persia eighty; ancient Greece five; and English, some say, only one. But it is not true that English has only one word for love. We have incorporated many of the Sanskrit, Persian, and Greek meanings for love into our English language expressions for different forms of love: admiration, adoration, affection, desire, family, longing, lust, respect, and worship are just a a few.
The ancient Greeks, who have influenced so many different aspects of our lives today had, as previously mentioned, five words for love:
1) Eros --Love for a specific individual. “I’m in love with you.” This is the most primitive kind of love. In the English language, our word “love” can be traced back to Sanskrit “lubh” (desire). I love you for what you do or can do to or for me. This covers everything from butterflies in the stomach to mad, passionate love. Eros is a selfish, dependent, possessive kind of love. It often demands reciprocation from that person who is loved. The person loved must have value for the person loving him or her. One of the songs often sung at weddings in past years was “Because You’re Mine.” Some critics have pointed out that too many romance novels and films place too much emphasis on “eros” as being the most important kind of love in a relationship. But most of us know that finally it isn’t. Desire and lust will diminish in the relationship in the long run and must ultimately be replaced by a higher form of love.
2) Philia -- This is love for friends and friendship. “I enjoy being with you. You are my friend.” It has been said that the best marriages are those in which the partners are close friends as well as lovers. They enjoy each other’s company.
3) Storge --This is a form of instinctual love that a parent has for a child or a child for a parent. It can vary in intensity, according to the bond that has developed between the parent and the child.
4) Xenia -- This is love for a stranger. A person who runs into a burning building to save the life of someone he or she doesn’t know exemplifies this kind of love. A person who donates one of his or her organs to a perfect stranger might be another example.
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