Tainted Love.

"I could not love thee, dear, so much,
Loved I not Krishna more."

"Be mine" plead the Valentine's cards. "Be mine until I get fed up with you and fancy someone else"!

But let's not be cynical on Valentine's Day. True love remains our secret ideal, no matter how disenchanted the weary world has made us. We can't help but desire to love and be loved - it's a desire so huge that it's almost impossible to satisfy. Yet, unsatisfied, it causes us grief. There are extreme cases such as Saddam Hussein and other merciless dictators who are known to have had loveless childhoods; their love becomes twisted and turns into lust for power, greed, anger. Most of us manage to keep more of an even keel and settle for what's available to us - lurv or luv, maybe.

But the true, fathomless love which our hearts desire, although hard to find, is available and achievable. Prema is the Sanskrit word for that pure, 24 carot love which has no tinge of selfishness. We already possess it, and through spiritual practise can unblock it. But we can't reveal our innermost selves to just anyone, to risk being misunderstood and abused. Prema can only be satisfied when it's object is Krishna - the perfect repository of love. Then it becomes unstoppable, like St. Valentine, who willingly gave his life for love of God. And our love spills over to all creatures, because they are also beloved by Him.

Belfast Hare Krishna Temple.