Concept of Love of God in Sufism rests on an understanding of his perfection and culminates in ultimate unity with him. Love of the soul is reflected as spirituality and it is governed by the Divine law. This force constantly exerts its pressure on the things to move towards and merge with the beloved i.e. the mass (gross matter) is continuously attracted towards other mass and the soul has its inherent urge to meet the Supreme Soul. Big or small, living or non-living, this fundamental force of love exists universally. This strong force of love would have had its way if there had been no movement. The soul would have merged with the Supreme soul. However, it is the movement which prevents this. Perhaps it is the desire to exist that is expressed in the continuous movement. The movement is a fulfilment of the Almighty`s desire that the soul through movement should gain experience and thereby realise the Truth. Living creatures are oblivious of the true nature of things and the real purpose of life, and it is only a few to whom He reveals the secret of His love and takes them to their original state of love.
Love can be expressed as the desire to become perfect, to remove all imperfection. This is true of the love at the physical plane as well as at the spiritual plane. At the spiritual level, one desires to remove imperfection from his conduct. The love for God is also explained similarly as God is the most Perfect One. He has created the universe and He runs it perfectly. One, who does not understand it lives in the world with anguish, pain, suffering and sorrow, he lives miserably. One, who has this knowledge, also lives like an ordinary person in the world, but he lives with the understanding that the world has been created by the God, the Lord of the universe, who is running it perfectly. This understanding makes him live happily in the world in accordance with His desire and it results in love for the God, reflecting in a universal love.
When one talks of the love of God, it is like the love between a mother and a child. One could consider the God as the mother of all mothers and the seeker as the child, who has to traverse the path from a state of grown up ego to the state of complete dependence on God i.e. surrender unto Him. With the complete surrender of the ego one acquires the spiritual knowledge that his essence is the essence of God i.e. cessation of the duality and that his reality is nothing but the Reflection of the God. With this realisation one reaches the state of Unity i.e. the state of Oneness. In this state there is no difference between the love, faith and enlightenment. This is the true knowledge. When this realisation dawns one`s self exists no more.
The love for the God has, therefore, to be understood as the complete Unity with God. However, since God is Absolute, many people find it difficult to surrender completely and love something so abstract. This is why most people need the help of a spiritual master. The Master has a physical body and is like them. The disciple can perceive the Master`s existence through his own senses. It is easy for him to surrender his ego at the feet of his Master. The love for the Master gradually leads the disciple to the realisation that there is no duality between the Master and the God. The face of the Master is only a mask under which lies the Reality. It is for this reason that the Sufis lay stress on the love for their Master.
In unity with God what exists is only the Reality of the God and one sees the existence of God alone in all beings. His love takes the form of Divine love for all beings. The love for God does not mean hatred towards the world; rather it results in the understanding that others need to be treated in the same manner as one would himself like to be treated.
One cannot claim to love God by neglecting his duty towards others. The real love for God is to do one`s duty with utmost care and attention, while at the same time remaining in His Presence i.e. taking it to be a Divine order to discharge his obligations most faithfully.
The great Sufi Master Bayazid established supremacy of love by saying that `the Almighty can be approached only through love. Love is all encompassing. The Almighty can be realized only through love. The illiterate Gopis had won the love of Lord Krishna only due to their unfettered love. The true love brings in enlightenment. In fact there is no difference between Love and Enlightenment. Love is God and the purpose of acquiring knowledge is to know the God. Love is the culmination of knowledge and the height of enlightenment.
