Love

==Religious views==
{{main|Religious views on love}}

===Abrahamic===
[[File:Ahava.jpg|thumb|[[Robert Indiana]]'s 1977 [[Love (sculpture)|''Love'' sculpture]] spelling {{transliteration|he|ahava}}]]

====Judaism====
{{see also|Jewish views on love}}
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], {{lang|he|אהבה}} ({{transliteration|he|ahava}}) is the most commonly used term for both interpersonal love and love between God and God's creations. {{transliteration|he|[[Chesed]]}}, often translated as loving-kindness, is used to describe many forms of love between human beings.

The commandment to love other people is given in the [[Torah]], which states, "Love your neighbor like yourself" ([[Leviticus]] {{Bibleverse|Leviticus|19:18|nobook=yes}}). The Torah's commandment to love God "with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might" ([[Deuteronomy]] {{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|6:5|nobook=yes}}) is taken by the [[Mishnah]] (a central text of the Jewish [[oral law]]) to refer to good deeds, willingness to sacrifice one's life rather than commit certain serious transgressions, willingness to sacrifice all of one's possessions, and being grateful to the Lord despite adversity ([https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:Mishnah/Seder_Zeraim/Tractate_Berakhot/Chapter_9/5 tractate Berachoth 9:5]). [[Rabbinic literature]] differs as to how this love can be developed, e.g., by contemplating divine deeds or witnessing the marvels of nature.

As for love between marital partners, this is deemed an essential ingredient to life: "See life with the wife you love" ([[Ecclesiastes]] {{Bibleverse|Ecclesiastes|9:9|nobook=yes}}). Rabbi [[David Wolpe]] writes that "love is not only about the feelings of the lover... It is when one person believes in another person and shows it." He further states that "love... is a feeling that expresses itself in action. What we really feel is reflected in what we do."<ref>{{cite web |last=Wolpe |first=David |url=https://time.com/4225777/meaning-of-love/ |title=We Are Defining Love the Wrong Way |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=February 16, 2016 |access-date=February 14, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226085614/http://time.com/4225777/meaning-of-love/ |archive-date=26 February 2019 }}</ref> The biblical book [[Song of Solomon]] is considered a romantically phrased metaphor of love between [[God]] and his people, but in its plain reading it reads like a love song. The 20th-century [[rabbi]] [[Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler]] is frequently quoted as defining love from the Jewish point of view as "giving without expecting to take".<ref>{{cite book | last=Dessler | first=Eliyahu | chapter=Kuntres ha-Chesed | title=Michtav me-Eliyahu | lang=he | volume=1}}</ref>

====Christianity====
[[File:Liebe und die Einbahnstraße - Lange Straße in Sebnitz - Bildimpression aus Sebnitz von einem Fotografen.jpg|thumb|Love and the One-way Street]]
The Christian understanding is that love comes from [[God]], who is himself love ({{Bibleverse|1 John|4:8}}). The love of man and woman—{{transliteration|grc|eros}} in Greek—and the unselfish love of others ({{transliteration|grc|agape}}), are often contrasted as "descending" and "ascending" love, respectively, but are ultimately the same thing.<ref name="vatican1">{{cite web
|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est.html
|author=Pope Benedict XVI
|title=papal encyclical, Deus Caritas Est
|access-date=11 June 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008152102/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html
|archive-date=8 October 2011
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

There are several Greek words for "love" that are regularly referred to in Christian circles.
; {{transliteration|grc|[[agape]]}}: In the [[New Testament]], {{transliteration|grc|agapē}} is charitable, selfless, altruistic, and unconditional. It is parental love, seen as creating goodness in the world; it is the way God is seen to love humanity, and it is seen as the kind of love that Christians aspire to have for one another.{{r|Nygren}}
; {{transliteration|grc|[[phileo]]}}: Also used in the New Testament, {{transliteration|grc|phileo}} is a human response to something that is found to be delightful. Also known as "brotherly love."
Two other [[#Ancient Greek|words for love in the Greek language]], {{transliteration|grc|[[Eros (love)|eros]]}} (sexual love) and {{transliteration|grc|[[storge]]}} (child-to-parent love), were never used in the New Testament.{{r|Nygren}}

[[Christianity|Christians]] believe that to ''love God with all your heart, mind, and strength'' and ''love your [[neighbourhood|neighbor]] as yourself'' are the two most important things in life (the [[Great Commandment|greatest commandment]] of the Jewish [[Torah]], according to [[Jesus]]; cf. [[Gospel of Mark]] {{Bibleverse|Mark|12:28–34|nobook=yes}}). [[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]] summarized this when he wrote "Love God, and do as thou wilt."<ref>{{citation|author=[[Augustine of Hippo]]|chapter=Homily 7 on the First Epistle of John|title=Homilies on First John|chapter-url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/170207.htm|publisher=New Advent|at=8|translator-first=H.|translator-last=Browne}}</ref>

[[The Apostle Paul]] glorified love as the most important virtue of all. Describing love in the famous poetic interpretation in [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|1 Corinthians]], he wrote, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres." ({{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|13:4–7|NIV}})

[[John the Apostle|The Apostle John]] wrote, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." ([[Gospel of John|John]] {{bibleverse|John|3:16–17|niv|nobook=yes}}) John also wrote, "Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." ({{bibleverse|1 John|4:7–8|NIV}})

[[Saint Augustine]] wrote that one must be able to decipher the difference between love and lust. Lust, according to Saint Augustine, is an overindulgence, but to love and be loved is what he has sought for his entire life. He even says, "I was in love with love."{{cn|date=August 2023}} Finally, he does fall in love and is loved back, by God. Saint Augustine says the only one who can love you truly and fully is God, because love with a human only allows for flaws such as "jealousy, suspicion, fear, anger, and contention."<ref name=Confessions>{{cite book|author=[[Augustine of Hippo]]|title=[[Confessions (Augustine)|Confessions]]}}</ref>{{rp|at=III.1}} According to Saint Augustine, to love God is "to attain the peace which is yours."{{r|Confessions|at=X.27}}

Augustine regards the duplex commandment of love in {{Bibleverse|Matthew|22}} as the heart of Christian faith and the interpretation of the Bible. After the review of Christian doctrine, Augustine treats the problem of love in terms of use and enjoyment until the end of Book I of ''[[De Doctrina Christiana]]'' (1.22.21–1.40.44).<ref>{{cite journal | last=Woo | first=B. Hoon | title=Augustine's Hermeneutics and Homiletics in ''De doctrina christiana'' | journal=Journal of Christian Philosophy | year=2013 | volume=17 | url=https://www.academia.edu/5228314 | pages=97–117 | access-date=24 March 2014 | archive-date=26 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032901/https://www.academia.edu/5228314 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Christian [[Theology|theologians]] see God as the source of love, which is mirrored in humans and their own loving relationships. Influential Christian theologian [[C. S. Lewis]] wrote a book called ''[[The Four Loves]]''. [[Benedict XVI]] named his first [[encyclical]] ''[[Deus caritas est|God is love]]''. He said that a human being, created in the image of God, who is love, is able to practice love; to give himself to God and others ({{transliteration|grc|[[agape]]}}) and by receiving and experiencing God's love in contemplation ({{transliteration|grc|eros}}). This life of love, according to him, is the life of the saints such as [[Teresa of Calcutta]] and [[Mary, the mother of Jesus]] and is the direction Christians take when they believe that God loves them.<ref name="vatican1"/>

[[File:Cristo crucificado.jpg|thumb|upright|Pope Francis: the "Cross ([[Crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus crucified]]) is the greatest meaning of the greatest love".<ref name=McLellan>{{cite web|last=McLellan|first=Justin|url=https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/do-you-cry-pope-asks-800000-young-people-wyd-so-does-jesus-he-says|title='Do you cry?' pope asks 800,000 young people at WYD; so does Jesus, he says|access-date=9 August 2023|archive-url=}}</ref>]]
[[Pope Francis]] asserts that the "Cross ([[Crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus crucified]]) is the greatest meaning of the greatest love,"{{r|McLellan}} and in the crucifixion is found everything, all knowledge and the entirety of God's love.<ref>{{cite web|first=Hannah|last=Brockhaus|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44277/pope-francis-the-entirety-of-gods-love-is-found-in-the-crucifix|date=22 April 2020|title=Pope Francis: The entirety of God's love is found in the crucifix|access-date=9 August 2023|archive-url=}}</ref> Pope Francis taught that "True love is both loving and letting oneself be loved... what is important in love is not our loving, but allowing ourselves to be loved by God."<ref>{{cite web|author=[[Pope Francis]]|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/january/documents/papa-francesco_20150118_srilanka-filippine-incontro-giovani.html|location=Manila|title=Meeting with the young people in the sports field of Santo Tomas University|date=18 January 2015|website=w2.vatican.va|access-date=24 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223111444/http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/january/documents/papa-francesco_20150118_srilanka-filippine-incontro-giovani.html|archive-date=23 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> And so, in the analysis of a Catholic theologian, for Pope Francis, "the key to love... is not our activity. It is the activity of the greatest, and the source, of all the powers in the universe: God's."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://opinion.inquirer.net/82535/the-key-to-love-according-to-pope-francis|title=The key to love according to Pope Francis|first=Raul|last=Nidoy|date=13 February 2015|access-date=24 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224115656/http://opinion.inquirer.net/82535/the-key-to-love-according-to-pope-francis|archive-date=24 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Christianity the practical definition of love is summarized by [[Thomas Aquinas]], who defined love as "to will the good of another," or to desire for another to succeed.{{r|newadvent.org}} This is an explanation of the Christian need to love others, including their enemies. Thomas Aquinas explains that Christian love is motivated by the need to see others succeed in life, to be good people.

Regarding love for enemies, Jesus is quoted in the Gospel of Matthew:

{{quote|You have heard that it was said, "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.|{{bibleverse|Matthew|5:43–48}} }}

[[Tertullian]] wrote regarding love for enemies: "Our individual, extraordinary, and perfect goodness consists in loving our enemies. To love one's friends is common practice, to love one's enemies only among Christians."<ref>{{citation|author=Tertulliam|title=Ad Scapulam|url=https://www.tertullian.org/works/ad_scapulam.htm|volume=I}}</ref>

====Islam====
[[File:الودود.jpg|thumb|200px|alt=Al-Wadūd or The Loving is a name of God in Islam.|In Islam, one of the 99 names of God is {{Nowrap|''Al-Wadūd''}}, which means "The Loving".]]
Love encompasses the Islamic view of life as universal brotherhood that applies to all who hold faith. Among the 99 names of God ([[Allah]]) is the name ''Al-Wadud'', or "the Loving One," which is found in [[Surah]] {{qref|11|90|pl=y}} and {{qref|85|14|pl=y}}. God is also referenced at the beginning of every chapter in the Qur'an as ''Ar-Rahman'' and ''Ar-Rahim'', or the "Most Compassionate" and the "Most Merciful", indicating that nobody is more loving, compassionate, and benevolent than God. The [[Qur'an]] refers to God as being "full of loving kindness."

The Qur'an exhorts Muslim believers to treat {{clarify|text=all people, those who have not persecuted them|reason=which is it?|date=August 2023}}, with {{transliteration|ar|birr}} or "deep kindness" as stated in Surah {{qref|6|8-9|pl=y}}. {{transliteration|ar|Birr}} is also used by the Qur'an to describe the love and kindness that children must show to their parents.

{{transliteration|ar|[[Ishq]]}}, or divine love, is emphasized by [[Sufism]] in the Islamic tradition. Practitioners of Sufism believe that love is a projection of the essence of God into the universe. God desires to recognize beauty, and as if one looks at a mirror to see oneself, God "looks" at himself within the dynamics of nature. Since everything is a reflection of God, the school of Sufism practices seeing the beauty inside the apparently ugly. Sufism is often referred to as the religion of love.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lewisohn|first=Leonard|title=Cambridge Companions to Religion|year=2014|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=150–180}}</ref> God in Sufism is referred to in three main terms—Lover, Loved, and Beloved—with the last of these terms often seen in Sufi poetry. A common viewpoint of Sufism is that through love, humankind can return to its inherent purity and grace. The saints of Sufism are infamous for being "drunk" due to their [[love of God]]; hence, the constant reference to wine in Sufi poetry and music.

====Bahá'í Faith====
In his [[Paris Talks]], [[`Abdu'l-Bahá]] described four types of love: the love that flows from God to human beings; the love that flows from human beings to God; the love of God towards the Self or Identity of God; and the love of human beings for human beings.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PT/pt-59.html|publisher=Bahá'í Reference Library|title=Paris Talks|chapter=The Four Kinds of Love|pages=179–181|date=4 January 1913|publication-date=1972|edition=11th|access-date=4 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820183227/http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PT/pt-59.html|archive-date=20 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Dharmic===
====Buddhism====
{{citation needed section|date=August 2023}}
In [[Buddhism]], {{transliteration|sa|[[kāma]]}} is sensuous, sexual love. It is an obstacle on the path to [[enlightenment (Buddhism)|enlightenment]], since it is selfish. {{transliteration|sa|[[Karuṇā]]}} is compassion and mercy, which reduces the suffering of others. It is complementary to wisdom and is necessary for enlightenment. {{transliteration|sa|[[Adveṣa]]}} and {{transliteration|pi|[[mettā]]}} are benevolent love. This love is unconditional and requires considerable self-acceptance. This is quite different from ordinary love, which is usually about attachment and sex and which rarely occurs without self-interest. Instead, in Buddhism love refers to detachment and unselfish interest in others' welfare.

The [[Bodhisattva]] ideal in Mahayana Buddhism involves the complete renunciation of oneself in order to take on the burden of a suffering world.

====Hinduism====
{{Main|Kama|Kama Sutra}}
<!-- Prem (Hinduism) redirects here -->
[[File:Kama Rati.jpg|thumb|upright|Kama (left) with Rati on a temple wall of [[Chennakeshava Temple, Belur|Chennakesava Temple]], [[Belur, Karnataka|Belur]]]]
In [[Hinduism]], {{transliteration|sa|[[kāma]]}} is pleasurable, sexual love, personified by the god [[Kamadeva]]. For many Hindu schools, it is the third end ({{transliteration|sa|Kama}}) in life. Kamadeva is often pictured holding a bow of [[sugar cane]] and an arrow of flowers; he may ride upon a great parrot.{{relevance inline|date=August 2023}} He is usually accompanied by his consort [[Rati]] and his companion Vasanta, lord of the spring season.{{relevance inline|date=August 2023}} Stone images of [[Kamadeva]] and Rati can be seen on the door of the [[Chennakeshava Temple, Belur]], in [[Karnataka]], [[India]].{{relevance inline|date=August 2023}} ''Maara'' is another name for {{transliteration|sa|kāma}}.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

In contrast to {{transliteration|sa|kāma}}, {{transliteration|sa|prema}}—or {{transliteration|sa|prem}}efers to elevated love. {{transliteration|sa|[[Karuṇā]]}} is compassion and mercy, which impels one to help reduce the suffering of others. {{transliteration|sa|[[Bhakti]]}} is a [[Sanskrit]] term meaning "loving devotion to the supreme God." A person who practices {{transliteration|sa|bhakti}} is called a {{transliteration|sa|bhakta}}. Hindu writers, theologians, and philosophers have distinguished nine forms of {{transliteration|sa|bhakti}}, which can be found in the ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'' and works by [[Tulsidas]]. The philosophical work ''[[Narada Bhakti Sutra]]'', written by an unknown author (presumed to be [[Narada]]), distinguishes eleven forms of love.

In certain [[Vaishnava]] sects within [[Hinduism]], attaining unadulterated, unconditional, and incessant love for the Godhead is considered the foremost goal of life. Gaudiya Vaishnavas who worship Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the cause of all causes consider Love for Godhead ({{transliteration|sa|Prema}}) to act in two ways: {{transliteration|sa|sambhoga}} and {{transliteration|sa|vipralambha}} (union and separation)—two opposites.<ref name="Krishna Prema">{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150168632408280|author=Gour Govinda Swami|title=The Wonderful Characteristic of Krishna Prema|website=[[Facebook]]|access-date=7 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121129064142/https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150168632408280|archive-date=29 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the condition of separation, there is an acute yearning for being with the beloved and in the condition of union, there is supreme happiness and {{clarify|text=nectarean|reason=nectarean what? (it's an adjective)|date=August 2023}}. Gaudiya Vaishnavas consider that Krishna-prema (Love for Godhead) burns away one's material desires, pierces the heart, and washes away everything—one's pride, one's religious rules, and one's shyness. Krishna-prema is considered to make one drown in the ocean of transcendental ecstasy and pleasure. The love of Radha, a cowherd girl, for Krishna is often cited as the supreme example of love for Godhead by Gaudiya Vaishnavas. [[Radha]] is considered to be the internal potency of [[Krishna]], and is the supreme lover of Godhead. Her example of love is considered to be beyond the understanding of material realm as it surpasses any form of selfish love or lust that is visible in the material world. The reciprocal love between [[Radha]] (the supreme lover) and [[Krishna]] (God as the Supremely Loved) is the subject of many poetic compositions in [[India]] such as the ''[[Gita Govinda]]'' of [[Jayadeva]] and ''Hari Bhakti Shuddhodhaya.''

In the {{transliteration|sa|Bhakti}} tradition within [[Hinduism]], it is believed that execution of devotional service to God leads to the development of Love for God ({{transliteration|bn|taiche bhakti-phale krsne prema upajaya}}), and as love for God increases in the heart, the more one becomes free from material contamination ({{transliteration|bn|krishna-prema asvada haile, bhava nasa paya}}). Being perfectly in love with God or Krishna makes one perfectly free from material contamination, and this is the ultimate way of salvation or liberation. In this tradition, salvation or liberation is considered inferior to love, and just an incidental by-product. Being absorbed in Love for God is considered to be the perfection of life.<ref name="Perfect Love">{{cite web|url=https://www.prabhupadanugas.eu/news/?p=23368|author=A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami|title=Perfectly in Krishna Love|date=29 November 1966|access-date=7 January 2012|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20141123025652/http%3A//www.prabhupadanugas.eu/?p%3D23368|archive-date=23 November 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>