Love

====Hinduism====
{{Main|Kama|Kama Sutra}}
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[[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>