what is love?

If you thought I had an answer for this question, you were utterly wrong. Nobody knows what is it and I find it highly unlikely that anyone would come up with an encompassing description. Though, people have spent a lot of time trying to come up with all kinds of descriptions, I will add one to it, but they have only added to its appreciation hardly to its definition.

When I was in school I used to read this childern's magazine of the dawn newspaper, I dont remember the name, where "Super Sis" used to answer the questions written to the magazine by kids. Very often they recieved questions regarding a boy or a girl having a crush or "falling in love" with another. The answer of Super Sis was always the same, "this is just infatuation, it will wear off, concentrate on your studies". Something like this I read recently and it reminded me of her stupid answers. She was handing out practical advice, in best interest of those kids probably but it was utterly dishonest. Does Super Sis have a friggin idea what love is and is not, NO!!!

An apple pie is an apple pie. Whether a ten year old eats it or thirty or fifty. With age our understanding of the complexity of the world starts to expand and we learn to differentiate and recognize the details. If someone can tell me about the taste, the color, the quality of the fruit, the crispiness of the crust or the style of baking, it does not change the fact that they are just eating apple pie. If a ten year old cannot appreciate the details then it does not mean that it is not love. If some thirty year old having learnt a few things got carried away and thought that they know love, they are mistaken. If some fifty year old crazy sufis spent their lives in the quest, it does not follow that they fathomed love. There is no authority on it yet and in my view there may never be none.

Love is an element of this universe that defies definition. Love pervades this universe like oxygen does the atmosphere, consider the importance. It cannot be captured, it cannot be bottled. Poets cannot express it, writers cannot write it, painters cannot paint it and scientist cannot formulate it. They can only attempt to do so. It will be known in one and only one way and in its orignal packaging. It can only be felt. Love is like sunlight, stand in it and feel the warmth. Keep quite.