Day 40 – Q 5.Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom. What meaning did you derive out of this statement?

5. Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom. What meaning did you derive out of this statement?

प्रेम कब्जे का दावा नहीं करता, बल्कि स्वतंत्रता देता है। इस कथन से आप क्या अर्थ निकलते हैं?

Introduction:

Love is a selfless act of unconditional care and affection directed towards a person, object or even something abstract. It has little to do with what you are expecting to get and more with what you are expecting to give – which is everything. Rabindranath Tagore here talks about two intertwined important necessities of life- love and freedom. 

Body:

• Love by nature is an unconditional act; hence ideally it should free us from the expectations inherent in an otherwise transactional human relationship existing all around us. In view of this, when a person loves truly, he/she emanates a sense of freedom, a liberated environment for the other person to grow and exist.
• When love does not claim possession, it exists as a beautiful engagement of motivation, respect and admiration for the receiving person or the object. For example: Relationships between youngsters, respect for teachers and parents etc.

• The privilege of freedom associated with love can be seen in different societal institutions:

• A mother’s love for her children is all encompassing, with no expectations of return, helping them grow, giving them free choices, freedom to learn from actions, all of it while being a protective parent. If a mother were to think her child is her possession, there are unrealistic expectations on the child, and a rigid existence with no freedom to learn and take decisions on their own.
• Relationships between a husband and wife, life partners often flourish and spread harmony and happiness when there is freedom between the two. A partner who treats the other as a possession, restricting their choices, actions, and decisions is indirectly hampering the overall betterment of the person or their relationship.

• There are frequent instances where a misguided idea of love often results in a false exertion of possession and leads to extremities:

• There are cases of murder, harm and crimes due to love gone bitter or wrong, arising out of feelings of possession of the other.
• Retarding the growth of an individual, development of his/her full capacity, due to narrow ideas of love and protectiveness.
• Suffering inflicted due to actions of vengeance and payback by partners, parents and friends.

Conclusion:

Love is truly realised when linked not to possession of the other but to submission of the self. It should enable an individual to feel content and be accepting of one another, paving way for a peaceful co-existence, rather than curbing freedom and base their actions on the lines of possessiveness and misunderstood idea of love.