The three kinds of love
Love-
The word that runs the universe and one of the main characters that makes living things different from their non-living counterpart.Love has been a major source of inspiration for poets,authors,movie directors and people of all professions.But most people do not understand the full power of love.Hence I would like to introduce the topic of the three kinds of love- Eros, Philos and Agape.
Eros, or erotic love , is the first kind of love.Basically it refers to body love or superficial love.Crushes,dating relationships etc. is this form.Even most marriages in their initial stages involve Eros.This should not be confused as a less powerful form of love as this itself has a deep root.
It basically refers to the love where the person likes another's looks or characters.In this form , one only notices the good in the another and the bad is totally ignored.Eros doesnt survive for long.It is usually destroyed or in rare cases , gets converted to Philos-the higher stage of love.
Philos, Or love based on friendships-
Friendship is the foundation of a successful relationship.This is in contrast to a man-woman romantic relationship which starts out by "eros love", meaning you get attracted by physical/mental traits alone. Strong emotions start almost immediately (some would even say "love at first sight"), though you do not even know each other that much.
Philos love is a love based on "give-and-take", where two people benefit each other in a mutual way. One partner is still concerned with what she/he can take, but at the same time is also concerned with her/his partner's benefit and therefore gives back in return.
Therefore, philos is a higher type of love than eros. Philos love is a mutual, "give-and take" relationship, while eros love is a self-based, form of love that is more concerned with the "self" or self-benefit.
Like eros love, philos love must develop into a higher form of love, the highest love of all - "agape" or unconditional love.
Agape-Unconditional love
Agape love is above philos love and eros love. It is a love that is totally selfless, where a person gives out love to another person even if this act does not benefit her/him in any way. Whether the love given is returned or not, the person continues to love (even without any self-benefit).
Say, you help out a person, even though that person hates you and curses you. Or you take insults from your partner without hitting back, all the while forgiving and praying for your partner to amend her/his ways. Or the famed "unconditional love" that a mother has for her child (her child will always be the most beautiful child in the world to her, even with a face only a mother could love!).
Or the love we show our parents, taking care of them and helping them in their old age. Just like they took care of us when we were young, it is done with or without benefit in return.
However, the highest type of agape love is not human at all, but divine - God's unconditional love for us, His children.
God's love was shown to us the most when God the Father sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to his suffering and death on the cross for our salvation. There is no greater love than this. Jesus had no obligation to die for us, but He chose to. It is His gift, His ultimate gift.
The similar concept can be seen in the Hindu mythology where the three types of love are-
Sabyasachi
The word that runs the universe and one of the main characters that makes living things different from their non-living counterpart.Love has been a major source of inspiration for poets,authors,movie directors and people of all professions.But most people do not understand the full power of love.Hence I would like to introduce the topic of the three kinds of love- Eros, Philos and Agape.
Eros, or erotic love , is the first kind of love.Basically it refers to body love or superficial love.Crushes,dating relationships etc. is this form.Even most marriages in their initial stages involve Eros.This should not be confused as a less powerful form of love as this itself has a deep root.
It basically refers to the love where the person likes another's looks or characters.In this form , one only notices the good in the another and the bad is totally ignored.Eros doesnt survive for long.It is usually destroyed or in rare cases , gets converted to Philos-the higher stage of love.
Philos, Or love based on friendships-
Friendship is the foundation of a successful relationship.This is in contrast to a man-woman romantic relationship which starts out by "eros love", meaning you get attracted by physical/mental traits alone. Strong emotions start almost immediately (some would even say "love at first sight"), though you do not even know each other that much.
Philos love is a love based on "give-and-take", where two people benefit each other in a mutual way. One partner is still concerned with what she/he can take, but at the same time is also concerned with her/his partner's benefit and therefore gives back in return.
Therefore, philos is a higher type of love than eros. Philos love is a mutual, "give-and take" relationship, while eros love is a self-based, form of love that is more concerned with the "self" or self-benefit.
Like eros love, philos love must develop into a higher form of love, the highest love of all - "agape" or unconditional love.
Agape-Unconditional love
Agape love is above philos love and eros love. It is a love that is totally selfless, where a person gives out love to another person even if this act does not benefit her/him in any way. Whether the love given is returned or not, the person continues to love (even without any self-benefit).
Say, you help out a person, even though that person hates you and curses you. Or you take insults from your partner without hitting back, all the while forgiving and praying for your partner to amend her/his ways. Or the famed "unconditional love" that a mother has for her child (her child will always be the most beautiful child in the world to her, even with a face only a mother could love!).
Or the love we show our parents, taking care of them and helping them in their old age. Just like they took care of us when we were young, it is done with or without benefit in return.
However, the highest type of agape love is not human at all, but divine - God's unconditional love for us, His children.
God's love was shown to us the most when God the Father sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to his suffering and death on the cross for our salvation. There is no greater love than this. Jesus had no obligation to die for us, but He chose to. It is His gift, His ultimate gift.
The similar concept can be seen in the Hindu mythology where the three types of love are-
- Kama- Eros
- Prema-Philos
- Bhakti-Agape
Sabyasachi
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