ये इश्क़ नहीं आसाँ इतना ही समझ लीजे

ये इश्क़ नहीं आसाँ इतना ही समझ लीजे

इक आग का दरिया है और डूब के जाना है

This is a very famous couplet from Jigar Moradabadi. Why is love compared with a pond of fire? It is only love that can make us push all the boundaries. Love takes away all the fears. We have so many examples before us. Bhagat Singh, Shivaji, Maharana Pratap, Rani Lakshmi Bai, and so many other freedom fighters could bear so many unthinkable tortures due to their love for freedom. They loved freedom unconditionally and therefore did not think twice before embracing all the physical and mental tortures. 

A mother can fight the entire society for her kids. We have often seen the videos of a deer mother fighting a tiger for her baby. Every mother bears the unbearable pain of delivery to give birth to the baby. It's a miracle of nature that the same mother who can't bear the pain of even a small surgery happily gives birth to a baby. Not so that the mother does not feel the pain, but there is something bigger and larger that gives her courage to bear the pain. Not so that the freedom fighters did not feel the pain, but their love for freedom gave them the courage to bear that pain.

When we love somebody or something unconditionally, that love gives us the courage to face our fears, bear the pain, and grow beyond what we are. When we love a subject matter, we become passionate about that subject, and that passion helps us drop the laziness, and we make efforts. When we move ahead, there will be times when we are extremely busy, and yet that passion will help us find time for what we love. Not so that the lives of great scientists are easy, but their love and passion for scientific inventions give them the courage to fight against all the odds and keep moving forward in the desired direction.

When we love something, it's quite easy to let go of our comforts. All the parents do the same for their kids. All the passionate artists and scientists do the same out of their love for art or science. However, the real test of our love is when we have to fight our strong survival instincts. That's why when we see people giving away their lives for their love and passion, it fills us with a sense of awe. We have a similarly very strong identification with our self-image, belief systems, and relationships. 

Our self-image is quite dear to us, and that's why people can forgive extreme physical abuse, but it is very difficult for them to forgive their insult. People invest heavily in building their self-image. That makes them feel safe. If I am a "good person" in the eyes of society, the basic presumption is that society will stand with me in the event of danger, and that provides a very big mental comfort. That's why any threat to this self-image is unbearable for most people. Similarly, people invest a lot in their belief system. That makes them part of the herd. We feel safe to be a part of the herd. That's why when there is a threat to the belief system, we feel absolutely insecure. We develop a feeling that the entire community is under threat, and that shakes the very foundations of our existence. Similarly, relationships provide us with a very deep sense of security, and that's why handling social isolation is not everybody's cup of tea. It makes us extremely insecure. That's why we generally do not have the courage to say "No" even to unreasonable demands by relatives and friends. 

Love fills us with a strange courage to challenge all these comforts. The world of literature is full of stories where people have dropped their relationships for their love. We have many stories around us where people did love marriages against the wishes of their parents and in a way chose their love over their parents. What needs to be seen, however, is whether it was really love or a calculation. Most often mind calculates a safer and more comfortable option and, just to get social validation, gives it the name of love. Still, we have some stories where love was unconditional. We have the story of Savitri, Nachiketa, and Rama, who loved their husband, father, and wife, respectively, unconditionally and overcame all their fears for that love. Yet there are very few stories where people could drop their self-image and belief system for their love. Pure love has the power to give a person courage to even drop their self-image and belief system. 

The entire process of letting go of our cherished possessions, such as relationships, self-image, and belief systems, for love is not comfortable or easy. It's a constant struggle. That's why love isn’t easy; it has been compared to a pond of fire that we must leap over to cross. However, when someone is in love, that inner happiness fills them with incomparable joy, giving them the courage to sacrifice their life, self-image, belief systems, and relationships. This journey is not comfortable. This courage cannot arise unless love is pure. One cannot pretend to be a Bhagat Singh or Meera. Only if the love within is pure does one summon the courage to let go of their most treasured possessions. They don’t hesitate to release their relationships. They don’t mind relinquishing their belief systems, which are deeply ingrained since childhood. They dare to let go of their self-image, which they have nurtured for years. They are willing to abandon the ground beneath their feet and all the defenses that make them feel safe because they have realized the futility of life without love. Those who experience love are fortunate; for most, routine takes over, and they choose security until that façade crumbles at the time of death.