What is Love?

What is love? This is a question that has been asked countless times by poets, philosophers, scientists, and even the occasional pop star. If you’re like most people, you’ve probably thought of this question yourself. And while everyone ponders the nature of love at some point in their lives, there isn’t much consensus about what the emotion is really all about.

The theoretical physicist and science writer Jim Al-Khalili, writing in The Guardian newspaper, states that love is a “neurological condition” just like thirst or hunger. The only difference, according to him, is that love lasts longer. He attributes both short-term love, or lust, and long-term attachment to biological chemistry. While the feeling of lust is a result of the temporary increase in estrogen or testosterone, when we experience true, long-term love the brain releases a range of chemicals including pheromones, dopamine, and serotonin.

In the same Guardian feature, psychotherapist Philippa Perry writes that love has many guises and manifests itself in different ways. The ancients, she states, never grouped the many emotions of “love” into one word. Love, says Perry, had multiple variations, including: philia, a deep and non-sexual feeling of intimacy between friends and family members; ludus, comparable to flirting; eros, which involved sexual passion and desire; and agape, the love that extends to all humanity.

Love, according to Sadhuguru, is a “longing to include the other as part of yourself.” In the video below, excerpted from one of Sadhguru’s live talks, he explains what love really is:

How will Sadhguru’s insight into the nature of love enrich your relationships? Tell us below!