When lust overtakes human beings...

When lust overtakes human beings, the latter become self-centred, regarding love as a mere tool or means of self gratification. However, when human beings evidence love as a genuine affection, they are no longer self-centred. On the contrary, their love signifies the most desirable spirit of self-sacrifice. In other words, individuals in genuine love are capable of overcoming their self-centred motivations for the sake of each other.

World literature is replete with love's many-splendoured qualities, including those of a catalyst, teacher and inspirer. From Persian literature, we may quote a verse from Sadi, as follows: Whoever falls in love beyond himself,yields to love but his own self,Whoever loved not, evolved not manfulness,Silver unmelted gives not brightfulness.

Another famous Iranian poet, Hafiz, refers to a nightingale's love of roses and muses as follows:- By rose's grace, nightingales do their singing All those songs and lyrics so pleasing Beyond what their beaks do improvising! No doubt, love has been eulogised in many ways, both in the East and West. Yet, there has come to be a difference between the Eastern and Western conceptualization of love.

To many Westerners, love can be worthwhile as long as it embodies the sweetness mutually attainable by lovers. Individuals of opposite sex in the West prefer the desirability and enjoyability of living together, in mutual love and comfort, to the constant annoyance and boredom of living as singles. They aim at maximizing enjoyment of life. In the East, love is regarded as something inexorably desirable in itself.

For, it lends an overall perspective to the human personality, while ennobling and inspiring the spirit. No wonder, love has been described as a catalyst, purifier and in similar other ways. Evidently, in all these and other attributes, one can hardly discern any implicit suggestion to the effect that love is no more than an introduction to the sweet union that usually follows it, or to mere feelings of enjoying living together in body and spirit.

Even to some impressionable Easterners, love between prospective spouses may signify something preliminary to their subsequent pleasures of union and living together only. However, even their preliminary experience of being loved by each other can (or ought to) progressively enhance their humaneness. This is not like its becoming something merely conducive to any anticipation of enjoyments from conjugal relations or cohabitation.