Question: I believe that love is always the same, whether human or divine. Is this true?
Sri Chinmoy: No! Human love and divine love are two completely different things. If I give you fifteen cents and you give me a piece of candy, that is called human love. In divine love, you don’t wait for my fifteen cents. You give me the piece of candy cheerfully of your own accord. Divine love is sacrifice, and in this sacrifice we are fulfilling God’s Will, consciously or unconsciously. In human love, we display the buyer’s and the seller’s love, which is synonymous with self-interest. Mind you, I am not saying that human beings cannot express divine love. They can and sometimes do. But consistent divine love is, at present, rare in human beings.
Sri Chinmoy, Beyond Within — A collection of writings 1964-1974, Agni Press, 1975