Question: How can I have love for everyone in my heart all the time?

Sri Chinmoy: One first has to love oneself. Those who say, "First love humanity, then think of yourself," are mistaken. This philanthropic idea is absolutely wrong. Love, spontaneous love, must first grow inside. We cannot grow love in the supermarket or somewhere in the subway station. Love has to be grown here, deep within us. When we see and feel and become love, only then can we offer our love to the rest of humanity.

If you want to have love for all humanity, then you should know how everybody came into existence. Humanity came into existence from the Source and that Source is God. If you can have love for God at every second of your life, then you will have love for all. You have to know that only God can satisfy you most convincingly. From within you will get the message that only the Source from which you came into existence can satisfy you.

Every day when you meditate, please say the word 'love' before you start your meditation. When you utter the word 'love', try to feel that your arms, your legs, your eyes and every part of you has increased its capacity. Take the arm, for example. The arm means strength. When you say the word 'love', you have to feel that your arms have become stronger — not for striking anybody, but for working more for humanity. Then concentrate on your eyes and try to feel that you are using your eyes to see only good things in everybody. When you concentrate on your ears, feel that you want to hear only good things, encouraging and inspiring things. If somebody says bad things, you will just keep your ears closed. Each time you say the word 'love', concentrate on one of your organs. Then afterwards, try to concentrate on your inner consciousness, which is now aspiring but which is also limited. Try to expand it. First you repeat the word 'love' in a human way with your body, and then you repeat it in a divine way, with your inner consciousness. Automatically you will have love for God, and when you have love for God, you will feel love for humanity. When you love God, that means that you are watering the root. So naturally all the branches and leaves will get water also.

So if you want to love your neighbour, or your wife, husband or child then you have to love God first. God is the Source. If you don't go to the Source, who is all Love then it will just be words when you say, "I love you, I love you." There is no way for any human being to establish real love except by becoming one with God's Love. Through God, you can have a free access to any individual on earth and, at that time, your love will be most pure and most effective.