Is romance necessary?
QUESTION: Masters, modern society considers the relationship between spouses to be deepest. However, according to various spiritual teachers, the ultimate aim is to love all beings unconditionally and without attachment. Is it necessary to maintain ‘romantic relationships’ or is that just another form of addiction/ dependence? ~Vyraj, India
ANSWER: Souls come into body to be able to experience a number of different feelings and lessons. Romantic love, the love shared between two human beings, can only be felt with the nervous system of the physical body. Souls cannot feel a romantic type of love. However, they can certainly detect an all-consuming unconditional love, like that of which they are composed of when in energetic form.
Some souls come down with a lesson of experiencing all aspects of physical romantic love. The ups and downs of the emotions, the give and take between two people who may be totally different, the sense of abandonment or betrayal that is strongest when associated with romantic love: these can only be felt with a human body.
Society tells everyone that the family is the most important aspect of life. This provides more people in the form of children and creates less discord created by love triangles, stalking, and jealousies. Society is ego-driven and judges right or wrong, and compliance with everyone else in the group. Love for another human is encouraged and accepted. Love for oneself is considered narcissistic and selfish.
On the spiritual soul level, after the lessons are completed, the soul finds its path back to Home by following the unconditional love that is contained within. But even before that, souls can truly love another only to the extent that they love themselves. Without a sense of self-love, the person has no idea what love feels like, and therefore cannot understand love for someone else.
Therefore, each soul needs to have a combination of spiritual unconditional love and romantic love to experience incarnate life to the fullest.