tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post114965207263753784..comments2023-11-22T04:10:49.266-05:00Comments on Dispatches from Zembla: Love in the Western WorldAlokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-1149845338232589002006-06-09T04:28:00.000-05:002006-06-09T04:28:00.000-05:00Yes, I agree with what you say.What I should have ...Yes, I agree with what you say.<BR/><BR/>What I should have added was that because the romantic love was mixed up with philosophical ideas, the idea of romance as a thing in itself got devalued. I am not saying that it was bad but it generally didn't help the idea that love could be used as basis of marriage or companionship.<BR/><BR/>Still there are many examples of stories of courtship, men pursuing women, both falling in love, getting married or separated in our tradition too. Which just goes to show that romance (and not just sexual desire) is a universal trait too and not a product of any specific culture.Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-1149796940851499812006-06-08T15:02:00.000-05:002006-06-08T15:02:00.000-05:00Alok, There's more to shringar rasa and its (seemi...Alok, <BR/><BR/>There's more to shringar rasa and its (seemingly tenuous) connection with religion and spirituality. <BR/><BR/>It's too easy to interpret those poems and lyrics as only celebration of physical beauty, but many of these poets, particularly the mystical poets often "use" the physical body and its beauty as a "gateway" to a Higher Truth. <BR/><BR/>The notion that there's a romantic love (separate and distinct from other forms of love) is, if you think about it, an odd one. Which was precisely the point of the Sufi poets (or even Meerabai) - you love one, you love all, and through that love you find God.kmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16040339235134145847noreply@blogger.com