The three paths of guidance: the path of love.
Ustad Abdini explains that there are three paths to guide the soul towards God. Yesterday we covered the first two - through praise and blame, and through reward and punishment. Today we reach the highest of all.
The third path: the path of love (Maslak-e Hubbi).
This is the way of the last prophet(s), as described by Alma Tabatbai in al-Mizan. It is a movement based on love, not on what people say, and not on reward or punishment. It is the highest and fastest path of the soul.
But is it out of reach?
At first glance, it seems extremely difficult - as if it is only for the spiritual elite. But God made it universal. In fact, we are so surrounded by it that we have become oblivious to it.
The secret: love of the self (hob al-daht).
Alma Tabatbai says that most of the journey towards God is through the natural love of the self. As the narration says:
"Hearts are meant to love those who benefit them and hate those who harm them. ".
"Hearts naturally tend to love those who benefit them and hate those who harm them. ".
It's not selfishness or arrogance - it's something else entirely. This natural love of self expands. At first, a person sees only his body and his interests. Then they get married, and they see their partner as themselves. Then they have children, and they see their children as themselves. Their love extends from the body, to the family, to the community.
The family is the training ground of the gods.
God placed the family as a training workshop for love. Before anyone reads a book or hears a lecture, he experiences this love naturally. A parent stays awake for their child, sacrifices their time and money and protects them - without any expectation of reward, and sometimes even without any faith. This is because their self has expanded.
The miracle of the house.