If We Came Into This World Alone and Leave Alone—Was Love Ever Ours to Keep? |The Gita's Idea of Love

यदि हि संन्यासः श्रेयः कर्मणस्ते मतो मम। ततः किङ्कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव॥
(Bhagavad Gita 3.1 — "If renunciation is superior to action, then why do you engage me in this dreadful work, O Krishna?")

We enter this world alone and leave it the same way. Yet, between birth and death, we long for connection, believing love is something we can possess, something that belongs to us. But does it? The Bhagavad Gita challenges this idea, suggesting that love is not about possession but about liberation, experience, and detachment.

Krishna’s teachings to Arjuna reveal that love, like all things in the material world, is transient. But does that mean it is not real? Or does it mean that love, in its purest form, is something beyond attachment, expectation, and permanence?

Let’s explore how the Gita redefines love and what that means for us.
"न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः।"
(Bhagavad Gita 2.20 — "The soul is never born nor does it die, nor having once existed does it ever cease to be.")

We grieve when love fades, as if it has vanished forever. But if the soul is eternal, and if love is connected to the soul, how can love ever truly be lost?

Perhaps love does not disappear—it simply transforms. The person we loved may no longer be with us, but the love itself remains, woven into the fabric of our being. The Gita asks us to stop fearing loss and start recognizing love’s presence in forms we might not expect.
"कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।"
(Bhagavad Gita 2.47 — "Your right is to perform your duty only, but never to its fruits.")

When we say we love someone, do we love them for who they are—or do we love them for how they fulfill our emotional needs? If our love depends on how someone treats us, is it really love or just attachment?

Krishna’s wisdom reminds us that true love is unconditional—it is not a transaction. If we love without expectation, we shift from seeking love to embodying it.
"सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ।"
(Bhagavad Gita 2.38 — "Treat pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat alike.")

We often define ourselves by the love we have or lack. A happy relationship makes us feel whole, while heartbreak makes us feel lost. But if our identity is tied to love, does that mean we cease to exist when love fades?

The Gita encourages detachment—not from love itself, but from the idea that love must define us. Love is an experience, not an identity. It enhances life, but it is not life itself.
"त्यक्त्वा कर्मफलासङ्गं नित्यतृप्तो निराश्रयः।"
(Bhagavad Gita 4.20 — "Abandoning attachment to the fruits of action, ever content, dependent on nothing.")

We say we love someone, but does that love come with unspoken ownership? Do we expect them to be ours, to fulfill our needs, to never change? If so, is it truly love—or is it possession?

Love, as Krishna describes it, is not about holding on. It is about allowing, about witnessing without controlling. To love without possession is to love freely—without fear, without demand, without resistance.

"यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति।"
(Bhagavad Gita 6.30 — "One who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost to them, nor are they ever lost to Me.")

We often seek love to feel whole, believing that another person can complete us. But what if love is not about finding completion? What if it is about expanding beyond our own limited selves?

Krishna’s teachings suggest that love is not meant to fill an emptiness—it is meant to overflow. We do not need love to be whole; we need to recognize that we are already whole, and love is what we share, not what we seek.

"उद्धरेदात्मनाऽऽत्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत्।"
(Bhagavad Gita 6.5 — "Elevate yourself through your own mind; do not degrade yourself.")

Many of us chase love as if it is the missing piece of our puzzle. But are we truly seeking love, or are we running from solitude? Are we afraid of being alone, and so we fill the silence with relationships?

The Gita teaches self-sufficiency. Love should not be an escape—it should be an extension of our own wholeness. Before seeking love from another, we must first be at peace with ourselves.

"मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः।"
(Bhagavad Gita 2.14 — "Sensory experiences bring cold and heat, pleasure and pain; they come and go.")

Everything changes—people, emotions, circumstances. If love is also temporary, does that mean it is not real?

Krishna’s wisdom suggests otherwise. Just because something does not last forever does not mean it is an illusion. A flower blooms and withers, but its existence was still real. Love is not measured by its duration—it is measured by its depth.

"विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः।"
(Bhagavad Gita 2.71 — "That person who has given up all desires and moves about free from longing, devoid of the sense of 'I' and 'mine,' attains peace.")

We spend our lives trying to hold onto love, fearing that if we lose it, we will lose ourselves. But in the end, love was never ours to own. It was never something we could possess—it was only ever something we could give.

Krishna teaches us that love is not a chain; it is a path. It is not about keeping—it is about giving. It is not about attachment—it is about presence. And when we let go of the need to hold onto love, we finally understand it in its purest form.
Love, as Krishna describes it, is not about possession, expectation, or permanence. It is not something we can keep—it is something we can only experience, moment by moment.

So, was love ever truly ours? Perhaps not. But in releasing the illusion of ownership, we might finally understand what it means to love in the deepest, most profound way.