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What is Valentine’s Day?
Formally, it was known as Saint Valentine’s Day, but throughout time, it was misinterpreted as Valentine’s Day, completely changing the essence of this day. People nowadays celebrate this day to exhibit their so-called love for their partners or loved ones.
For a religious person, the true meaning of Saint Valentine’s Day is giving up all material engagements, engaging in Loving services of the Lord bearing all forms of disturbances, and being willing to give even our lives for the sake of spreading the Lord’s glories.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura: “Life without love is useless and poor they say, Appoint me in thy service, Oh Lord with Love as my pay.”
Srila Prabhupada: “Any religion, it doesn’t matter whether Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion—if you are developing love of God, then you are perfect in your religion. . . .
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When is Valentine’s Day Celebrated?
It is celebrated on February 14th, the second month of the year.
According to the Hindu calendar, it occurs at the start of the spring month known as Basant Ritu. It heralds the blooming of flowers and the breeding of animals.The sound of birds chirping in the early mornings and bees buzzing at night becomes immensely calming and peaceful after a long winter alone.
Why is Valentine’s Day Observed?
The story of two Saint Valentine:-
In connection with Valentine’s Day there was a story of two Saint Valentines.
They were both celibate monks who preached about God consciousness. One of them was a catholic priest who lived in Rome and proclaimed the gospel of God’s love with such zeal and opposition that he died in the second half of the third century, only two and a half centuries after Jesus Christ. And, despite the fact that teaching Christianity was illegal, it was a criminal activity, he was preaching, he was risking his life, and he was a brahmachari. He was a priest who abandoned family life and any sexual interaction for the sake of preaching the precepts of love for God, and he was arrested, tortured, and slain. He is considered one of the greatest Catholic martyrs.
The second saint Valentine served as a bishop in the Catholic Church. He was also a celibate monk who dedicated his entire life to God consciousness, and he was a preacher who was caught, tortured, and slain because he refused to stop proclaiming God’s devotion. Saint Valentine, these two magnificent characters, gave up all the world’s joys, even life itself, to serve God.
But a bit later since both of these saint Valentines were killed on February 14th, so February 14th is the middle of the second month of the year in England and France, and it’s like the beginning of spring.
Reason Why People Start Observing this Day:-
People observed male and female birds meeting in the branches and mating.The beginning of the mating season for birds and animals. As a result, Religious people perceive it for what it is. However, romantic materialists are drawn to this when they observe a male and female bird pecking each other with their beaks and having sex life. This is said to be really lovely.
So, since the middle of February is the day when the birds mate, they thought we should dedicate this day to showing your passionate love to others because that’s what the birds do on this day, and it also happened to be the day on which Saint Valentine was murdered, so it became known as Saint Valentine’s Day.
And later on is considered as Valentine’s Day, the day of romance for so-called lovers which is totally contradictory why it was meant for.
3 Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day
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How Should (Saint) Valentine’s Day Be Celebrated?
Nowadays, we can witness how young guys and girls would celebrate this day by dating. They are unconcerned about what it signifies. They have set aside Saints and simply celebrated Valentine’s Day as a day to express their temporary love for one other.
1. Spreading God Consciousness: The major reason for celebrating this day is to devote our lives and souls to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. We should take part in Krishna Consciousness’ preaching efforts. Make others aware of the true meaning of life.
In Bhagwad Gita 18.68 Lord Krishna Says:
ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ
mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati
bhaktiṁ mayi parāṁ kṛtvā
mām evaiṣyaty asaṁśayaḥ
“For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me.”
2. Dedicate in the Lord’s Service: Most individuals in the Kali era are active in the service of Maya Lord’s External energy and have forgotten the true service of Lord’s Lotus Feet. Serving the maya is a cycle of birth and death. And on the other hand, serving the Lord enables us to return to the Godhead. We should take some responsibility on Valentine’s Day to serve the Lord.
3. Develop Love for God: Developing love for God is the ultimate goal of this human form of life, without which we are no better than animals. So, on this Valentine’s Day, let us begin the bhakti process for God by hearing, reading, and chanting His holy name.
In Bhagavad Gita 8.22 Lord Krishna says:
puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha
bhaktyā labhyas tv ananyayā
yasyāntaḥ-sthāni bhūtāni
yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.”
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4 Things To Identify Your Real Valentine & Pure Love:
Humans have a hypocritical disposition, as we can observe in the age of Kali. They are different in front of you and in reality. So, in the world of duality, it is difficult to discover truthful people.
Nowadays, on Valentine’s Day, the younger generation observes the day by dating each other, which is not Love but Lust to satisfy the senses only.
To find our true Valentine or Pure Love, we must examine the loved one using the following criteria:
1. Six Symptoms of Pure Love:
In Nectar of Instruction verse 4 Srila Rupa Goswami Said:
dadāti pratigṛhṇāti
guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati
bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva
ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam
“Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one’s mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasāda and offering prasāda are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another.”
First, we must give something to and receive something from our beloved. There is no love if we continue to accept but do not contribute anything. Then we should not keep anything hidden from our beloved, and he or she should not keep anything hidden from us. One should give the lover food and accept food from him or her. And that love should be free of any material motivations or impediments.
2. To Love Someone Without Any Cause:
Love for someone should be causeless because if there is any self-interest involved, it is not love; it is business where we anticipate something in exchange for love.
In Sri Sri Sikshashtakam verse 7 Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says:
yugayitam nimeshena cakshusha pravrishayitam
sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda-virahena me
“O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.”
3.To Love Someone Without Any Conditions:
The nature of love is ever increasing with the time frame and will not be terminated at any condition of life.
In Sri Sri Sikshashtakam verse 8 Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says:
aslishya va pada-ratam pinashtu mam
adarsanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah
“I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally.”
4.Love should be free of Selfish Motivation:
If we love someone for our own selfish reasons, this is not true love. Apratihata, which means “without being hampered for any reason,” is another name for pure love.
In Sri Sri Sikshashtakam verse 4 Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says:
na dhanam na janam na sundarim
kavitam va jagad-isa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi
“O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.”
Actually, love is meant solely for God because if we love another person, our offerings will be unsatisfactory, but God is so gracious that He can be pleased by simply offering Him leaves, flowers, and a small quantity of water if provided with love.
In Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 22.107:
nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya
śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya
“Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, the living entity naturally awakens.”
So we just need to Chant, hear about the glories of Lord Hari.
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE,
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
Hare Krishna!!
FAQ
- Saint Valentine’s Day meant for?
It is the day when the two great christian Saints were murdered just because they are spreading the God Consciousness in the society. We should take the learnings from these great Saints and take the responsibility to spread God Consciousness in the society.
2. What to do on Valentine’s Day?
On this day we should go to the temples, hear from saintly persons about self realisation. Need to follow the instructions of scriptures and make others aware of this God Consciousness movement.
