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The language of love is the language of the heart. It is the language of experience. It is the language of mysticism.

Eknath Easwaran

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The Language of Love

Topic: Love, Compassion, & Kindness

The language of love is the language of the heart, the language of experience, and the language of mysticism. It is the language that can help us to understand and experience God… Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics speak the same language. They may use different words, but they are talking about the same reality. The language of mysticism is the language of love. It is the language of the heart, not the head. It is the language of experience, not of theory… The mystics of all religions have said the same thing in different words. They have said that God is love, that we are all one with God, and that our true home is in God. They have said that we can experience God here and now, through love and compassion… The language of love is the language of the heart. It is the language of experience. It is the language of mysticism.

Eknath Easwaran

Eknath Easwaran was an Indian-born spiritual teacher, author, and translator of Indian religious texts. He was born in Kerala, India, in 1910. He was raised by his mother and his maternal grandmother, whom he honored as his spiritual teacher.

Easwaran came to the United States in 1959 as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Minnesota. He later moved to the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught courses on meditation and Indian philosophy. In 1961, he founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation and Nilgiri Press, based in northern California.

Easwaran was a lifelong vegetarian and advocate for non-violence. He was a strong supporter of interfaith dialogue and understanding. He wrote over 40 books on spirituality, including translations of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads.

Easwaran was the originator of passage meditation, a simple and effective method of meditation that uses short passages of inspiring text. He also wrote many books on spirituality, including The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living, The Upanishads, and Meditation: The Art of Inner Peace.

Easwaran's teachings have been translated into over 20 languages and have helped millions of people around the world to find peace and happiness in their lives. He was a wise and compassionate teacher who showed the world the power of love and compassion. His teachings continue to inspire and uplift people all over the world.

Here are some additional points about Easwaran's life and work:

- He was a strong supporter of interfaith dialogue and understanding. He believed that all religions have something to offer and that we can learn from each other.
- He founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation to provide a place for people to learn about and practice meditation. He believed that meditation is a powerful tool for self-transformation and inner peace
- He wrote over 40 books on spirituality, including translations of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. His books have been translated into over 20 languages and have helped millions of people around the world.

Easwaran was a wise and compassionate teacher who showed the world the power of love and compassion. His teachings continue to inspire and uplift people all over the world.

(1910–1999) Hinduism
Seeing with the Eyes of Love

Easwaran, Eknath. Seeing with the Eyes of Love. Nilgiri Press, 1991. P. 22.

Eknath Easwaran


Theme: Love

About This Eknath Easwaran Quotation [Commentary]

Eknath Easwaran writes, “The language of love is the language of the heart. It is the language of experience. It is the language of mysticism.” In this sequence, he outlines a path of knowing that moves beyond thought and theory. Love, for Easwaran, is not simply emotion or doctrine but a way of perceiving reality. This language arises from the heart, not the head—from lived experience, not abstract reasoning. He emphasizes that this is “the language that can help us to understand and experience God,” suggesting that divine encounter is available through love, not argument.

Easwaran continues, “Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics speak the same language.” While words and beliefs may differ across traditions, mystics describe a shared experience. “They may use different words,” he writes, “but they are talking about the same reality.” That reality, he says plainly, is love. The mystics affirm that “God is love,” that “we are all one with God,” and that “our true home is in God.” These are not conceptual claims but insights arising from personal encounter. Easwaran insists that “the language of mysticism is the language of love,” and it is this shared experience that unites mystics across time and tradition.

“The language of love,” Easwaran concludes, “is the language of the heart, the language of experience, and the language of mysticism.” This repetition reinforces his central point: that the deepest spiritual knowledge comes through love. It is not found through theory but through compassion and unity. “We can experience God here and now,” he writes, “through love and compassion.” This is not a distant goal, but a present invitation. Love, for Easwaran, is not only the means of understanding God—it is the experience of God.

More About Eknath Easwaran’s Seeing with the Eyes of Love

“Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good; by itself it makes every thing that is heavy, light; and it bears evenly all that is uneven.”

—Easwaran, Eknath. Seeing with the Eyes of Love: Eknath Easwaran on the Imitation of Christ. Nilgiri Press, 1991, p. 22.

“Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good; by itself it makes every thing that is heavy, light; and it bears evenly all that is uneven” (Easwaran 22). In this line, Eknath Easwaran speaks of love’s capacity to transform—turning what is “heavy” into light, and balancing what is uneven. It reflects how love reshapes our perception, enabling us to “see with the eyes of love.” This mirrors his earlier teaching: “the language of love is the language of the heart… the language of experience… the language of mysticism.” Love, for Easwaran, is more than emotion—it restores harmony, lifts burdens, and renews vision. Together, these words deepen our understanding: seeing with love means perceiving life not through theory or intellect but through the heart’s compassion. To see with the eyes of love is to be transformed in perception. He concludes again, “The language of love is the language of the heart, the language of experience, and the language of mysticism.” This repetition is deliberate. Love is not only how we approach the divine—it is how we experience the divine, here and now, through compassion, unity, and a heart attuned to what cannot be reduced to words.

Background

Raised in South India as a Hindu, Easwaran drew inspiration also from the Christian tradition, explaining that “the message of Christ first reached me “ through the lives of individual Christians, such as his college headmaster, Father John Palakaran. For spiritual inspiration, Easwaran reported that:

“Initially… I was most at home with the mystics of Hinduism and Buddhism. But gradually I became conversant with those of the Christian tradition…. [and] the Imitation of Christ… seemed to me to hold a unique place in Christian mystical literature…. It is the special strength of a few books, and this is one of them, that down through the ages they have helped bridge the gap between cloister and household. Though the Imitation was composed in a monastic setting, its teachings are universally applicable…”

—Easwaran, Eknath. Seeing with the Eyes of Love: Eknath Easwaran on the Imitation of Christ. Nilgiri Press, 1996 edition.

Resources

  • Seeing with the Eyes of Love by Eknath Easwaran. From Wikipedia

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