Sufis speak of "Love, Lover and Beloved" as The Divine Inspiration for Spiritual
Growth.

[quote below is from the ancient wisdom of the Bhagavan Purana, book 11,
chap.14, verses 22-25]....

+++++++++++++++++++++

"How can I be Loved if the hair does not stand on end when there is
Contemplation of Me?"

"How can I be Loved if the heart does not melt in My Presence?"

"How can I be Loved if tears of joy do not pass freely from the eyes
when I am Standing There?"

"If I am Loved, then the entire body-mind will be Filled by that Love"

"Gold can be made pure only through submission to fire..."

"Just so is the soul is purified and liberated from its deep urges
only when it submits to self-transcending Love-Communion...."

"Thereby the devotee is Awakened to Oneness and the devotee's
ecstatic presence serves the purification of the entire World."

+++++++++++++++++++++

[The above is adapted from the book "The Enlightenment of the Whole
Body" http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0913922358/sunflowerheal-21]

The author of this book was the late Adi Da Samraj, a "larger than
life" guru who became awakened to Divine Consciousness and founded a
spiritual movement known as Adidam. He moved through a variety of
names such as Bubba Free John, Da Free John, and Da Love-Ananda to
correspond with changes in his work as a spiritual teacher.

His huge autobiography: "The Knee of Listening: The Early-life Ordeal
and the Radical Spiritual Realization of the Divine World Teacher Adi
Da (The Da Avatar)"
[http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570970238/sunflowerheal-21]
is essential reading for any wannabe spiritual leader confronted
with the challenges, tasks and pitfalls of this career path. A Professor of
Philosophy described it as "...the most profound spiritual autobiography of our
time".

After his death, another book appeared with the amazing title of "Garbage and
the Goddess: The last miracles and final spiritual instructions of Bubba Free
John".
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0913922102/pigdiseaseinform]

I have not read it myself, but according to one reviewer it is an
account of several months in 1974 when the Guru "engaged his
community in a series of outrageous sexual and ecstatic practices"... "perhaps
intended to open his devotees to the immanent divine. Was Da really just doing
this to gratify himself, was he serving his devotees in this wild way, or both?
In any case, it's a potent vision of spiritual practice that is all-inclusive.
In this half-dead age, the presence of such a spiritual wildman, even a (quite
possibly) crazed one, is a phenomenon worthy of deep consideration!"

After watching the "Seven Ages of Rock" series on TV lately, the hunger of our
mundane world for "spiritual wildmen" is very apparent!

Mike