Love Begins with ME – Visionary Leader Pooja Ruprell’s Message on Love
Pooja Ruprell is always looking to create value for self and others in unique ways. Through her Buddhist memoir, as well as her latest book, “Passion, Perseverance, Prayer”, and many television shows, she has spread the light of wisdom, hope and joy. Highly performance-driven, energetic, passionate, resourceful and a decisive leader, she thrives on driving teams to excellence. Passionate about encouraging people to stand up for themselves, recognize their own beauty and strength and never give up on their dreams, she has important learnings on love to share with those who wish to be the best version of themselves.
The ‘Happy’ Principle
A few years ago, I attended a Buddhist meeting at a friend’s place. As I pushed open the door to enter her home, her little dog, Happy, came running to welcome me. He jumped around, getting in my way as I walked towards the others already gathered. As I sat down, Happy looked up at me with the most beautiful, love-filled eyes. His tongue came out, trying to lick me and express the emotion brimming within him. I bent down so he could kiss my cheek, allowing myself to bask in the warmth of his unceasing, unconditional affection.
A few minutes later, another person walked in and off went Happy again. Joyfully jumping about, he repeated his special welcome dance. Every time someone knocked, he was right there to greet them. There was no discrimination. Black, white, brown, tall, short or fat—it did not matter one bit to him. If you walked into his home, you got the red-carpet treatment. ‘You matter to me,’ was his consistent message. What was most amazing about Happy was that even if the people entering his home were clearly not dog lovers, Happy still went ahead and welcomed them. His exuberance was a little restrained if he sensed they did not enjoy his attention, but he did not deviate from his endeavors to spread love. Happy depicted godliness with the sparkle in his eyes and his prancing feet.
I spent most of the meeting basking in the feeling of warmth evoked by that grand five-star welcome. As much as I mattered to that little dog, I felt the love rising within me too. I yearned to hug him, play with him, and tickle him, with the intention of making him feel as good as he had made me feel.
Each of us wants nothing more than to feel loved and appreciated. While all of us probably agree with this statement, most of us forget to honor the people in our lives. This planet and its entire population would benefit immensely if we followed the ‘Happy’ principle and found our unique way of communicating a simple message to everyone who crosses our path: You matter! As the great Mother Teresasaid, there is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.
Spreading Sunshine amidst Clouds…
The Bible says: But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Luke 6:32–36
Your greatness too, lies in responding to anger with love, to stupidity with patience, and to greed with compassion. Truly evolved people exist in the realm of love; the more they are provoked, the more lovingly they respond. Revenge, hurting others, or aggression, are not responses that come naturally to them. Love is what they understand best. Even when someone tries to wrong them, they look for the godliness in that person. They continue to go their serene way, looking to spread sunshine where they see clouds; all their actions stem from that desire. They firmly believe that their purpose on this planet is to stay as far away as possible from judging, criticizing or putting down others.
While not all of us may have encountered such enlightened souls in person, they do exist. If we learn to love unconditionally, the rest automatically follows. But loving unconditionally from the heart requires us to ignore our noisy and frequently destructive mind and approach everyone from the heart – the place where our purest intentions reside. The heart is, after all, the abode of our highest self. Living from the heart is a gift. If all of us lived from the heart all the time, the world would be filled with love, compassion and forgiveness. Bombs would not explode, fewer children would go to bed without food, and on days when we felt sad, a friend would be close at hand. Life would be a celebration; we would be as happy about another’s success as about our own. When we let the light in our heart shine forth, its light is part of the Universe.
Be a Channel of Love
As you send out love, you too, will receive unconditional, infinite and ever-flowing love. If you want something, all you need to do is give love abundantly. Like a snowball that gathers momentum and grows larger when it is pushed down a hill, your gifts will multiply as you send them out, soon having nowhere else to go but come back to you.
Love can accomplish what you may otherwise find impossible to achieve. Imprint this on your heart and follow this advice. Your life will turn marvelously topsy-turvy, and you will never be the same again.
