The path of Yoga is a journey from Ignorance to knowledge, from darkness to the Light. This naturally moves through zones of diminishing grey areas and increasing inner brightness. This does not work through a handbook of mental rulebook. Such prescriptions and preoscriptions lead to hypocrisy and falsehood that one often finds in religous and spiritual institutions.
This does not mean that anything and everything is permissible and acceptable. That would mean no sadhana and no will to exceed the lower and lesser formats. There is a clear need for exceeding the pushes and impulsions of the lower nature of ignorance to which what mostly passes off in the name of human love belongs. It includes a whole play of human emotions that are largely driven by the vital seeking for pleasure, the cravings of the flesh and the attachments born of selfish needs, demands and desires that steal the name of love and masquerade its movements. Romantic feelings are often like that. If such be the case then these relationships either drop out of themselves or have to be sooner or later dropped out as they can become serious obstacles to the growing inner life. There may however be something true and beautiful behind the outer play of sentiments and emotions, a little ray of true love behind the outer screen that might blossom as the two sadhaks grow. Evidently it requires both to grow together towards the same goal on the same path. If that happens then most of these surface sentimental romantic things and sexual undercurrents drop off sooner or later and the two travel together supporting each other in the journey. Whether they will marry or not is not the criteria anymore. Marraige as it stands today is largely a social institution for legalising the coming of children into the world. It was sacred at one point of time but as of now it has lost its inner truth. Hence the decline of the institution that goes by the name. A freer and more plastic system, wider and truer will replace it in times to come. But that is a different thing altogether.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
