How do I develop love in my daily life?

First Love your breath. Where there is love there is attraction to love, closeness to love. When I say, “Love your breath,” I mean be attracted to breath, be closer to it, go to the source of your breath. Why do I emphasize on breath? In the Bible (John 4:24), it says, “God is Spirit, and His worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.” The worshipper of God should worship Him in Spirit, and spirit means breath. God is breath and the worshipper of God should worship in breath. In the Taittitiya Upanishad (1:1), it says:

namo brahmane namaste vayo tvameva pratyaksham brahmasi

“O Brahman, I bow to you, you are breath, you are directly perceived Brahman.”

The yogic scriptures say:

pranohi bhagavan isha prana vishnu pitamahah

pranena dharayate lokam sarvam pranamayam jagat

“Breath is Brahma, the creator of life, breath is Vishnu, the sustainer of life, breath is Maheshwara, the form of death.”

With breath you are born and with breath you will die. With breath you live; breath is God. If you love your breath that means you watch it, you see Who is inhaling from within, and you understand that if thee is no breath there is no life, there is no nothing for you. Even the body which you love so much you cannot claim, you cannot hold, if there is no breath. If there is no breath there is no body and you have no world you have no mind, you have no ego; you have nothing. All play in the world, all attachment, all relationships are possible because of breath. If you really love your breath, pay attention to it and you will realize how beautiful breath is in every living being. Even plants breathe. Life manifests through breath so your love will be greater.

I also tell whose who practice Kriya Yoga that love flourishes and the bond between friends becomes stronger. Mutual understanding is enhanced through the practice of Kriya Yoga. Kriya brings real love from within. The definition of divine love given by sage Shandhilya is sa paranuraktih ishware: “Real love is when you are constantly united with God.” Kriya Yoga teaches that love.

Source: page 129-130, The Divine Quest - Paramhansa Hariharananda

What is Love?

Love is a feeling. When you see a flower you get a feeling within. When a bee sees a beautiful flower it also has a feeling within. This feeling is created within a person, in his heart or mind. When looking at an external object, looking at a friend, hearing a very beautiful sound or a devotional song, feelings of love, joy, completeness, or satisfaction are created. But it is dependent. You hear beautiful music and you feel love and joy, but real love is to perceive divinity within, independent of any external factor. That love which is called devotion or pure love is only experienced through channeling or directing your emotion toward God. Emotion that is transformed in God consciousness becomes devotion. Love which you feel seeing your wife or husband, your children or friend, becomes more physical and worldly, but it can become more spiritual when you feel the power of God in a person. In your little baby you see the power of God, how the power of God is breathing. You observe the breath of your child as well as your own breath. You feel oneness – we are breathing same air, and the same power of God that is in me is in my child. That love brings more devotion, more gratefulness to God. This is pure love. Through worldly love or love of your relations, you can develop spiritually. This is what love is. Jesus said, “God is love.” When you have love, you forget everything and you are merged in God consciousness.

Source: page 129, The Divine Quest - Paramhansa Hariharananda

Sri Ramakrishna on Necessity of Spiritual Practice

Sri Ramakrishna wanted to see the Wilson Circus. As the carriage rolled along the crowded Chitpore Road, his joy was very great. Like a little child he leaned first out of one side of the carriage and then out of the other, talking to himself as if addressing the passers-by. To M. he said: "I find the attention of the people fixed on earthly things. They are all rushing about for the sake of their stomachs. No one is thinking of God."

They arrived at the circus. Tickets for the cheapest seats were purchased. The devotees took the Master to a high gallery, and they all sat on a bench. He said joyfully: "Ha! This is a good place. I can see the show well from here." There were exhibitions of various feats. A horse raced around a circular track over which large iron rings were hung at intervals. The circus rider, an Englishwoman, stood on one foot on the horse's back, and as the horse passed under the rings, she jumped through them, always alighting on one foot on the horse's back. The horse raced around the entire circle, and the woman never missed the horse or lost her balance.
When the circus was over, the Master and the devotees stood outside in the field, near the carriage. Since it was a cold night he covered his body with his green shawl.

Sri Ramakrishna said to M.: "Did you see how that Englishwoman stood on one foot on her horse, while it ran like lightning? How difficult a feat that must be! She must have practised a long time. The slightest carelessness and she would break her arms or legs; she might even be killed. One faces the same difficulty leading the life of a householder. A few succeed in it through the grace of God and as a result of their spiritual practice. But most people fail. Entering the world, they become more and more involved in it; they drown in worldliness and suffer the agonies of death. A few only, like Janaka, have succeeded, through the power of their austerity, in leading the spiritual life as householders. Therefore spiritual practice is extremely necessary; otherwise one cannot rightly live in the world."

Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna