Love's Tidings

King Edward VIII was given an ultimatum: if he wanted the person he loved, he would have to surrender the throne. Without a moment's hesitation, Edward chose love. He relinquished the crown willingly and embraced a life of utter simplicity.

Love stands above all the world's temptations.

Helen abandoned Prince Menelaus and fled with Paris, her beloved, to the city of Troy. When Menelaus learned of it, he declared war—a terrible war to reclaim her. For twelve long years the famous Trojan War raged on account of Helen's love, and the city of Troy burned to ash, its streets piled high with the dead.

The power of love is more destructive than the fury of fire.

To honor his love for Mumtaz, Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in Agra over twenty-one years. In the twilight of his days, confined to his prison tower, Shah Jahan would gaze out toward the Taj Mahal, watching it with solitary eyes until the end.

Love has the power to break, yet also to build eternity.

Seduced by love, the young Shaon—barely half Humayun Ahmed's age—bound her life to the wizard of Bengali literature. Priyanka Chopra found love's true address in Nick Jonas, ten years her junior.

Love has never cared for the walls of age, in any age.

Actress Tabu, beautiful and graceful, never married after loving someone she could not have. And Bollywood legend Rekha, it seems, still wears vermillion in her parting for the name of some old love.

Those who carry love's eternal dwelling deep in their hearts need no separate home.

After loving Subarna Mustafa, Humayun Faridi could love no one else. Even after she left him, he spent the remainder of his life in a solitude so terrible, so complete, that it seemed almost effortless.

Life transforms; love never does.

Just to catch a glimpse of Rajkini, the washerwoman's daughter, the Brahmin landlord's son Chandidas stood by the river with his fishing line for twelve long years. To preserve their love, the two fled to Vrindavan—and never returned. No one ever found them again.

Love knows no caste, no clan.

Through the ages, the world has yielded to love's power. In times both good and ill, love has kept humanity alive. We are nothing but creatures clinging to a dream of survival through a little love. One who has lost wealth can still be saved; but one who has lost love—that is a burden too heavy to bear. Across countless lives, people have willingly, without hesitation, offered even their own breath for love. It is only through love's miraculous touch that humans, across the ages, have truly become human.

Love knows no caste, understands no religion or irreligion, cares nothing for right or wrong. The purest happiness this world knows is called love.

At love's approach, the entire world bows in an instant. At love's call, God Himself surrenders. Love has no color of its own, cares nothing for caste, creed, or the distance of years. Love remains, for all eternity, as mighty and divine as God's own power.