We all know valentine’s day as a day when mostly lovers exchange roses and propose to each other, which is not a bad thing but in all this we tend to overlook the history behind this day and how it is related to a person named Valentinus.

The Christian Connection

The story of this day begins in the third century when there was a king named Claudius II who was known for his autocracies and dictatorship, true to the style that most emperors used to be in those times. He had made it mandatory for all Roman people to worship only the 12 Gods of their own religion and he was so much against Christ that any association with Christians or Jesus was a severe offence and crime punishable with worst punishments.

St Valentine

St Valentinus and Valentine’s Day

There was a follower of Christ known as St Valentinus who was not afraid to worship Jesus and follow his Christian beliefs despite the restrictive orders. So as would be expected, he was charged with criminal offenses and jailed till death.

However despite the orders, true spirituality cannot be hidden and it was not long before the jailer realized that the person (Valentinus) was actually a very Godly soul though he could not do anything since we was a government servant.

Julia and Her Vision Restoration

So he secretly sent his daughter named Julia to him in jail to get lessons about life. Actually Julia was blind by birth and Valentinus taught him about various aspects of life and God. She was a very brilliant girl with a pure mind and asked her teacher if God could heal her.

Valentinus told that it is upto God to decide, she can pray with faith. Story so goes that while she was praying along with her teacher she saw a great light and got her vision back. Coincidentally the teacher died a few days after this incident and before going he wrote a letter to Julia to always believe in God and keep prayers and faith alive in her.

He was buried after his last rites on 14 February 270 AD (approx 1800 years ago) and later on this day got popular as St Valentine’s day.

The Metaphysical Connection

Of course this goes to show that it is an occasion which should remind us of true love, dedication, faith and prayers. There is no harm in boys and girls (or even non-straight people in modern context) to exchange symbols of love but one does need to understand that true love is mainly about having a universal feeling of harmony with each and every human life, rather every living form in this universe.

Family Valentine Day

This is only possible when you realize that the atma and paramatma are one and you are a part of everything and everything is a part of you. It is special day to appreciate the love that your family, parents, siblings, relatives and friends have been giving you throughout your life.

The Corporate Connection

It must also be looked at from the perspective of corporate world or commercial viewpoint. Here are a few facts which show how the corporate world has helped to spread the popularity of this day and how it affects their business.

Hallmark research shows that nearly 140 million greeting cards are exchanged on this occasion.

Chocolate manufacturing is a big business and as per estimates the industry is worth 14 billion dollars annually and another 6 billion dollars for non chocolate confectionary products. Of course all of these are not sold on the V-Day but it shows the importance of this day to the companies in the supply chain of manufacturing and distributing chocolates.

US-Chocolate-Retail-Sales

Similarly flowers and jewellery businesses are also have big stakes and they would want people to celebrate it with all pomp and show. These companies also realize that the Asian and African countries are huge potential markets so they do not leave any stones unturned to promote this day.

The Radical Connection

There are some sections of society and political parties especially in countries like say India where they do moral policing on this day saying that this is against the culture. Metaphysics Knowledge surely condemns such practice and it is not proper to force anything especially on the younger generation.

V Day Moral Policing

Love has been at the core of every religion and Lord Krishna was a symbol of love though many people misunderstand him. His love was beyond the material plane and we must emphasize that love and sex are totally different things, infact we carried out an article on the spiritual benefits of celibacy because having love towards all is mostly misunderstood by the younger generation as having sex with anyone of the opposite gender. In the same breath celibacy does not mean abstinence from sex but something higher and deeper. Infact this is the thing which perhaps the radical elements are trying to oppose if we see it from their perspective, so we cannot blame them totally even though we do no support such acts.

Editor’s Note

The editor would like to add that having taken a look at the different perspectives we must say that despite the commercial element involved and other things, Valentine’s Day is surely an occasion to remember and celebrate one of the most powerful aspects of human life, namely love. Though we will cover the meaning love in a separate article. Let us enjoy and celebrate this day peacefully with harmony and grace.

NB: we are one of the very few sites which are dedicated to spirituality, religion and related aspects yet we support the celebration of Valentine’s Day (from the oriental perspective) because we believe in separating the wheat from the chaff and have the right mix of culture, tradition and modern values and aspirations.