Love vs Affection

Advaita Vedanta describes love and affection as having different origins and courses through the body, and love (prema, from the root “pri” meaning “to delight in” or “to be pleased with”) is described as a quiet spacious acceptance in which you rejoice in the other exactly as he or she is. It arises from the understanding of oneness (advaita), in which there is no real “other” to fix or improve, and therefore, it is distinct from affection. Affection (sneha, from “snih” meaning “to cling” or “to adhere”) is softer and stickier, and is always mixed with subtle attachment, expectation, and the impulse to mold or change the other to fit your own ideals, which is why Advaita Vedanta rates love so much higher than affection. True love originates in unity and freedom, while affection is still in the realm of duality, where you want to change what you cannot fully accept, albeit in a gentle way.