Bhāva means intention, feeling, or purpose. It is a method or means of approaching Divinity. It can be quite a complicated concept, because it encompasses a variety of human actions. It includes not only the desire one has when they approach the Divine, but it also includes the emotions we express through that connection. Deities accept only pure bhāva, and this aphorism further complicates this idea.
What even is a pure bhāva? And how can one purify it?
People forget this as the years go by, but one was not always adept at handling their emotions. How emotions are experienced, processed, and expressed are skills that human beings are taught by their parents and elders around them. We like the idea that there is a “natural” way to be, one that is at the core of everything we are. But what is “natural”? Everything is natural; that doesn’t necessarily mean it is inherently good for us. Learning to process and handle our emotions is a crucial part of our development. It has profound effects on how we relate to each other and even ourselves. In this way, our feelings, actions, and intentions are trained as much as they are intrinsic to the individual.
What lies underneath the training? And how will you parse out who you are and who you wish to be?
Just as all spiritual practice, the intention from which the path is born can change the development of the path. It can settle the rhythm with which one starts walking it and their ultimate destination. Bhakti bhāva is often mentioned when approaching deities, and each deity has their own culture when working with humans. But bhāva is not restricted to deity work; it is an integral part of understanding the true nature of the Self. And so exploring bhāva in bhakti yoga is a helpful path to discovering whatever spiritual truth one seeks. It is a tool or skill, and it is not the only way to approach the Divine.
Deities only accept pure bhāva.
A pure bhāva is, simply put, one without pretense. I think this is the core of the authenticity deities require. They want honesty that is unflinching and complete in everything–in action, word, and intent. Purifying bhāva is a practice where one mindfully engages authentically and without pretense with deities or Divinity at large. When one loses the pretense that protects the ego and can fully experience their actions and desires, one is in alignment with their own soul. If one is practicing spirituality to cultivate relationships with deities, other beings, or the Divine at large, then approaching with complete honesty is the best path as it is the most respectful path. Bhāva is like the carrier which can shape our perspective on everything that transpires between us and the Divine.
I’ll be honest: experiencing emotions fully is an act of vulnerability. It forces one to confront themselves and the world around them with the complete honesty that facilitates reflection. Much of a person’s refusal to reflect comes from a place of fear: fear of having to face actions, intentions, or feelings that one believes will cause them pain. Usually this pain is the shame or guilt that we burden ourselves with as we believe these actions could not or should not have been our own. But allowing oneself to feel the full force of the experiences one goes through requires courage; so does facing oneself.
It is extremely human to like what pleases us and dislike what displeases us. Much of our lives are spent seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. I think part of why deities connect so well with humans moving authentically and without pretense is that it is a sign of maturity and of sincere effort. It shows them that one is not prone to shying away from recognizing the value of even those experiences that they do not enjoy. Just as love is an act of flourishing freedom in one another and facilitating the cultivation of our truest selves, so too is experience the recognition and reflection required to facilitate this process.
In this way, the purity of bhāva can demonstrate to a deity how you are likely to respond when you do not get what you want. Purity of bhāva reveals the development of a soul and their own perspectives. It allows deities greater freedom to move around you as they are not burdened by the possibility of deceit on behalf of the human being who claims to seek their counsel and guidance. Purity of bhāva is an important way of demonstrating your earnestness and humility.
Bhāva is deeply personal.
In modern culture, there is an understanding that there are five main bhāvas for approaching the Divine. I believe that there are as many bhāvas as there are hearts. No two people experience love for the Divine in the same way, and we are all shaped by our own experiences. I disagree with the idea that there is any one bhāva greater or lesser than any other. Anyone who suggests this likely has their own hangups.
In some ways, it is impossible to move through life without having collected any wounds. And above all else, bhāva is like the framework in which our soul relearns to experience itself fully. These emotions are some of the strongest we as humans allow ourselves to feel; these are roles that in our society have profound impact on every person. Approaching Divinity through these emotions is really a practice of allowing oneself to experience the range of human experience in a space that is not weighed down by the human tendency toward cruelty and not cluttered by the human’s social tendencies with each other.
In other words, approaching Divinity with these emotions gives us the space to experience some of the most heavy parts of our social world in a space that is removed from that “reality”. And practicing bhāva as a role rather than just an emotion refines our own philosophies and practices regarding our embodiment of those roles in our waking lives. And doing so with deities has the side effect that one can learn what these bhāvas look like to them.
Bhāva in bhakti is the practice of cultivating oneself in every place one finds themselves again.
We live in societies and build rigid structures around ourselves to maintain the illusion of safety. But the purification of bhāva is done within and is not subject to the arbitrary rules we create. So when one finds their heart is pulled one way or another in their pursuit of the Divine, I always encourage the recognition of that experience. Move with the flow of the current and not against it. If one experiences one bhāva, they should allow themselves the space to explore it before casting judgement on themselves or the experience.
In the same way, bhāva is a discipline as well. Emotions can be fleeting and fickle. Today one feels intensely happy and joyous, but on a different day, our mood can be cantankerous and unpleasant. Practicing bhakti yoga requires discipline and effort, to wake up every day and reaffirm in our practice to ourselves that we are cultivating something within us. Sometimes parents wake up wanting a break from their children, but they never get to stop being parents. The responsibility continues even when the desire for it does not naturally spring up in the heart. The same is true of our bhāva in bhakti. We will not always wake up in the mood to approach Divinity in a certain way. But the decision to continue to do so, to continue to deepen one’s practice even when it might not be the most exciting desire, builds inner strength and resilience. In fact, some of the most wonderful things about ourselves and our truest expression are discovered in our least inspired moments.
It is in our moments of difficulty that we are the most resourceful. The dedicated cultivation of any bhāva is the dedicated cultivation of the relationship with the Divine itself. There is no difference between the two as our intentions build our actions. Every time our actions are not aligned with who we wish to become, we can take this as feedback to adjust our behavior and our thinking. It is normal to not live up to one’s own expectations of oneself. Approaching bhāva in bhakti as a discipline allows one to slowly let go of expectation and simply be, to simply enjoy the experience of being, and to remain present. Truth is not always comfortable and it is not always as one expects, but it remains steady and present when everything else falls away. Practicing bhakti in any specific bhāva as a discipline allows time to strip away the things that are only temporary and reveals the permanence underneath.
It is in the push and pull between restriction and freedom that one uncovers the boundaries of the Self. And when one uncovers these boundaries, they reveal the path to liberation.
In popular culture, there are five main bhāvas that people explore. These bhāvas in particular come from a long line of Vaishnava thought and philosophy. Though one does not need to restrict themselves to these five bhāva. In fact, any emotion that one experiences towards Divinity is itself an opportunity to cultivate a relationship. I think the main reason these five bhāva are the most popular in our current culture is that these are the primary roles we find ourselves in with each other. These are the roles that we struggle to embody for ourselves as well as our loved ones. And additionally, in our current society, these are the primary roles we are expected to take on along with the rigid structures, rules, and rituals that come with them. Exploring these five bhāvas allows us to experience what they may look like without the interference of other human beings.
Śānta bhāva: Peace, tranquility, calm
Dāsya bhāva: Service and surrender
Sakhya bhāva: Friendship, companionship, understanding
Vātsalya bhāva: Care, protection, parenting
Mādhurya bhāva: Longing, passion, tenderness
Be certain that in every bhāva, one experiences love and connection with the Divine! I have only included what I think the name of each bhāva tries to communicate. That doesn’t mean that the characteristics listed are exclusive to the name of the relationship. Like with all relationships, we experience whole worlds within them; nothing stays in the enclosed scripts we as humans create. Exploring bhāva with the Divine has revealed one thing most starkly to me.
Leave a Reply