Bhava
Encyclopedia
The term bhāva is often translated as feeling, emotion, mood, devotional state of mind. In Buddhist
thought, bhāva denotes the continuity of life and death, including reincarnation, and the maturation arising therefrom. In the bhakti
traditions, bhāva denotes the mood of ecstasy, self-surrender, and channelling of emotional energies that is induced by the maturation of devotion to one's ishtadeva (object of devotion).
, bhāva is the continuity of life and death, conditioned upon "grasping" (upādāna
), the desire for further life and sensation. This bhāva is the condition for the arising of living beings in particular forms, through the process of birth (jāti
).
Bhāva is listed as the tenth of the Twelve Nidānas
, the links in the cycle of pratītyasamutpāda
or dependent origination.
In the Jātakas, in which the Buddha didactically reminds various followers of experiences they shared with him in a past life, the hearers are said not to remember them due to bhāva, i.e. to having been reborn.
stated that bhava means mental attitude or mental disposition. He explains bhava as an "internal feeling". For the bhakta (भक्त, devotee), bhāva is the fruit of devotion to one's ishtadeva, which culminates in bhāvasamādhi
In bhakti
yoga (work of devotion), "bhāva is neither controlled nor suppressed, but is transformed into devotion and channelled to the Lord." This channeling may be pursued by means of devotional practices found to evoke and develop bhāva. Such devotional practices are not themselves essential: how and whether to practice them is thought to depend on the temperament of the bhakta.
Swami Sivananda identified three kinds of bhava - sattvic, rajasic and tamasic. Which predominates in a person depends on their own nature, but sattvic bhava is "Divine bhava" or pure bhava (Suddha bhava). This bhava can be developed by proper practice just like any other faculty of the mind like will power or memory.
Shiva Rudra Balayogi explains that there are three stages of bhava. Where there is violent movement or a state of mind lacking peace generally it is to be considered the lowest form of bhava - bhava udreka. Higher than that is bhava unmathatta which is like the "intoxication or ecstasy" but does not involve any violent movements. Bhava samadhi is the highest form when the mind recedes and one becomes totally non-violent and quiet. In bhava samadhi the mind recedes and becomes purified. He explains that it is transformational causing a change in attitude as one gains greater consideration for others and become more broad-minded.
Shivabalayogi
described bhāva as follows:
Once the bhāva of the devotee fully matures, the mind's emotional energies converge into bhāvasamādhi, a state of consciousness in which the mind becomes still in single-pointed concentration upon the object of devotion.
One may speak of bhāvas plural, often glossed as devotional attitudes. A traditional reckoning of ideal bhāvas, as exemplified in the Hindu scriptures, is as follows:
Ramakrishna Paramahansa stated that real bhava means establishing a relationship with the Divine and maintaining it brightly in our consciousness at all times, "whether eating, drinking, sitting or sleeping."
Swami Nikhilananda, Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works. Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center 1953
Bruce Young, Guru-Disciple.
Swami Saradananda, Shri Ramakrishna: The Great Master. (India, Madras, 1952)
Swami Sivananda, www.sivanandaonline.org
Shri Shiva Rudra Balayogi The Path Supreme 2010
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
thought, bhāva denotes the continuity of life and death, including reincarnation, and the maturation arising therefrom. In the bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
traditions, bhāva denotes the mood of ecstasy, self-surrender, and channelling of emotional energies that is induced by the maturation of devotion to one's ishtadeva (object of devotion).
In Buddhism
In BuddhismBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, bhāva is the continuity of life and death, conditioned upon "grasping" (upādāna
Upadana
Upādāna is a word used in both Buddhism and Hinduism.*In Buddhism, upādāna is a critical link in the arising of suffering.*In Hinduism, upādāna is the material manifestation of Brahman.-Buddhism:...
), the desire for further life and sensation. This bhāva is the condition for the arising of living beings in particular forms, through the process of birth (jāti
Jati (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, Jāti refers to the arising of a new living entity in saṃsāra.-Truth of suffering:As with "Old Age & Death" , the Buddha includes "Birth" in the canonical description of "suffering" in the First Noble Truth:Elsewhere in the canon the Buddha further elaborates:The canon additionally...
).
Bhāva is listed as the tenth of the Twelve Nidānas
Twelve Nidanas
The Twelve Nidānas are the best-known application of the Buddhist concept of pratītyasamutpāda , identifying the origins of dukkha to be in tanha and avijja...
, the links in the cycle of pratītyasamutpāda
Pratitya-samutpada
Dependent origination or dependent arising is a cardinal doctrine of Buddhism, and arguably the only thing that holds every Buddhist teaching together from Theravada to Dzogchen to the extinct schools. As a concept and a doctrine it has a general and a specific application, both being integral to...
or dependent origination.
In the Jātakas, in which the Buddha didactically reminds various followers of experiences they shared with him in a past life, the hearers are said not to remember them due to bhāva, i.e. to having been reborn.
In bhakti traditions
Swami SivanandaSwami Sivananda
Swami Sivananda Saraswati was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism...
stated that bhava means mental attitude or mental disposition. He explains bhava as an "internal feeling". For the bhakta (भक्त, devotee), bhāva is the fruit of devotion to one's ishtadeva, which culminates in bhāvasamādhi
Bhava samadhi
Bhava Samadhi is a state of ecstatic consciousness that can sometimes be a seemingly spontaneous experience, but is recognized generally to be the culmination of long periods of devotional practices. It is believed by some groups to be evoked through the presence of 'higher beings'. "Bhava" means...
In bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
yoga (work of devotion), "bhāva is neither controlled nor suppressed, but is transformed into devotion and channelled to the Lord." This channeling may be pursued by means of devotional practices found to evoke and develop bhāva. Such devotional practices are not themselves essential: how and whether to practice them is thought to depend on the temperament of the bhakta.
Swami Sivananda identified three kinds of bhava - sattvic, rajasic and tamasic. Which predominates in a person depends on their own nature, but sattvic bhava is "Divine bhava" or pure bhava (Suddha bhava). This bhava can be developed by proper practice just like any other faculty of the mind like will power or memory.
Shiva Rudra Balayogi explains that there are three stages of bhava. Where there is violent movement or a state of mind lacking peace generally it is to be considered the lowest form of bhava - bhava udreka. Higher than that is bhava unmathatta which is like the "intoxication or ecstasy" but does not involve any violent movements. Bhava samadhi is the highest form when the mind recedes and one becomes totally non-violent and quiet. In bhava samadhi the mind recedes and becomes purified. He explains that it is transformational causing a change in attitude as one gains greater consideration for others and become more broad-minded.
Shivabalayogi
Shivabalayogi
Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj was a self-realized master of meditation in the tradition of the ancient and modern yogis of India. He attained Self realization through twelve years of arduous tapas, meditating in samādhi for an average of twenty hours a day...
described bhāva as follows:
"Everyone is in some sort of bhāva of the guru because of their attachment to the guru. The mind's attachment and devotion is the true bhāva."
Once the bhāva of the devotee fully matures, the mind's emotional energies converge into bhāvasamādhi, a state of consciousness in which the mind becomes still in single-pointed concentration upon the object of devotion.
One may speak of bhāvas plural, often glossed as devotional attitudes. A traditional reckoning of ideal bhāvas, as exemplified in the Hindu scriptures, is as follows:
- śāntabhāva, the calm, peaceful, gentle or saintly attitude adopted by the ancient Rishis
- dāsyabhāva, the attitude of a servant towards his master, exemplified by HanumanHanumanHanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
- sakhyabhāva, the attitude of a friend as exemplified by ArjunaArjunaArjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
and UddhavaUddhavaUddhava is a character from the Puranic texts of Hinduism, who is the friend and counsellor of Krishna the Avatar. He plays a significant role in the Bhagavata Purana, being taught the processes of yoga and bhakti directly by Krishna...
towards KrishnaKrishnaKrishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu... - vātsalyabhāva, the attitude of a mother towards her child as exemplified by KausalyaKausalyaKausalya in the Indian Rāmāyaṇa epic was the eldest of King Daśaratha's three wives and a queen of Ayodhyā, she was the daughter of the King of the Kosala Kingdom. She was the mother of Rama, the king of Ayodhya, upon whom the story of the Ramayana is based....
towards RamaRamaRama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
and of YasodaYasodaYasoda/Yashoda was wife of Nanda within the Puranic texts of Hinduism. Within the Bhagavata Purana it is described that Yasoda later became the foster-mother to Krishna, who was born to Devaki but was given to Yashoda and Nanda in Gokul, by Krishna's father Vasudeva on the night of his birth, for...
towards KrishnaKrishnaKrishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu... - madhurabhāva (or kantabhava), the attitude of a woman in love as exemplified by RadhaRadhaRadha , also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism...
and Mirabai toward KrishnaKrishnaKrishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu... - tanmayabhava, the attitude that the Lord is present everywhere.
Ramakrishna Paramahansa stated that real bhava means establishing a relationship with the Divine and maintaining it brightly in our consciousness at all times, "whether eating, drinking, sitting or sleeping."
Sources
Swami Devananda, Meditation and Mantras. Motilal Banarsidass 1978Swami Nikhilananda, Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works. Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center 1953
Bruce Young, Guru-Disciple.
Swami Saradananda, Shri Ramakrishna: The Great Master. (India, Madras, 1952)
Swami Sivananda, www.sivanandaonline.org
Shri Shiva Rudra Balayogi The Path Supreme 2010