Bhakti Rasa: The First and the Last Step to Freedom

Bhakti reflects the love for the infinite. This informal essay aims to bring into focus the various facets of Bhakti (devotion to God) including its conceptualization as a rasa, as yoga, as a path of life, and as the final state. It particularly explores bhakti in the context of various emotional experiences such as peace, humility, friendliness, erotic love, and love of a parent toward one’s child. At the same time, this chapter explains how bhakti is unlike emotions. Bhakti has diverse traditions some of which engage with affective processes, while some emphasize cognitive processes. Yet there are some others that are based on rituals, songs, dance, mantras, and various other forms of performative worship. It is observed bhakti as an entry point in the spiritual quest and as a final state of experiencing the ultimate state of cosmic union and bliss. As a case in point, Mirabai’s devotion is used to describe the different stages of Bhakti. Mirabai’s bhakti path is channeling a woman’s love for a man that takes her to experience a state of bliss.