Talk:Bhakti and Emotionalism
By Vishal Agarwal
Love is an emotion. Therefore, the practice of Bhakti is permeated with the emotion of love. Emotions can be negative, as well as positive. An overtly emotional person who has no rationality soon comes to ruin. Bhakti is not irrational or undisciplined emotion but its skillful use, as explained by a modern Guru:
"The path of the heart is not mere emotionalism or sentimentality. If a person just allows whatever emotions arise to come into action without properly channeling them, the goal of life will remain unattained. One must learn to control that emotional power and channel it toward spirituality. Emotions are of two varieties: one is negative and the other is positive. When a negative emotion arises, one is distressed and becomes passive, depressed, or imbalanced. This is not control; this is being helplessly tossed around in an emotional outburst. But when a positive emotion arises, it makes one calm, joyous, and happy. The emotional body is like a fish tossed by the currents in the lake of the mind. If the mind is agitated by unfulfilled wants and desires, the emotional body is also disturbed; but when the mind is calm, the emotional body functions properly. Emotional maturity comes when one starts guiding his emotional powers consciously for creative use. In the path of bhakti, the devotee learns to tap that emotional force within and to control it properly so that it is channeled positively in one-pointed devotion to The Lord. He does not suppress his emotions, but intensifies them and directs them toward God."[1]
The proper use of emotion in Bhakti leads to great rewards, as he summarizes:
"...The path of love makes proper use of emotions. The word emotion is often used negatively, but emotion is also a great positive power, and many great people in the world have used it to attain a state of ecstasy. This is the quickest way."[2]
No human being is without emotion. One who has no emotion is a machine, not a human being. Some people think that emotion is inferior to rationality. Bhakti does not mean that the emotion of love towards the Lord is devoid of rationality. The Gita and many other ancient scriptures recommend combining emotion with Jnāna, Karm, and Dhyāna to achieve success when treading the spiritual path of Bhakti Yog.