The Western context of emotions includes the major 5 emotions that are happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, and anger.
The Indian context of emotions is popularly known as Navrasas or 9 emotions. Each ras represents a specific emotional state or feeling. There are different interpretations and variations of the nine rasas.
Let us understand these 9 emotions briefly:
- Love or Shringara:
This arises from rati bhav or the feeling of happiness. It represents love, affection, romance, and beauty. Teaches us to be selfless, compassionate, and caring. For example, the pure love for nature, the love you feel for your family, friends, and romantic relationships. Love is considered to be the strongest emotion.
- Joy or Hasya: It arises from hasa bhav, it represents happiness which is a state of mind that keeps us content. Happiness brings good health, creates a positive aura, and removes all the negativity from our lives. For example, the emotions that are evoked while watching a comedy movie or show or probably stand-up comedy.
- Sad or Karuna: Just like day comes after night, happiness comes after sorrow, it’s due to sorrow, sadness we can feel happiness or pleasure. It comes from shoka bhava. We must empathize with each other during sad times. For example, the pain of losing someone or something.
- Anger or Raudra: This represents the feeling of anger, fury, or wrath, which appears from the krodha bhav A moment of anger can spoil everything. It can lead to violence, aggression, and hatred. For example, if you had an argument with your friend, the behaviour and emotions represent anger.
- Pride or Veer: Makes an appearance from the utsaha bhav, this emotion represents the feeling of bravery, heroism, and courage. For example, when one overcomes their fear of something that they are afraid of.
- Fear OR Bhayank: This arises when one is engulfed in their insecurities, worries, and self-doubt. This emotion comes into the picture when something can cause you pressure physically or psychologically. This arises from bhaya bhav. For example, if you are scared of horror movies or you fear from certain animals.
- Disgust or bibhasta: The feeling of being uncomfortable or repulsive things, behaviour, or actions, springs up from jugupsa bhav. For example, the unbearable smell of garbage.
- Wonder or Adhbhuta: This means amazement, surprise and the moment we become surprised, or curious about something we fall in love with it. This pours from the Vismaya bhav. It is also the presentation of impressive unusual events, objects, or people. For example, seeing something that is bright gets you hooked on it.
- Peace or Shanta: This means the feeling of being calm, serene, and contented., arises shanta bhav. For example, the feeling you might feel when you sit in beautiful scenery and look at the beauty of nature, which eases your heart and mind.
In conclusion, in summary, the wide range of emotions in Indian culture shows a deep look into human feelings and thoughts through art and philosophy. These emotions, important in Indian culture, help us understand life’s complexities, relationships, and spiritual paths better.
Understanding the emotions
Pride, joy, love, peace, sadness, fear, disgust, wonder, and anger are the nine emotions as per the Indian context, each of them added together creates a new emotion while keeping the presence of the main emotion. Here is a brief to the graph shown above, for example, arrogance is an emotion that comes into the picture when pride is amplified, for example, you might think your boss is arrogant but that is due to the underlying extreme pride of being at that position.
When you feel on cloud 9 the euphoric feeling is caused by the emotion of joy. Whereas joy with love creates the feeling of ecstasy, the feeling of extreme pleasure or happiness.
Anger and love combined make the emotion of jealousy. On the other side, extreme fear is linked with anxiety, for example before exams, nervousness, and stress. Anger with the mix of sadness, makes the feeling of betrayal. For example, you were waiting for you and your friend made a plan to go out shopping you were all dressed and ready but just before stepping out of the house they called and said they would not be able to join you.
Depression is baked through the batter of extreme and prolonged sadness. The emotion juice of astonishment is derived from the fruit of wonder.
As we keep exploring emotions, let’s use their strong influence to help us grow personally, improve relationships, and support everyone’s well-being in a changing world.
Emotions dance within our hearts,
A symphony of life's true art.
From joy that lifts us to the sky,
To sorrow's tears that softly cry.
Anger burns with fiery might,
Yet forgiveness soothes the night.
Fear's whispers, cold and dark,
Courage ignites its hopeful spark.
Love, the melody sweet and pure,
Endless depths it does allure.
Let us feel, let us embrace,
Every emotion, every trace.
Emotions dance within our hearts,
A symphony of life’s true art.
