Navrasa: the art of blending of the emotions in our Life

Human behavior flows from three main sources- Desire, Emotion and Knowledge

Plato

Emotions are the very essence of the human communication and understanding. We all go through different emotions on a regular basis in our life. As the nine emotions or the Navrasa are internal to us, we are in control of them.

Managing the rasa or the essence is an art and each of these emotions teach us how to balance them in our life.

• Shringara rasa denotes love and beauty. Simply put -Love refers to a feeling of a strong attraction and emotional attachment. Can we think of life without love, probably not? Beauty is closely associated with love. A quality present in an object or person that gives pleasure or satisfaction to the mind.

The Shringara rasa can be expressed for others only when we feel this for ourselves.

Do we love the person we are? Answer to this question will determine how much of love and beauty we hold.

          Making ‘Me time’ a part of our daily life will help us focus on ourselves.

We will become aware about our strengths and work on becoming the better version of ourselves.

          As Shringara rasa is depicted with Green colour, another way of feeling this rasa is to include green in our daily routine.

• Hasya Rasa or joy and laughter is another emotion which spreads positivity.

A  joyful heart is the doorstep of achieving the goals. Any act done joyfully will contribute positively and energize the inner world and the outer world.

Smile is the best exercise to practice Hasya rasa- smile at yourself as many times as you can and also give your smile to each person you meet throughout the day. See for yourself the magic of smile!

       Colour White symbolizes Hasya rasa. No wonder sugar is white, spreading sweetness!

• Karuna or compassion distinguishes a living being from a nonliving being. Being empathetic is never out of fashion. It will help us in looking at things from a neutral perspective without carrying the baggage of personal biasness.

But before approaching the outer world with empathy it is very important to practice the same for inner self. The best way to ensure Karuna for ourselves is to take care of ourselves. Inculcating healthy daily habits of eating healthy, enjoying our hobby, getting adequate rest, including physical and mental exercises, doing away with the self- limiting beliefs are ways of taking care of ourselves.

         Karuna is depicted with Grey colour.

• Raudra or anger is like fire-when used in controlled environment provides warmth and comfort but can lead to massive destruction when left uncontrolled.

Let go off anger as quickly as possible, it can do more harm than good.

Deep breathing, avoid communicating while experiencing anger or backward counting are a few effective tools to control anger.

       Colour Red symbolizes Raudra.

• Veera Rasa -heroism/courage helps us deal with the uncertainties and wade through unexplored water.

The act of heroism is one of the constant factors since the earliest known life forms. The courage of some microorganism some 3.5 billion years ago is instrumental for the evolution of civilizations and civilizations.

Self-determination, confidence, having the courage to express ourselves, being aware about our immense internal potential will help us in overcoming the limitations and becoming the better version of ourselves.

      Orange colour symbolizes Veera Rasa. Saints and Monks in Eastern    countries wear orange robes and clothes reflecting their victory over their thoughts and feelings. A message that they are in the driving seat.

• Bhayanak or terrible/frightful is an emotion associated with fear, anxiety, uncertainty or darkness. These emotions hold us from moving ahead. Many a time we live in future and ruin our present by the fear of unknown.

Living in the present will help us in shifting our thoughts towards positivity.

Our results are the outcome of the actions which are directly related to the feelings and feelings are the resultant of our thoughts  (RAFT). When in self-doubt remembering our achievements is a sure shot to do away with the fears. A shift of mindset from ‘impossible to I am possible,’ will make all the difference.

        Colour Black depicts Bhayanak.

• Vibhatyas -odious or disgust. This emotion leads to being judgmental, hatred (self or others), detest or aversion and even self-pity. We should focus on letting go of this emotion.

Looking at things from our lenses will only limit ourselves. Remember – ‘my map is not the territory’. There is much to explore and experiment. Our capability as human being is infinite, we just have to believe in our inner resources and continue our journey of personal excellence.

        Blue symbolizes Vibhatyas.

• Adbhuta- wonder/surprise/curiosity. This emotion depicts the childlike inquisitiveness and being playful.

We expand our horizons when we wonder at things we don’t know and we want to learn and know the things.

As the saying goes: ‘mind like parachute works best when open’. Being open to learning things and expressing our happiness and joy for the wonderful things help us to live in the moment.

       Colour Yellow depicts Adbhuta rasa.

• Shanta Rasa– peacefulness or tranquility.

We all want a state of calmness and peace. We keep looking for it outside us, but this emotion is within us. We have to feel this consciously.

At each moment we have option to choose and when we accept the choice, we have made we are at peace.

A calm mind can do wonders as it enhances our ability to respond. Simple practices like observing our breathing, doing things with the non-active hand and practicing the art of gratitude are sure to help us control our monkey mind.

     Shanta rasa is depicted by the Off White colour.

These basic human emotions as described by sage priest Bharat Muni, in his work Natyashastra, when experienced consciously will do wonders for us.

   Enjoy the rasa………………….