YOGABHARATI

Love - Prema and Devotion - Bhakti are kept at opposite poles in many spiritual circles. By denying love (Prema), one will be denying Bhakti as well. Bhakti is the fulfilment of Prema. For an in-depth understanding of Prema and to understand the intense practice of Bhakti, we need to understand the importance of Bhava [roughly translated as emotions] in our day-to-day life. In addition, to show how Bhakta transcends even the Divine or God, understanding the story and the character of Radha become very important. To most, the exalted experience of Prema is the Dasa and the Priya (lover). We have in Ramayana a very important character called Anjaneya or Hanumantha representing Dasa and in Shrimad Bhagavatam, the character of Radha represents the Bhava of a loved one. One thing common to both these characters is that their stay with their masters is for a short period of time. In the whole story of Ramayana, in Rama’s 14-year-long journey through the forest, the advent of hanuman is only ...