Bhava: Meaning and Definition

What Does Bhava Literally Mean?

Bhava is a masculine Sanskrit noun written भाव. It is related to the verbal root bhu, meaning “to be,” “to become,” or “to come into being.” Its broad meanings include being, becoming, existence, condition, nature, disposition, thought, feeling, intention, and emotional state.

The connection between being and feeling is important. Bhava can describe both what state something is in and the inner manner in which a person inhabits that state. Depending on the sentence, translations such as “condition,” “orientation,” “state of mind,” or “feeling” may be more accurate than a single fixed definition.

Sanskrit commentators also use Bhava for the intended meaning or import of a statement. In this usage, a phrase equivalent to “this is the Bhava” means “this is the intended sense.”

What Does Bhava Mean in Yoga Practice?

In yoga practice, Bhava is the inner attitude or felt quality accompanying an action. A physical posture can be performed with determination, patience, devotion, curiosity, competitiveness, or fear. The outward shape may look similar, while the Bhava of the practice is different.

Contemporary yoga teachers sometimes use Bhava to mean the tone, intention, or inner atmosphere of a practice. This usage is practical, but Bhava and Sankalpa are not exact synonyms. Sankalpa is usually a conscious resolve or guiding intention. Bhava is the broader state of being and feeling through which that resolve is embodied.

Bhava is not a standardized category of asana and is not limited to positive emotion. A practitioner can observe the Bhava already present, then cultivate a quality that supports the purpose of Sadhana. This might involve practicing with steadiness, compassion, non-grasping, devotion, or a spirit of service.

• For students, Bhava can be explored by noticing the attitude present before, during, and after practice.
• For teachers, naming a Bhava can establish the inner direction of a class without forcing students to display a particular emotion.
• For meditation and mantra practice, Bhava may refer to the feeling, understanding, or devotional orientation accompanying repetition and concentration.

Bhava in the Bhagavad Gita and Indian Philosophy

The Bhagavad Gita uses Bhava in several senses related to being, thought, and inner orientation. In Bhagavad Gita 8.6, the text states that the Bhava remembered at death influences what is attained afterward. Traditional commentators interpret Bhava in this verse variously as an entity, object of thought, state, or deeply established orientation. The verse connects final remembrance with patterns cultivated throughout life.

In philosophical writing, Bhava can also mean positive being, presence, or an existing condition. It is often contrasted with Abhava, nonbeing, absence, or nonexistence. The precise philosophical meaning depends on the school and argument in which the pair appears.

Bhava should therefore be translated according to its role in the passage. “Feeling” works in some devotional and psychological settings, while “being,” “state,” “entity,” or “positive existence” may be required in philosophical contexts.

What Does Bhava Mean in Bhakti Yoga?

In bhakti yoga, Bhava commonly refers to devotional feeling or the relational attitude through which a Bhakta approaches the divine. Bhava shapes how devotion is experienced and expressed through Puja, Japa, Bhajan, Kirtan, prayer, remembrance, and Seva.

Some Vaishnava traditions describe several principal devotional relationships. These include Shanta Bhav, peaceful contemplation; Dasya Bhav, the attitude of a servant; Sakhya Bhav, friendship; Vatsalya Bhav, parental affection; and Madhurya Bhav, an intimate or beloved relationship. These categories belong to developed devotional theologies and should be explained within their lineage context.

In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Bhava can also have a specialized meaning as an advanced stage of devotion that develops from sustained practice and precedes Prema, mature divine love. This technical sequence should not be presented as the universal definition of Bhava across every bhakti tradition.

• Bhava may describe the devotee's immediate feeling toward the divine.
• Bhava may describe an enduring devotional relationship or orientation.
• Within some lineages, Bhava names a defined stage in the development of Bhakti.

How Are Bhava and Rasa Related?

In classical Indian aesthetics, Bhava is an emotional or psychological state represented through drama, dance, poetry, or music. The Natyashastra discusses stable emotional states, transitory states, physical expressions, and other factors that contribute to the audience's experience of Rasa.

Bhava and Rasa are closely related but are not interchangeable. Bhava is the state, disposition, or emotion being developed and expressed. Rasa is the aesthetic flavor or relishable experience that arises for a receptive audience through the artistic presentation of those states.

Bhakti traditions later drew upon the language of Bhava and Rasa to analyze devotional relationships and experiences. This helps explain why Bhava can refer both to an inner devotional state and to the emotional structure through which devotion becomes meaningful.

How Is Bhava Different from Bhavana?

Bhava refers to a state of being, feeling, mood, or disposition. Bhavana generally refers to bringing something into being through cultivation, development, contemplation, or repeated mental practice.

The two terms are related, but they describe different aspects of practice. Bhavana is the process of cultivating or developing a mental quality. Bhava is the state or orientation that is present, expressed, or established. Repeated Bhavana can help form a particular Bhava.

Why Does the Sanskrit Spelling Matter?

This entry covers भाव, which has a long first vowel. A related word written भव has a short first vowel. The two words have overlapping associations with being and becoming, but they are grammatically and textually distinct forms.

Yoga Sutra 1.19 uses भव in the compound bhava-pratyaya. It does not use the long-vowel headword भाव defined in this entry. Commentarial interpretations of the Yoga Sutra compound include worldly existence, birth-conditioned attainment, or a state produced through prior existence.

The Buddhist term bhava found in dependent origination is also generally written भव and is translated as existence, continued existence, becoming, or the process supporting rebirth. That Buddhist technical usage should not automatically be equated with devotional Bhava written भाव.

How Can Yoga Teachers Explain Bhava Accurately?

Yoga teachers can introduce Bhava as the inner quality or orientation accompanying practice. This gives students a usable definition while leaving room for the word's broader philosophical and devotional meanings.

When teaching within a bhakti context, identify the relevant tradition before presenting categories of devotional Bhava. When discussing Sanskrit texts, confirm whether the original word is भाव or भव, since English spellings often omit vowel length and make both appear as “bhava.”

• Avoid translating Bhava only as “emotion.” Mood, disposition, inner orientation, and state of being may be equally important.
• Do not imply that students must manufacture an emotional display. Bhava can be quiet, stable, and inward.
• Distinguish Bhava from Sankalpa, Bhavana, and Rasa when these concepts appear together.
• Pronounce the first vowel of भाव as a sustained ah sound.