Thursday, November 08, 2007

The Yoga of Nine Emotions

The yoga master trying a new position...

I have never really tried yoga. Not seriously. But after delving into this aspect of it, it piques my curiosity and makes me want to explore more.

I have been asked if I can draw the 9 Rasas in the form of female masks. I didn't have any knowledge about this concept so did a little research and found the following information from Rasas Info :

The nine Rasas are the essential aspects or energies that define a set of emotions and moods that thus belong to the same "family" or Rasa. While the nine Rasas themselves are clearly defined energies affecting body and mind, the resulting emotions (Bhavas) manifest in many varieties and their understanding is affected by personal and cultural backgrounds. Knowing the nine Rasas help to understand why a certain mood comes and stays even though it's original cause may be long gone and how to use that knowledge in achieving more emotional control.

The Tantric tradition recognizes nine principal Rasas that relate to quite clearly defined moods or emotions (click the individual Rasas for more details) :

Sanskrit Term

Principal Meaning

Further Meanings & related emotions

Shringara

Love

Beauty, devotion

Hasya

Joy

Humor, sarcasm

Adbhuta

Wonder

Curiosity, mystery

Shanta

Peace

Calmness, relaxation

Raudra

Anger

Irritation, stress

Veera

Courage

Pride, confidence

Karuna

Sadness

Compassion, pity

Bhayanaka

Fear

Anxiety, worry

Vibhatsa

Disgust

Depression, self-pity


Its quite an interesting theory and I wonder if it does work. Perhaps with concentration techniques which are part of yoga you can bring and expel your Rasa at will. The masks themselves would be fun to do, using appropriate colours and details of expression. So often portraits are done avoiding expression, they tend to be serious mostly, neutral canvases. To depict a series of emotions and bring them to life would be an interesting exercise.

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