Chapter 2 Emotions as Desire

Bhagavan Das’s exploration into the essential nature of emotion focuses on desire as the driving force of all emotional experiences. He delineates how emotions derive from the primary interactions between the Self and the Not-Self, initiated by sensation, which he defines not merely as a physical response but as the consciousness’s first reaction to external stimuli. This foundational perspective underscores the intrinsic connection between emotional experiences and the basic dichotomy of pleasure and pain.

2.1 The Essential Nature of Desire

Das aligns with the Eastern philosophical triad of cognition, desire, and action, emphasizing that human beings fundamentally know, desire, and strive. This contrasts with the Western triad of cognition, emotion (feeling), and volition, highlighting the central role of desire in initiating emotional and consequent volitional responses.

2.2 Sensation and Response

Sensation, as the initial consciousness response to the Not-Self, sets the stage for the emotional process, positioning pleasure and pain not just as experiences but as degrees of the Self’s response to external impacts. This viewpoint shifts the understanding of emotions from mere reactions to desires born out of the Self’s interaction with its environment.

2.3 Emotions as Desires

Das articulates that emotions are essentially desires shaped by the pleasurable or painful nature of stimuli, driving actions towards perpetuating pleasurable situations or escaping painful ones. He simplifies this into two fundamental desires: the desire to unite with objects that cause pleasure (attraction) and the desire to separate from objects that cause pain (repulsion).

2.4 Complex Emotional Forms

Building on the basic framework of attraction and repulsion, Das explores how these elementary desires evolve into complex emotions through interaction with other human beings, particularly focusing on the nuances of love and hate:

  • Love:
    • Affection or Love Proper: Arises from attraction and the consciousness of equality with the object of attraction.
    • Reverence: Stemming from attraction combined with the recognition of the object’s superiority.
    • Benevolence: Born out of attraction and the awareness of one’s superiority over the object.
  • Hate:
    • Dislike: Linked to the perception of equality with the object of repulsion.
    • Fear: Associated with the perception of the object’s superiority.
    • Pride: Resulting from a sense of inferiority in the object of repulsion.

Das concludes that all human emotions can ultimately be categorized under these six principal emotions, which themselves are rooted in the basic desires to either unite with or separate from objects based on the sensations of pleasure and pain. This analytical approach provides a framework for understanding the vast spectrum of human emotions through the lens of desire, attraction, and repulsion, emphasizing the motion (“e-motion”) towards or away from objects in the mind.