A contemplative inquiry using Mirabai's devotional framework to question whether your grief for lost identity masks grief for lost love or lost self-love.
Prema vichara—the inquiry through love—is central to bhakti philosophy. Rather than analyzing your lost identity intellectually, you examine it through the lens of love: What did you love about that former self? Did you genuinely love it, or did you love being loved for it? Mirabai's poetry reveals that her real loss was not of her queenly identity but of a love that demanded she perform a false self. This practice invites you to trace your grief backwards: beneath the identity you mourn, what love are you mourning? Often, we grieve not the person we were but the illusion that someone loved that person truly. Prema vichara teaches that authentic identity emerges only when you love yourself as the divine loves—without conditions.
Peri can explain this concept, give practical examples, help you decide whether it applies to your situation, or recommend a journey if appropriate.
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