Bhakti & Dharma | Different Kinds of Love

Heart’s Desire, Marin County

Some places hold us the way a prayer does.

There is a beach in Marin County called Heart’s Desire. I have walked its shoreline many times—never alone—my young son tagging along, my daughter listening to her music on her iPhone. The beach is often quiet. I am always barefoot, hypnotized by the mountains, the small bay, and the emerald waters, letting the rhythm of the water meet the rhythm of my child walking, laughing, breathing with the wind.

Over time, I realized that this place carries the shape of my own heart’s desire—not as longing, but as alignment.

Three threads meet here for me:

the path, devotional love, and the fulfillment of a dream once held quietly inside.

And at the center of it all—motherhood.

Bhakti: Love as Devotion

Bhakti is often translated as devotional love—but it is not romantic, sentimental, or abstract. Bhakti is love expressed through devotion, presence, repetition, and surrender. It is the kind of love that shows up again and again, not because it is easy, but because it is true.

Bhakti lives in daily acts:

chanting, praying, feeding, listening, forgiving, tending, waiting.

In motherhood, bhakti becomes tangible. It is love expressed through sleepless nights, small hands held tightly, boundaries set with care, and the long arc of showing up even when the heart feels stretched. It is love without applause. Love without conditions.

Bhakti teaches us that love is not something we feel once—it is something we practice.

Dharma: Love as Right Action

Dharma is often described as purpose or duty, but at its core, it is right relationship—with ourselves, with others, with the land, and with life itself.

Dharma asks:

What is mine to tend?

What is mine to protect?

What is mine to serve?

Where bhakti softens the heart, dharma gives it structure—its path. Dharma is love expressed through responsibility, boundaries, and ethical choice. It is love that acts, even when it is uncomfortable.

Motherhood is also dharma.

So is choosing a life aligned with values rather than appearances.

So is listening when life redirects us.

Heart’s Desire: When the Path Reveals Itself

For many years, living in Marin was a dream that came true—one I carried quietly, not as ambition, but as intuition, as though I had always known I would spend part of my life there. During that time, the nature of the environment felt less like wanting something new and more like remembering something already known: a deep sense of belonging to the land, of being part of nature, with one of the greatest cities nearby.

When that dream became real, I understood that desire does not always come from lack. Sometimes it comes from recognition.

Heart’s Desire is not about chasing.

It is about arriving.

The green land mirrored something I had been practicing all along: a life rooted in presence, care, and conscious choice. A life where love was not rushed, extracted, or consumed—but lived.

Love as the Ultimate Teacher

Bhakti and dharma are not separate paths. They are two sides of the same devotion:

love that feels, and love that acts.

Together, they shape how we mother, how we build relationships, how we design our lives, and how we walk our path. They teach us that love is not meant to remain private or theoretical—it is meant to become lived wisdom.

This is the heart of my coaching work.

Not fixing.

Not forcing.

But listening deeply—to the body, the land, the season, and the life asking to be lived.

A Quiet Invitation

If you find yourself standing at a threshold—feeling the pull between devotion and responsibility, softness and structure, longing and alignment—you are not lost.

You are listening.

And that listening is the beginning of the path.

🌿 Join us on transformative journeys that weave mindfulness, sustainability, and the timeless wisdom of nature, curated by Suddha Prem for those seeking deeper connections with themselves and the world around them.

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Bhakti & Dharma | Different Kinds of Love is part of Suddha Prem Magazine — Issue #5

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