Grief as Purification Practice

In bhakti traditions, intense emotion—especially grief and longing—purifies the soul by dissolving ego boundaries. When we grieve collectively for a public figure, we're temporarily broken open. Our usual defenses and pretenses fall away; we're vulnerable and honest in a way daily life rarely allows. This vulnerability is purifying. It teaches us that we're not separate, invulnerable, or in control. It connects us to the common human condition: we all lose, we all suffer, we all love and must sometimes release what we love. This shared breaking-open creates genuine compassion—not as abstract principle but as lived experience. When we allow grief to work on us without rushing to resolve it, we emerge softer, more humble, more tender toward others. Mirabai's intense devotional experiences transformed her; she became a vessel for divine love precisely through her willingness to break. Collective grief offers this same gift: the chance to be transformed by something larger than ourselves, to become more fully human.