I believe that all roads lead to the same destination; there is nothing better or worse. Each has its own place. Some find spiritual path ‘x’ better than ‘y’ and vice versa, simply because of their needs, circumstances and stage of evolution as an individual at that time.
Mindfulness and Heartfulness have been in this world for a long time, and as the name implies, the former focuses on sharpening the mind, while the later takes a heart-based approach.
As an individual evolves, we find that both the mind and heart need to be in tune with each other. It cannot be one or the other, as the heart and mind have to guide each other, thus benefiting the individual as a whole.
From a human instinctive perspective, we find that whatever may be our state of mind during a situation, it’s our heart that finds the way forward.
One of the most famous quotes by Michelle Landy goes like this –
“It’s impossible,” said pride.
“It’s risky,” said experience.
“It’s pointless,” said reason.
“Give it a try,” said the heart.
Now when we observe this, we find a very interesting take – reason is the sphere of influence of the mind. The mind runs on logic, where pros and cons are weighed up and a decision is taken keeping the optimum way forward.
However, in my experience, I’ve always wondered how an individual can say no to something without ever having tried it, whether it is a challenge or a new venture. We have to at least take a few steps forward in that direction and then feel and assess what we are in for.
Some may ask: sometimes we know from within it’s not for us, so is that not the heart’s indication? Well then, that means the heart has given an outright indication of a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to undertake a particular activity. So there too the heart talks to us, gives a signal of which way to go.
The logic of the mind keeps us well-informed and safe, to an extent. After we outlive all the options and analysis of the mind, where do we look for inspiration? It is, by default, the heart. The heart will always have a perspective and, if we have a refined and pure heart, we can be sure it’s always the right one.
An important aspect of all this is the refinement and purification of the heart. It’s no use if we have a huge ego. Then we would definitely be misguided – due to our own shortcoming within. The purity of the heart is arrived at through Heartfulness Meditation‘s unique practice of cleaning, in which all impurities and complexities accumulated in a day are cleaned out using the will, and they leave our entire system forever.
The first thing that happens as a result is we have a clean slate, ready to take on the world the next day or even the next minute. The second thing is that our ego gets refined so that our own betterment is in focus and that becomes the ego’s primary use.
Having said all this, however, as we open the heart we should also make sure that the mind is in tune with it. In the Hindi movie Iqbal, the cricket coach Mohit tells his player Iqbal, “When the heart and mind work together, it doesn’t matter which is the heart and which is the mind.” That perfect osmosis should happen between the two. That’s when we can feel ourselves being guided holistically by one voice from within.
Therefore, whether it is Mindfulness or Heartfulness, in the end they will merge into one for every individual.
Article by DURGA NAGARAJAN
