Love boundless

Rajesh Bhola

There is great effort involved in fine tuning the heart with the mind. It is like fine tuning the strings of a musical instrument; it will not be possible to make good music if the strings are too hard or too loose. If a person listens too much to the mind, he will be unnecessarily hard on himself, because the impulses of the mind come from a place beyond our conscious control; as long as the mind is alive, controls and cravings of one sort or another will arise.
A well tuned heart and mind increases our capacity for compassion and understanding. If we go with our heart, it will work like a compass and navigate us through our journey. It is through our heart that we can change our conditioned behaviour. The power of the mind should not be over estimated, and the warmth of the heart should not be under estimated. The mind is like a clock, ticking every second and reminding us to remain in control; while the heart is like a saint sitting in the lap of nature, spreading warmth and glow.

Physiologically, the heart has a complex, sophisticated intrinsic nervous system, and is also called a little mind in its own right. The heart’s brain is an intricate network of several types of neurons and neurotransmitters, similar to those found in our brain. Its elaborate circuitry enables it to act independently of the brain – to learn, remember and even feel and sense.

The heart is considered the source of emotions, passion and wisdom. We experience the feeling or sensation of love, kindness, compassion and other emotional states in the area of the heart. When we first notice something, there is a fleeting moment of pure awareness, before the thinking mind jumps in. It is a moment that is non-verbal, pre-verbal; it has no thought in it; it is a moment of great clarity. What is noticed is not yet recognised, but is simply part of the whole flow of the process of life. Perception then fixates on the thing, puts boundaries around it and labels it.

When we see something that strikes our heart, the reflexresponse is instant, and the thinking mind jumps in more spontaneously and responds to the heart-felt feeling. When we feel love, the mind instantly acknowledges it – our heart goes out for somebody. In such moments the heart is the navigator.

A well tuned heart and mind increases our capacity for compassion and understanding. If we go with our heart, it will work like a compass and navigate us through our journey. It is through our heart that we can change our conditioned behaviour. The power of the mind should not be over estimated, and the warmth of the heart should not be under estimated.

The proper synchronisation of the heart with the mind provides us a sense of peace – in every experience of our life. The mind is used to wandering, keeping itself busy with planning, hoping, fantasising, fearing, complaining and judging. It does not even know that something might lie outside of its limited scope. The main effort is in bringing the mind back when it wanders, to make it aware of what is happening at the moment.

To be with the thought coming to the mind, to be with an emotion erupting from the heart, to be with sensations, thoughts, the whole spectrum of experience, seeing it clearly and dispassionately - such coordination is not easy. A lot of energy is expended to just get out of the pull of habit - a kind of gravitational pull of the mind. When there is a perfect fusion of the heart and mind, we do not hold on so much, and make fewer demands on our existence. We begin to relax, and ease more into the flow of things.

We can delight in the good things of life when they are present, and accept change without protest when they end. The heart opens wider and delights in the miracles of daily life. It is in the deep understanding of the suffering by the heart, that compassion comes to full bloom. For when the heart and mind no longer hold on to anything, life is fully open. There is no self centeredness and hence no separation. Love then is boundless, and ceaselessly responsive.