It's common knowledge that in
the human body, the Head is positioned higher than the Heart. But, why then
constant conflict goes on between the two? An interesting and
thought-provoking issue! isn’t it? So, before anything else, let us first
go through the dictionary meaning of Head and Heart. Head is the uppermost or
forward most part of the body of a vertebrate, containing the brain and the
eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and jaws. It also has another meaning as seat of the
faculty of reason, intelligence, intellect or mind; and Heart - the chambered
muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood received from the veins into the
arteries, thereby maintaining the flow of blood through the entire circulatory
system. The other meaning goes as a repository of one's deepest and sincerest
feelings and beliefs, the seat of imagination.
Interestingly, all the five
main sensory organs namely eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin are the parts of
head. Anyway, as the physical position is, the Head always tries to behave like
a head or a master which supposedly carries its big ego bag on its head. On the
other hand, as the general perception goes, the Heart - an innocent,
child-like, 24x7 enthusiastic worker, not only pumps blood in the body but also
has emotions, feelings, expression, compassion, creativity etc. That’s why
someone has said, Heart is like a child, more honest and truthful, but may be a
bit immature. Quite interesting! It seems Robert Bulwer-Lytton vindicates this
point by saying, "A good heart is better than all the heads in the world' and
so is this quote by an unknown author, 'In life when you get into trouble,
don't get nervous, just close your eyes and listen to your heart; because, the
heart may be on the left, but it is always right'.
Now, if it is really so, I am
tempted to put the question which the Hindi film singer, Mohit Chauhan asks all
of us in a beautiful and emotive song from the Hindi film, 'Tanu Weds Manu':
How many times heart said, but how many times we listened to it (kitne dafe dil
ne kaha, dil ki suni kitne dafe)? Interestingly, the authors of "Be the
Change" write, “Your heart is so much more than a vessel for romance. It
has been described as the king, with the mind as the king's adviser. When faced
with a decision, the king may ask his advisers for advice; may even send him
out into the world to gather information, but ultimately, it is the king that
makes the final decision. Even though the advisers do not always agree with the
king's decision, the king is invariably right, because the king's view not only
sees the bigger picture but is also aware of the needs of others.
In the same way, when faced
with a decision or conflict, your mind may come up with numerous, different and
quite logical reasons why you should act as it advises, but if you listen to
and trust your heart - however illogical or irrational it may seem - it is
usually right and you are happier as a result".
Fine! But it is also true that
at times the heart takes a position which prima facie doesn’t seem right. Head
does try to engage itself in dispassionate analysis to advise the heart to see
the reason and rationale before taking or not taking a firm stand in such a
peculiar situation. But normally we are found saying that the heart is not
accepting it. To say it in Hindi: Dil hai ki manta nahi. And a lot more.
Everyone comes to such a pass, maybe once or more times, travelling through
various stages of life.
As such, the simple query here
is: Can’t we strike a balance between our head and heart? Can't we think,
practice and finally achieve to have almost as a regular and recurring
phenomena, wherein both the head and heart agree to work in unison, more so, when
one is confronted with a seemingly insurmountable problem in life?
Definitely yes! It can be made possible by consistent learning and mastering the unique art as it involves our two most sensitive and important organs. Many past and present icons world over could do this and consequently could achieve historically brilliant feats and enjoy their life very beautifully. That is why Bharat Ratna and Nobel Prize Winner Nelson Mandela said, "A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination." This was expressed differently by an unknown author in these words: 'Keep your head and heart going in the right direction, and you won't have to worry about your feet.’
As always, I'm keen to know what you think on this subject. Hence, I request you to post your comments to share your valuable opinion. (hellomilansinha@gmail.com)
# Published in my Sunday Column of "Morning India" daily.
# Click here to enjoy my Blog in Hindi, "Chalte, Chalte" (चलते, चलते)
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