There is a wisdom of the head and a wisdom of the heart

Many years back my father had encountered an onerous question from his colleague. He asked him if his child and his parents were admitted in a hospital, then whom would he go to meet first- his parents or his child? After thinking for a while my father replied that whichever situation is graver he will attend to that. However, his colleague asserted that it would definitely be his child due to the emotional attachment and bonding which they share as compared to his parents. This proves to be a classic example for wisdom of the heart. The heart always yearns for love, affection and sympathy. Wisdom of the heart is completely emotional or intuitive in nature. You do what you believe is right or what your inner feeling is telling you. You don’t care to analyze its pros and cons logically before performing the task.

Time immemorial we have come across renowned people who had taken choices based on their heart and it led to bloopers. One such specimen is of the love that blossomed between Julius Caesar, who was 52 when he took 21-year- old Cleopatra as his mistress. At this point, the formative Roman Empire, though powerful, could still have been there for a level of taking. Instead, Cleopatra’s first lover– Mark Anthony was killed, leading to the Queen of Egypt following suit. Egypt was promptly taken over by the Romans. If Cleopatra had not been so focused on her eventually doomed loves then the entire future of the Western hemisphere would have been different.

So, can we totally agree that there is only wisdom of the heart and not the mind? Can we blindly follow the example of Amir Khan in 3 idiots where he had asked his friends to imagine if SachinTendulkar would become a singer and if Lata Mangeshkar would be a cricketer, would they have achieved success?  He says that they are where they are today because of the fact that they followed their heart. In my opinion, this may not hold true for everything that unfolds in our lives.

Wisdom of the head is generally the rational behavior or thought which concludes the final decision based on scientific data and after analyzing all the pros and cons. This wisdom is often calculative, practical and gives a thought before making the next move. We have also seen some typical examples in history like Chanakya who changed the rules of the game simply with his wits and perspicacity. One such example is given by one of the most thought-provoking authors of all time in his book Courage- the joy of living dangerously by Osho.

There were two beggars who lived outside a village. One was blind and the other didn’t have legs. They were competitors as they were in the same profession and were begging from the same people which often created a tiff between them due to which they were enemies. One day near the village, where the beggars used to live caught fire. Both the beggars were trapped as one couldn’t see and the other one couldn’t walk. After a lot of contemplation, both the beggars reluctantly agreed to help each other as this was an emergency. They decided that the man who was able to see would sit on the shoulders of the man who was able to walk. Both of them were able to save their lives in times of crisis which speaks volumes about their presence of mind and wisdom in the nick of time.

Quite often thinking and creating from heart will only help you reunite and embrace with emotion, without any illusions, doubts, analysis, ego or judgment. If we separate the heart from the mind, or allow one to rule, it is bound to oppose the other, leading to pain and conflict. Imagine how constricted our thoughts would be, if the heart was not there to loosen them and bring flexibility. Mind, on the other hand, is mischievous; it not only wishes to dictate the heart, but rules our life. The mind controls when we should be happy or sad; it even orders the heart, how and when to express or suppress our emotions. Both cannot be left on their own, say heart on its own will only fantasize into emotions, hopes and dreams whereas the head would always look out for practicality, shrewdness, and straightforward thoughts.

I experienced one such kind of a conflict between my head and heart when I was 14 years old. ICSE allows students to choose commerce as their main subject in class 9 itself thereby allowing students to drop science. With having nearly flunked my mathematics exam in class 8 and dealing with a huge crisis of confidence back then, I knew I didn’t have a stomach for mathematics since numbers were my Achilles heel. My heart was passionate about commerce; however, my mind threw tough questions about limited opportunities in future and a weak foundation in science. I was in a dilemma. That’s when I decided to talk to people who had pursued commerce in class 9 and whether they were facing difficulties in their future. I spoke to the commerce and economics teacher in school and sought their guidance. The school also organized many career counselling sessions and that’s when my head finally gave me a nod. Thus, by balancing the wisdom of heart and that of the head, I can confidently say that I have made a ‘wise’ decision. From a mediocre student I have become a free-spirited woman who can take her own decisions in life.

In a nutshell, to counter, and bring the head and heart back into oneness, we need to learn the art of being in the awareness of now, through intuition and impulses, beyond thoughts. It is the amalgamation of the two, which leads us back to our source, the oneness in which we are born to live. The ménage between the head and the heart is conflicting yet a wise person understands how to make the wisdom fulcrum balance both important parts of the body.