The Heart of Love

From the Article " How to Cross the Heartbreak Bridge" on the Deccan Chronicle, Feb 14th 2013

“But I love him”, she said as tears trickled down. It took a lot of tapping at an acupressure point near her collar bone to subside the sobs. Often people visit me to speak about love or rather love lost. On this day as we celebrate love it also good to check our understanding of this often misunderstood, misquoted term.

Buddhist texts have a simplified way of understanding love. Love comprises of Metta or loving kindness or friendship, Karuna or compassion, Mudita or joy and the elusive hard to cultivate equanimity Upekka.  Using this yardstick it is good to introspect once practical boundaries of self respect are in place.

• Are you being a good friend? (Especially when your happiness and gains are at stake)
• Does your heart quiver at your beloved suffering? (What if their suffering is owing to an overdose of you, trust me that happens!). 
• Does your soul feel joyful when your beloved is happy and is there peace in your mind, composure in your word and deed?

And then maybe a realization may occur that it is not love after all. It doesn’t matter if the answers skew you away from the realm of love. What is needed is the knowing that right now, in this moment this is the best you could have been. Healing and evolution begins with the acceptance of the current state of affairs. From here begins the journey to love more deeply and to heal past hurts.

Whether it’s a broken heart,a heart ache or maybe the need to explore higher dimensions of love; healing the heart may be the most meaningful journey you may embark on.  Within traditional knowledge-base there are many paths that involve various senses and methods. In Indic philosophy the energy of love is known to reside in the heart center Anahata. Anatomically this is the cardiac plexus.  Anahata responds well to postures that opens up the chest. Back bends with an emphasis on the upper body such as Camel pose (Ustrasan), Matsyasan (Fish) pose are ideal. 

If you are a visual person you may wish to imagine brilliant emerald green color above the center of the chest and the light healing the heart. The seed mantra for the anahata is “YUM” chanting that mentally also help release blocks in the heart. If you are attracted to scents; rose essential oil is known to energize the heart.  Affirmations on love, compassion, forgiveness aids the healing. The practices followed mindfully would ensure that you feel lighter, refreshed, at ease with our emotions and ready to discover and embrace deeper meanings of love.

Wishing you a Happy Valentines day, may there be none left to forgive, may there be many who draw from your loving compassion and joy ; may you lead a life of radiant composure.