Representations of the heart differ in different cultures
The fourth way that we can know whether or not we should trust the galactics is perhaps the most confirming and affirming of all and that is by asking our heart or inner voice for its verdict. But to say why that is so, I have to say something about the heart or inner voice and about when its evidence is strong and when weak.
And please understand that this is very difficult for me because I’m not an enlightened person or a spiritual teacher. I’m not trying to represent myself as if I aam and not trying to climb up on a pedestal. But I won’t allow those considerations to prevent me from discussing the matter nonetheless, from the little I know of it from experience.
What is the heart? Perhaps this would be a good place to look a little more deeply into what the heart actually is, if you’d permit me.
It isn’t a physical organ that pumps blood. It isn’t the heart chakra. The hridayam or spiritual heart is in fact the portal between the physical form and the soul. And, as far as I know, the soul is a portion of the Divine which, like a hologram, has everything in it that the Divine could be said to have in It.
The world’s great religions testify to the fact that God is to be found in the lotus of the heart or Hridayam:
Upanishads: “The ancient, effulgent being, in-dwelling Spirit, [is] deep-hidden in the lotus of the heart.” (1)
Upanishads: “Within the city of Brahman [God], which is the body, there is the heart, and within the heart there is a little house. This house has the shape of a lotus, and within it dwells that which is to be sought after, inquired about, and realized.” (2)
Shankara: “Here, within this body, in the pure mind, in the secret chamber of intelligence, in the infinite universe within the heart, the Atman [soul] shines in its captivating splendour, like a noonday sun.” (3)
Habbakuk: “The Lord is in his holy temple [of the heart]: let all the earth keep silence before him.” (4)
Al-Ghazzali: “The first step to self-knowledge is to know that thou art composed of an outward shape, called the body, and an inward entity called the heart, or soul. By ‘heart’ I do not mean the piece of flesh situated in the left of our bodies, but that which uses all the other faculties as its instruments and servants. In truth it does not belong to the visible world, but to the invisible, and has come into this world as a traveller visits a foreign country for the sake of merchandise, and will presently return to its native land. It is the knowledge of this entity and its attributes which is the key to the knowledge of God.” (5)
God-realization or Brahmajnana sees the heart open up and close again; mukti, liberation or sahaja samadhi sees the heart open and remain open, says Sri Ramana Maharshi:
“[The] Heart is the seat of Jnanam [wisdom] as well as of the granthi (knot of ignorance). It is represented in the physical body by a hole smaller than the smallest pin-point, which is always shut. When the mind drops down in Kevalya Nirvikalpa [samadhi or God-Realization], it opens but shuts again after it. When sahaja [nirvikalpa samadhi] is attained it opens for good.” (6)
In my view, when we connect to our hearts, what we hear is what many call our Higher Self, soul, Atman – you can call it by many names. And this source does not lie.
However, whether the voice of that source, when consulted is weak or strong, depends on how often we seek its counsel and how well we listen to it.
If we consult it often and in fact make no important decision without consulting it, I think its voice is strong. So in what I’m about to say, please consider it understood that I’m speaking to the one who consults it often and follows its counsel.
For me, the ultimate test of whether the galactics are trustworthy is supplied by the heart, the inner voice, or Higher Self.
Matthew Ward is known for saying so often: “Follow your heart in those matters. … Trust your intuition, the messages from your soul to your consciousness.” (7) “Simply by following your heart, the seat of the soul, you are serving the light and fulfilling the lifetime purpose you signed up for!” (8)
But following this counsel and relying on it is something that will prove most successful for those who have well-ploughed this row. The skeptical among us will say “I consulted my heart and heard nothing” and so it undoubtedly will be.
That doesn’t prove this method wrong but only reveals that we haven’t developed it to the place where it can assist us.If we haven’t developed our connection with the heart, if we want to answer the question whether we should and can trust the galactics, we might be better advised to fall back on the other methods.
So these are the ways known to me that can help us decide whether we should be trusting the galactics or not. I rely the most on following my heart or inner voice.
I hope I answered the original reader’s question.
Footnotes
(1) Swami Prabhavananda and Frederick Manchester, trans., The Upanishads. Breath of the Eternal. New York and Scarborough: New American Library, 1957; c1948, 17.
(2) Ibid., 74.
(3) Shankara in Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher lsherwood, Shankara’s Crest-Jewel of Discrimination. Hollywood: Vedanta Press, 1975; c1947, 53.
(4) Habakkuk 2:20.
(5) Al-Ghazzali, The Alchemy of Happiness. trans. Claud Field. Lahore: ASHRAF, 1971; c1964., 21.
(6) Ramana Maharshi in S.S. Cohen, Guru Ramana. Memories and Notes. 6th edition. Tiruvannamalai: Sri Ramanasramam, 1993, 96.
(7) Matthew’s Message, Aug. 29, 2008, at https://www.matthewbooks.com/mattsmessage.htm
(8) Matthew’s Message, May 21, 2008.