Hridaya- The Spiritual Heart
In Sanskrit, there is a word, Hridaya, that can be interpreted as “spiritual heart.” More literally, it translates from its root words: hri, which means “to give”; da, which means “to take”; and ya, derived from yam, which signifies “balance.” Therefore, Hridaya represents “that which gives and takes in perfect balance.”
Hridaya should not be mistaken for the emotional heart, which is driven by impulses and feelings such as lust and heartbreak. Nor is it the anatomical heart that sustains physical life. Rather, this heart is said to be deeper and more ancient than the physical and emotional body. It is described as being unattached to the ego, the aspect of our being that is true and absolute.
I have been reflecting a lot lately on the emotional impulses and influences of life and mind. The feelings of confusion and judgment can seem so real when they are alive in our mind and sensory experience. Likewise, it is easy to identify these feelings as our personality or identity. These identities extend beyond emotions and tap into perceived visions of success and failure, merging life experiences into our self-conception rather than viewing them as simple occurrences. I can liken this to a cloud that obscures the sun. Logically, we know the sun still exists beneath the clouds, but all we can focus on is the darkness of the cloud. Similarly, the experiences of love or hate can become all-encompassing and overwhelming.
Hridaya is often referred to as the ‘spiritual heart.’ It is the heart that is forever giving and receiving. It remains unaffected by emotions—love, betrayal, happiness, sadness, or joy. It is the heart that holds its strength beyond the fluctuations of life. Sometimes, in English, it is referred to as the soul—the part of us that cannot be broken or jaded. It is the ever-living heart that holds the entire soul and universe within it.
“The only beauty that lasts is the beauty of the heart.” - Rumi
When we sit in the spiritual heart, we can truly rest. The entirety of existence continues to flow as we sit effortlessly in this space. Nature is a perfect example of this giving and receiving. Nature does not create stories or boundaries about what it can take or how it needs to give. Nature understands the cycle of life: rocks erode and reform as sand, rain falls to nourish vegetation, the sun provides heat, and water vapor returns to the clouds, perpetuating the cycle. Our breath mirrors this natural flow as we exhale, giving to nature, knowing that the next inhalation will allow us to receive again. Imagine if all expressions of giving and receiving were so seamless! That we gave with benevolence and authenticity without fear of lack and received with open arms and hearts without guilt or shame. So what happened? How did we become a self-serving and, at the same time, self-deprecating society resistant to opening up beyond our own minds?
In many cases, individual and generational trauma, stress, and pain hinder this effortless flow of giving and receiving. Learning mistrust and violent behavior (mental, emotional, and physical) from childhood and beyond tends to lock us into the fight/flight/freeze response. Trauma disrupts our inherent nature of reciprocity, forcing the nervous system into hyperarousal and trapping us in either the fight or flight (sympathetic) or dorsal vagal shutdown (parasympathetic).
I believe a certain amount of somatic healing is necessary to regain safety in the nervous system and physical body, enabling us to feel beyond life's happenings. The ego is everything we identify with and is certainly not the villain; I fear that approaching the need to release the ego through deep meditative practices without first nurturing and healing those aspects of ourselves may prompt us to attach to dissociation instead of discovering the totality of the heart (or soul). My teacher Roshan once said that in order to become selfless, we must first be selfish. I found this incredibly frustrating at the time, looking around the world and wondering how yoga philosophy could suggest we need more selfishness in such a selfish world. I now understand that the message behind this teaching is to be honest with our own needs so that we can be stable and healthy, allowing us to pour out love effortlessly. Have you heard the saying, “Have a cup so abundant and overflowing that you can give from your saucer, not your cup?”
Hridaya is the remembrance of the absolute, without separation from the divine, abundant and whole, unscathed by the experiences of pain and delight encountered in life.
The heart (Hridaya), when penetrating and pervading every level of our embodiment, is experienced as unsurpassed nectar-sweet joy and eternal life. - *Tantra Illuminated* by Christopher Wallis.
How do we meet this aspect of the divine heart? It has never left; in fact, you can go there right now. Take a few moments to focus on the center of your chest. Can you send a stream of your breath directly to the lagoon of your heart? Allow yourself to pour into this lagoon, void of thought, even if just for a few seconds. You are always welcome back to the resting space of the heart.
Om hridaya namaha
xx
Tye
