Wisdom of the Head and Wisdom of the Heart

THERE IS A WISDOM OF THE HEAD & A WISDOM OF THE HEART

The head and the heart are consistently in conflict in our lives. They both yield a wisdom, each with a different outlook on life. The wisdom of the head refers to knowledge- the factual study of the world and the interpretative reasoning of it in our minds. It is materialistic in nature and involves the analysis of cause and consequence. It also aims to find various ways to the same solution. Knowledge has to be theoretically stated and practically applied to be of use. It is the result of a study of one's surroundings and can be developed only from experience.

The cut throat competition in every field is enough proof that the world runs after this wisdom madly. But, is this the ultimate wisdom?

Wisdom of the heart, on the other hand, is the instinctive part. It arises from the heart that follows passion with compassion. It leads us to find the nobility in compassion, beauty in empathy and grace in forgiveness. The wisdom of heart arises from the feeling that we are humanity – 'a force of life housed in a million bodies'.

Spiritually, it is the place where the universal joy arises. It is the wisdom of knowing one's purpose in life. It shows us the righteous path. It is indeed independent of our surroundings, for it illuminates us from within.

Dickens himself says,

“A loving heart is the truest wisdom.”

It can lie hidden in the smile of a child, the eyes of the elderly, the words of our well wishers and the deeds of a samaritan. When we stand up for the weak, help the struggling, refrain from hurting those around us, share the burden of the troubled and forgive the penitent, we too display a speck of this wisdom.

But in today’s world, if we are to gain wisdom, we cannot choose one and abandon the other entirely. As we, humans, are fundamentally social beings, we need both in order to lead a happy life.

Wisdom in my opinion, arises when we bring together compassion, heartfulness, imagination and knowledge synergetically. One without the other can lead to precarious situations. For instance, misguided compassion probes us to help the butterfly struggling to come out of its coccon. But this act, renders the wings of the butterfly useless, crippling it for life. Likewise, knowledge, misused by the Nazis, lead to the destruction of thousands of innocents in its wake.

Eminent personalities like Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Einstein acquired both these wisdoms in their lifetime and emerged to be of great service to humanity. Leading a nation to its liberty, requires comprehensive and absolute knowledge regarding each event occuring around every nook and corner. Meanwhile, Einstein was the one who stated,

“Only a life lived in the service of others is worth living."

If the wisdom of the head is the chariot and its horses, the wisdom of the heart is its charioteer. Without the chariot and horses, the charioteer is of no use in the battlefield. And the horses without a charioteer will only cause chaos and lead to deaths on both sides. But when the charioteer controls the chariot and the mighty horses dexterously and completely, only then can he lead the warrior to victory.

Thus, as warriors in the battlefield called life, we must realise the ratio of power between the both.

“The greatest mystery, the greatest wonder of creation is that we are capable of both relentless reason and boundless love.”

- Krishna Udhayshankar

It is indeed true. This very essay is an example of the same: written with the wisdom of the analytical head and the wisdom of the passionate heart.

                                                                                                Written by,

                                                                                                K.Jaithri

(Pic Credits Google)