The User-Friendly Heart by Kamlesh D.
Patel The season of goodwill and gifts is here.
Diwali and Thanksgiving went by.
Up ahead is Miladu Nabi,
Christmas,
Hanukkah,
And the New Year.
Festive occasions for families and friends to bond and to exchange gifts in demonstration of mutual love,
Respect,
And gratitude.
Quite a lot of planning goes into gift-giving.
To whom to give what?
Based on age,
Status,
Likes and dislikes,
And so on.
What is the highest gift that one person can give another?
The question pits the principles of parsimony and bounty against each other.
Both are bound in a logic that calculates how much of your hard-won earnings,
Your time,
And even your advice to give to family,
Friends,
And strangers.
Giving is easier when the recipient is a family member or friend.
We love our families,
We cherish our friends,
And we give to them without as much as a second thought,
Spontaneously.
When the recipient is a stranger,
However,
The cold logic of cost versus benefit shuts the open heart.
At the core of a gift is the purity of intention.
Purity of intention doesn't factor in what can be gained in giving or the capability of the giver,
And so it transforms even the smallest of gifts into an esteemed treasure.
Religious traditions speak of the highest of gifts,
Grace.
Grace is neither deserved,
Nor merited,
Nor earned.
Grace is the divine's free favor,
The benevolence that divinity chooses to bestow simply because divinity elects to.
Is such a pure gift possible between humans?
I believe so.
The Art of Giving Almost all religious traditions encourage giving.
Charity,
Zakat,
Alms,
Dan.
The giving,
Whether optional,
Essential,
Or compulsory,
Is embedded in the ritual of worship,
Including offerings to the divine and philanthropy in God's name.
Yet,
Is a gift that is motivated by a belief in the existence of a benevolent God,
Or aimed at a God's pleasure,
The highest,
Simply because it implicates the divine?
Almost all lay traditions also highly regard any effort that strives to uphold dignity and ease a fellow being's life with hard knocks.
Examples include the setting up of the school fund for a dispossessed child,
And the feeding of refugees who lack protective shelter.
Such gifts seek to restore humanity,
And this is sufficient in itself to earn the label of a noble gift.
In that sense,
A gift is one that is precious to the giver and enriches the recipient's situation.
However,
This may still involve the giver's ego and oblige the recipient to respond with a gift of his own,
Indeed,
In word or in thought.
What,
Then,
Is the highest gift that one person can give another,
Neither because of the divine nor the tax collector who will cut us a seasonal break?
Tough question.
What might the heart say?
The heart's bias The heart is not simply a cardiological pump.
Most traditions,
Secular,
Spiritual,
Atheist,
Literary,
Or medical,
Admit to the heart's starring role in an individual's existence.
Still,
We don't consult the heart or take time to examine whether it is really the heart's message that we hear.
The heart's intrinsic nature is goodness,
And to allow this goodness to manifest in us is both simple and easy when we have a method to heed the heart's guidance.
The heart alone,
Perceived clearly in the stillness of the mind,
Can advise on a suitable gift,
Because the heart is biased towards what is good for you as well as others.
It is biased towards a gift that places no burden on the giver's ego and no obligation on the recipient,
Even as it fulfills a dire need.
The heart will advise on a suitable gift and inform the manner in which a gift is given.
No external algorithm can find the answer that is relevant to you.
On the other hand,
Your heart can and is seeking to be heard.
If you sit comfortably,
Close your eyes,
And thaw into your heart's embrace,
Experiencing the heartful states of silence,
Love,
And of a promising emergent guidance,
You will discover your highest approach to giving,
Including what to give.
Only by consulting the heart is a pure gift possible between humans.
Settling a Bit Inward Galileo did not invent the telescope,
But he was the first to turn it to the sky and chart a new world.
Heeding the heart's guidance is like turning the telescope and settling our sustained attention inward.
In abiding only in habitual conventions and social routines,
We risk having the false understanding that I don't have within me the guidance necessary to live a full life.
How about balancing the external conventions with a path that dedicates a bit of daily quiet time to your own heart?
Heartfulness is heeding the message of the heart.
You are pre-endowed with the heart's wisdom,
And no one can offer that to you.
The only magic wand is your interest to fortify the connection with your heart,
Which is user-friendly and has the answer to every one of life's situations,
Well beyond which gift to give this festive season.
For more insights on how to live with heartfulness,
Please visit daji.
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