For CONNIE GROGAN, Heartfulness and Christianity are compatible. She shares something of her own journey exploring the treasure we call the heart.
I grew up in the Christian faith. I am grateful for this upbringing. The teachings of Christ are of love, compassion, humility and faith, and they are qualities that stem from the heart, which are needed today more than ever.
I started meditation more than 20 years ago with Parthsarathi Rajagopalachari, also known as Chariji. He would often instruct us to refer to the heart, and casually turn his hand towards the heart. At the time I found this message very frustrating. How does one refer to the heart? For so many years I went about trying to be a good person by using my critical mind, weighing the pros and cons a hundred times for each small decision.
Nowadays, I am able to live more in my heart, because the regular practice of Heartfulness Meditation naturally brings one’s center of consciousness to the heart. I think that those who know me best, like members of my family, have come to know a more gentle person over the years. I would like to think that I have grown more patient and become a better listener. I have always been a hard worker and dutiful, but now I know that I do not own the result. It is not so much the outcome of one’s actions that matter, because that is not entirely in one’s hands. Rather it is the effort that one makes that counts, as long as there are well-meaning and honest intentions behind the effort. This comes as a natural development from Heartfulness Meditation.
Heartfulness is seeing myself as a part of the whole universe. It is being grateful for my small place on the earth. It is an aim for a balanced perspective where the heart comes first, and seeing that one’s own heart is connected with the hearts of others and of nature and of worlds about which one can only dream.
Heartfulness is seeing myself as a part of the whole universe. It is being grateful for my small place on the earth. It is an aim for a balanced perspective where the heart comes first, and seeing that one’s own heart is connected with the hearts of others and of nature and of worlds about which one can only dream.
Christianity fits into this life, because I am better equipped to follow Christ‘s teachings. With Heartfulness, there is also the practice of positive affirmations (prayerful suggestions) to develop love, faith and devotion, correct thinking, right understanding, an honest approach to life, and craving for the Ultimate. Also, Christian practices like the Lord’s Prayer and the recitation of certain psalms complement Heartfulness.
To practice Heartfulness Meditation as a Christian is to become a better Christian. The same applies to people of all faiths or those of no religious affiliation who simply want to become better human beings. Continue with your church, your temple, your mosque, your synagogue, and any traditions and values that are important to you, but don’t forget your heart, the treasure that rightfully belongs to each of us.
Article by CONNIE GROGAN
