Mind And Heart

The age old controversy fails to die down, which is superior Mind or Heart? Although both are important part of the human body there is a tendency to treat them as rivals and find the winner. The functions of mind and heart from biological point of view are clear, but there seems to be some overlapping that has added a new dimension to the debate. There is a general belief that thinking is a function of human mind and logic and rationality are the fundamental principles that act as a guide, but when it comes to feelings and emotions heart comes in to play. It is said that heart is based on inner voice or soul. It is worthwhile to explore different aspects of the debate to at least clarify some basic facts.

We all know that heart supplies blood to the body and failure to discharge this function means end of human life. If however mind ceases to function a person loses thinking process as well as that of memory making a person unable to know even himself or live the life of a normal human being. Thus if seen from this angle heart appears to be more important than mind, but a man without a properly functioning mind also cannot be compared in any way to what a normal human being is.

People who stand behind the Heart argue that it has been proved that Heart is 100.000 times stronger electrically and up to 5000 times stronger magnetically than the Mind or brain, and that although the brain does have an electrical & a magnetic field, they are quite weak as compared to Mind. They also aver that with all the aspects of reasoning and logic mind is cut off from what really a life is and is unable to comprehend life realities, feelings and sensitivities. To them Mind is a sort of mechanical device that manufactures thoughts and ideas, store memories and undertake functions like intuition and assumption. Heart on the other hand is the master of the body and influences even the mind. It is a great healer and can change the chemistry of the body by sending out positive emotions that might not only influence brain function, but also result in stimulating the healing process in heart related disease, hypertension and even the psychological problems. The fact that people with positive attitude enjoy a better life as compared to those having a negative frame of mind is a proof of the importance and positive role heart plays in a person’s life.

Whatever the merits and demerits of Mind and Heart they are so closely related that it is difficult to imagine one without another. They work in combination bringing about a balance to the life of a person. The phrase “thinking from heart” indicates the role of heart in the thinking process. Although heart thinking does take reason into account, but its importance is on a lower side as compared to mind thinking. Heart is generally thought to be concerned with controlling feelings and emotions. But how it can do it without having any help from mind? Similarly if the mind is limited to rationality or logic how it can reach correct conclusion without analyzing the softer aspects of life emanating from heart? The more rationale conclusion after taking into account all the pros and cons of all the theories and arguments may be summarized as follows:

Irrespective of the biological fact that Heart does not seem to have thinking abilities or that Mind is the sole thinking element in the body there is no doubt about the presence of feelings and emotions in the human body. In decision making process there are different factors that come into play in addition to purely factors of logic, reason, safety and feasibility. The feelings of desire, love, hate, sacrifice, care and tolerance do have their impact in the decision making process. Sometimes logic and reason prevail and sometimes feelings of love, hate, desire etc. dominate. It is, therefore, not proper to consider that either Heart or Mind is superior to the other. Both play their stipulated roles and it is finally the human that makes the decision keeping in view his interpretation of the situation. God has provided the tools of thinking and feeling to the human race as its integral part both having their own importance in taking vital decisions. It is also true that in some cases the human inclination is more towards thinking while in others feeling is more dominant depending upon the nature, values, knowledge and experience of the person.