Hear the Heart

 Even after I decided to put aside thinking over the latest controversy surrounding a young medical student making disparaging comments about a cadaver and about her medical institution, it continued to give me a lot of insights into the human mind. Both, the incident itself and the interaction I had with my classmates on the WhatsApp group.

After taking a break from discussion with anyone for more than 24 hours I realized myself how an intense discussion, where there are divided opinions, can bring about mental fatigue. Fair enough that some members of the group intervened to stop the discussion. 

Yet today the same issue posed another question in my mind.

We were debating in a mutually known group that stands on friendship rather than hostility. Things were said to each other matter-of-factly rather than with personal animosity. Yet opposing views made us uncomfortable and exhausted. The magnitude of voices in that discussion was a tiny fraction of the uproar that still continues on social media on that incident. If we have firsthand experience of the fatigue from such discussions will it stop us from weighing in on social media now or in the future? Or exhaustion can just affect us and not someone like that young woman who made the huge mistake that was seen publicly? She deserves to be subjected to endless debates and punitive talk? 

We have stopped trying to understand other humans ? Those that reflect behaviors and thinking that are not aligned with ours are not eligible for our kindness? 

This is a reminder for me more than anyone else. 

Allow your heart to be expressed even in the presence of intellectual opposition. The ego will tend to assert and stiffen when confronted with intellectual resistance. Knock it down. Quickly. Because it will obscure the heart. 

It is the heart that reminds of nonduality in the midst of duality. It is the heart that offers peace in the midst of unrest. It is the heart that keeps people together. Minds and intellects without the support of the heart are not capable of keeping people together.

Just remember this, oh mind! 

You can talk all the nonsense you want all day. But do not forget to keep your ears tuned into the heart. That will rescue you from your own stupidity and help endure the stupidity of others . 

June 18,2026