A Wisdom Archive on Heart

Introduction and links to related topics

Heart - Heart The heart is the seat in the human body of buddhic consciousness, corresponding to the anahata chakra which is ruled by the planet Venus. There are three principal centers of the human body: the heart as the center of spiritual consciousness; the head as the center of mental consciousness; and the navel as the center of kamic or emotional consciousness.

The heart is the organ through which the higher ego acts, seeking to impress the lower self which works through the brain. In this sense the heart is the most important part of the body, and when developed leads to spiritual mastery, the unity of atma-buddhi-manas. In another sense, the heart corresponds to prana, "but only because Prana and the Auric Envelope are essentially the same, and because again as Jiva it is the same as the Universal Deity" (BCW 12:694).

Cosmically, the sun is the beating heart of the solar system, and the sunspot cycle of approximately 12 years represents the cycle of its beating, as it sends forth and receives back the circulations on many planes which sustain the solar system. The sun is "a beating heart; in another sense, it is a brain. There is a temptation to use the words heart and brain literally, and such usage wanders not far from fact. But it is not the physical globe which is the true head and heart, except insofar as the physical universe is concerned. The real head and the real heart, coalescing and working as one, are the divinity behind and above and within the physical vehicle of our glorious daystar" (FSO 299; cf SD 1:541-2).

Heart Doctrine - Heart Doctrine In Mahayana Buddhism, the hidden or esoteric teachings as opposed to the eye doctrine, the public or exoteric teachings. In theosophy, the heart doctrine is considered to contain the more profound and compassionate teachings which go beyond the literal interpretation of the publicly given doctrines.

Heart Chakra - Anahata chakra. Center of direct cognition.
See: chakra.

Heart - Heart, Sacred. See SACRED HEART

Hearth - Literally the floor of the fireplace. In ancient (and fairly recent) times, the hearth, was the "heart" of the home and the family. In fact, it was so much at the hub of living that its second definition has become "home and family. " The hearth was the place where the family gathered to ward off winter''s chill, cook the food that sustained life, prepare the poultices and herbal tinctures for healing, and tell stories and songs long into the night.

Heart - The heart was the center of instinct and the precious kernel of immortality and it was this which was weighed in the balance against the feather of truth, known as Maat. For the Ancient Egyptians the purpose of life was the perception of Truth which could only be gained by the cultivation of discernment and the guiding of the instincts. This was the whole meaning of initiation. Everything served that end. So the heart of enlightenment was the cultivation of discernment. To fail to develop this power of perception was the greatest sin and carried the automatic penalty of that heart''s immediate and total annihilation. (Adapted from R. G. Torrens''s The Golden Dawn, The Inner Teachings.

Heart Sutra - A Mahayana Buddhist scriptural text that expounds, in condensed form, the doctrine of the Perfection of Wisdom. The text is Indian in origin and achieved its greatest popularity in China and East Asia. Its best-known teaching is the claim: "Form is Emptiness, and the very Emptiness is Form. "

Sacred Heart - Sacred Heart. In Egypt, of Horus; in Babylon, of the god Bel; and the lacerated heart of Bacchusin Greece and elsewhere. Its symbol was the persea. The pear-like shape of its fruit, and of its kernel especially, resembles the heart in form. It is sometimes seen on the head of Isis, the mother of Horus, the fruit being cut open and the heart-like kernel exposed to full view. The Roman Catholics have since adopted the worship of the "sacred heart" of Jesus and of the Virgin Mary.