Discourse on Emotions

“Emotions and thoughts are not separate entities.  The way you think is the way you feel.”

- Sadguru

Seeker:   Sir, please explain to me the above quote.

Maladkar:   Yes, as a matter of fact, we are what we think.  As Anais Nin aptly said, we don’t

 see things as they are, we see them as we are !  We are driven by our feeling.  As Elie Wiesel advises, “Think higher, feel deeper.”  Feeling in turn is driven by intuition.  Osho said, “Thinking is the farthest point from intuition.  Thinking is a kind of tuition.  You have been taught by others – that is tuition.  Something that has not been taught to you and blooms in you, that is intuition.   Nobody has taught you – no school, no university, no college.  Nobody has said anything about it to you.  It explodes in you – that is intuition.  You need not go anywhere, you only need to go inside yourself.  Feeling is closer to intuition.”   So as one feels, one’s emotions gets involved.  With emotions our thoughts too get influenced.  So many times our thoughts get dictated by our emotions.  Hence rationality of all our thoughts have to be thought of once again before acting on them, otherwise we can make wrong decisions based out of our feelings / emotions.  Yes emotions and thoughts are well connected but what do we have a mind for.  Heart many times overrules the mind.  And heart should win more than the mind.  As heart is nothing but feelings / emotions / intuition.  But yes mind can be our watchdog.  We should make good use of our mind too.  Though mind should never be our master.  When heart and mind function as one, then chances of a wrong decision are minimal.  That is the ideal situation where heart and mind work as one team.  Chuang Tzu so rightly said, “When the shoe fits, the foot is forgotten; when the belt fits, the belly is forgotten; and when the heart is right, “for” and “against” are forgotten.”  Go by your feelings / emotions, but don’t forget to use the mind filter.  Anger is classic example of emotions overruling the mind and causing damage.  If love is the guiding force, then one can be pretty sure of guiding the mind rightly.  But again blind love can be damaging.  In short, it is the balance between heart and mind, that is a key determinant of good, healthy and thoughtful living.