ROSE HEART WORKSHOP MISSION

---

 In the spiritual traditions of India, as elsewhere, the ‘Heart’ refers not so much to the physical organ as to a psycho-spiritual structure corresponding to the heart muscle on the material plane. This spiritual Heart is celebrated by yogins and mystics as the seat of the transcendental Self. It is called Hrid, Hridaya, or Hrit-padma (“Heart Lotus”). It is often referred to as the secret “cave” (guha) in which the yogin must restrain his mind. In some schools, notably Kashmir Shaivism, the word hridaya applies also to the ultimate Reality.

The Spiritual Heart, on the other hand, can be seen through its multitude of symbolic traits and the substance of each. Each of them has its importance. In fact, the complete spiritual journey can be described through them.

1. The essence of the Spiritual Heart

The Spiritual Heart is your essential and ultimate nature, the ineffable dimension of your being. It is another name for the Supreme Self, atman, the Witness Consciousness, as mentioned above.

2. The Spiritual Heart is the Ultimate Reality

The Ultimate Reality is transcendent and immanent in any aspect of the Macrocosm. It is the ultimate essence of all. It is a condition beyond duality: “The Heart of the man and the Heart of the Cosmos are one.” 

Through spiritual maturity, the Heart is revealed as something more than an individual dimension of our being, after which it ceases to be expressed in terms of duality. It represents the whole in which Subject and object, the witness and witnessed, are one. Seen as consciousness, the Heart is unlimited.

It is the infinite Light. It is also the absolute freedom and spontaneity of this Light of consciousness, which appears to us in different forms in manifestation.

The Heart as the Supreme Consciousness is like the ocean, which is reflected both as the vastness of the sea and the different shapes of its waves. Similarly, the awareness of the Spiritual Heart is a complete path in itself. It can lead to a direct knowledge integrating all the energies, the whole of manifestation, but at the same time, it reveals the Ultimate Supreme Transcendence.

3. The Spiritual Heart is suigeneris a spiritual organ of direct knowledge

Sometimes the Heart is understood as a means of revelation. It is also an organ of the purification, reintegration, and transfiguration of our being. For instance, for a Tantric practitioner, everything that brings pleasure tunes the Heart, seen as the cosmic instrument of consciousness.

Through detachment from any individual accent, there comes a spontaneous sublimation in the Heart. In this way, each sensation is brought to its purity and then offered to the infinite space of the Heart.

4. The Heart is a point of inflection

The Heart is the bridge between finite and infinite, personal and transpersonal, the present and eternity. It is openness toward the Whole. In this aspect, the Heart represents our main opportunity to transcend the limitations of individuality.

This function of the Heart makes it a borderline territory because it simultaneously bears the characteristics of the Ultimate Reality and of the finite realities. The inner Heart is a portal to direct experience of what is called “spirit,” Consciousness—concepts that easily elude all definition.

5. The Spiritual Heart is an inner guide revealing the Ultimate Truth

It follows its impulses as a way of redemption.

6. The Heart is the source of all Creation and the final point of all energies

It is thus often seen as a fountain of immortality. The overflowing of the Heart as pure Love and pure Existence is in itself the sign of realization:

“In the middle of my Heart, a star appeared, and the seven heavens were lost in its brilliance.” –Rumi

7. The Spiritual Heart is the abode of all deep mysteries

It keeps a secret of its mystical royalty. It is the source of a spontaneous wonderment that generates the intuition of God’s existence. In the yogic tradition, this attribute is named guha, the “cave of the Heart.”

Indeed, the Heart has some subtle functions that are imperceptible to those who do not intend to live their lives profoundly, spiritually. It remains an unknown domain for the one who ignores the inner kingdom in which the Heart is the core.

8. The Heart is the Absolute Void

“Our behavior itself is the awakening: There is no other Buddha than the Heart. All phenomena are nothing but the Heart.” –Tao-Sin

René Guénon affirmed that “the Peace of the void,” the “Great Peace” (Es-Sakinah) of Islamic esotericism seen in the divine presence of the Center of being, is symbolically represented in all traditions by the Heart. In the yogic tradition, it is expressed by hrid akasha, the infinite space of the Heart.

9. The Heart is a sacred tremor, the expression of pure, absolute aspiration.

The Sufis, Shaivists, Vedantins, Hesychasts, etc. all answered to the same calling of the Heart. They expressed the same pure impetus, urge, yearning, and aspiration toward God, beyond the specific forms of adoration, beyond the concepts and names of this Reality.

All of them perceived it as a sacred tremor vibrating in them and everywhere. From the Heart emanates a sense of Truth, a sense of Pure Existence. By making the Heart the symbol of sacredness, religions have indeed expressed this very idea.