Question: How can we have more heart-power?

Sri Chinmoy: Only by repeating, “I am the heart, I am the heart, I am not the mind.” The qualities of heart-power are purity, beauty and the feeling of oneness. When we think of a temple, immediately we think of the shrine inside it. We think of the flowers, incense and so forth on the shrine. Otherwise, a temple is like another building. But when we say ‘temple’, immediately inside our body, inside our nerves, inside our being, we feel something pure. Something is elevating our consciousness. What is it? It is the candles, the incense and the flowers on the shrine. Anything that deals with purity we think of at that time.

In exactly the same way, when we think of heart-power, the most significant treasure that the heart has is purity. When you think of the mind, purity is not to be found there. At that time, you only think of confusion or supremacy: the mind is either thinking that you are useless, or that the rest of the world is jealous of you. There is nobody to feel or establish oneness with the mind. The good qualities of the mind are serenity, clarity and illumination. But these are rarely found.

So when you think of heart-power, the first thing you have to think of is purity-power. What gives us an immediate sense of purity? Any flower that you like best — a rose or lotus or some other flower. You have to feel that you are breathing in the beauty and fragrance of the flower that you like most. Please try to visualise it inside your heart. First feel that the flower is there. Imagine it inside your heart. Imagination has a reality of its own. As soon as you imagine that there is a flower inside you, a rose or any other flower, then try to smell the fragrance of that flower. Then, after fifteen minutes or half an hour or even a few days, try to feel that that flower has become invisible inside your heart. You do not have to see the flower as such, you do not have to smell the fragrance, no. As soon as you think of your heart, you will see that your heart has become the most beautiful flower, the most beautiful rose.

So in order to acquire heart-power or to be conscious of heart-power, we first have to develop purity-power. And inside purity is oneness. Purity accepts everybody. A child is pure; that is why a child accepts everyone. A flower is pure; it allows everyone to appreciate its beauty.