Language of the Heart

I am happy to be able to start blogging on Friday night itself, even though it is a full work week for me. Sometimes I work until midnight, even on Fridays. But today, I'm taking it easy because there's nothing that demands my immediate attention at the moment. Anyway, it is also Good Friday, and perhaps a good time to reflect on Jesus's life and his teachings.

I have to admit that I am a fan of Jesus Christ. But why am I not a Christian?  That's because I'm not a follower of any organised religion, preferring not to be restricted by the rules, restrictions and rituals that come by commiting to a single one. No single religion has a monopoly of wisdom; each has its own strengths and weaknesses. The religion you choose is a matter of taste, not truth. I think I've mentioned that in another blog post before.

Why am I a fan of the Anointed One? For one, he had the spirit of a rebel. He challenged the religious authorities of his time and spread a message of love and egalitarianism. I have the hippy instinct in me, so I can certainly identify with that. 

We cannot be absolutely sure what were the original teachings of this self-styled prophet who in the end, died a shocking death on the cross, driving his followers then into hiding. Jesus could have been one of many of the wandering preachers in Palestine who had come and gone before, forgotten by history. In the years after his crucifixion (which Good Friday today commemorates), this scandalous rabbi who had dared to claim himself the "Son of God" looked like he would have followed the same fate.

But somehow his message of loving thy enemy and the promise of salvation, which Nietzsche branded as 'slave morality', found resonance among the downtrodden and became an underground movement. It would still have fizzled out if not for Emperor Constantine who, inspired by a vision of the cross he saw on the battlefield, made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire.

Love is powerful. Love is the language of the heart. A true Christian is overflowing with selfless love. That was what drove the church to the far corners of the world, healing the sick and helping the poor. But in their over-zealousness, they also decimated the culture and beliefs of the natives--so-called heathens.

I am not so taken by the eschatology and soteriology of Christianity--two big words that mean the doctrine of the end-of-times where the Messiah and the Kingdom of Heaven will reign again and how believers can achieve salvation through belief in Christ. These are the boring aspects of religion to me. What interests me is love, repentance and forgiveness themselves. Whether these bring salvation in the end is not important to me.

"Agape" is the Greek word used to express this selfless love of Christianity, that is different from other less noble forms of love such as the romantic "eros" and "philia", which is brotherly love. If one learns to love one's neighbours and forgives one's enemies, one is expressing this agape form of love well. It is bakti and karma yoga rolled in one. Its diligent practice helps to extinguish the ego in oneself and it is a good path for someone who is more attuned to the language of the heart to follow.

So on a good Friday like this, let's all reflect on agape, and how much love in all its forms has shaped the history of humanity on this earth. We humans are both creatures of the head and of the heart. When one's heart is big, one immediately understands its language, which is love itself. If one chooses to listen to the heart, that love that speaks from within, untainted by the ego, is the voice of agape.