O.Henry’s ‘The Gift of the Magi’ is about a young married couple with very little money. Della has tresses that would shame the Queen of Sheba and Jim has an ancestral gold watch that would be King Solomon’s envy. Not having enough money but wanting to express their love with a worthy Christmas gift, both of them sell their treasures without the knowledge of the other. Della sells her lovely locks to get a platinum chain for the watch while Jim sells his watch to get pure tortoise shell combs for her. Neither can use the gifts, but they have come from surrendered treasures and loving hearts. The story closes thus: “Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.” Jim and Della are equated with “the wonderful wise men, the magi, who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger and invented the art of giving Christmas presents.”
Pure love is ‘wisdom’ in itself. The heart is anchored when it experiences immaculate love. The need for heart’s anchorage extends as ‘love’ for the other, taking different forms - filial love, love for a companion, children, siblings or extended family. True friendship and an ideal guru’s mentorship are flawless expressions of love. Fraternal love is missionary and provides purpose. Effectively, it is love that lends meaning to existence. It is probably the most pondered on as it facilitates overflowing joy. Fortunately, the anchors are not mutually exclusive and a person is only richer by his multiple anchors.
Interestingly, when love is reciprocated, there is mutual anchorage. There is a catch in this though. Most of the heart’s expressions are with expectations and hence conditional; this may meet with disappointments. The simple truth is that many times we are seeking recognition and act loveable; when the reciprocal gesture doesn’t come through in the manner expected, we feel low. There needs to be a paradigm shift in our inner core to handle this. We need to move from acting ‘loveable’ to being ‘loving’. Then there would be no question of losing in love; there would be perennial greenery even in an otherwise arid existence.
There is an added advantage too. Moving towards the experience of unconditional love is a step towards the appreciation of and gratitude for the larger magnificent force at play all around. Many successful people have felt that the invisible hand has played its role to compliment their efforts appropriately. Success is when preparation meets opportunity. It is only the preparation part that is in human hands. Opportunity needs to ‘happen’. In fact, the man who has come to personify the success of Corporate India, Infosys Narayanamurthy has time and again talked about how fortuitous events have played a role in his progress.
Dr. Padma Subramanayam, the multi faceted dancer was in Madurai for a program long back. Her amazingly choreographed dance was a feast, inspiring even the uninitiated. Encomiums were heaped on her. She observed that when she feels the presence of the Mother Goddess within, she is energized, at her best and ‘in flow’. Her constant prayer was only to hope for and submit to that energy every time she danced. When AR Rahman got his Oscar, all he had to say was ‘Glory be to God’. These can’t be brushed off as predictable modesty or an attempt to be ‘politically correct’ on stage.
It is the heart that murmurs and identifies an external locus of control with due regard to the self’s free will. This recognition evolves into ‘faith’ and ‘devotion’ for a larger anchor, to fasten while sailing through the years. A devoted heart believes that its faith can move mountains. A hoping heart knows that ‘more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of’. This leads to a seeking aspiration which ‘provides vigor to convert plausible impossibilities into convincing possibilities.’
‘Man doesn’t live by bread alone’; he doesn’t live by the ‘head’ alone either! Reason and logic have their limitations. When the heart takes over, it whispers well and opens up to the anchorage of love. Unconditional love energizes and can be transformed to the loftier plane of faith yielding ‘unbridled joy’. The believers dedicate such pristine love at a higher altar with warmth and willingness. The consequence is a blissful smile of surrender; this submission then becomes both sword and shield in the battlefield of life.
(The writer may be contacted at smilinglyyours7@gmail.com)
