My Interactions with the Jesuit values - Essay Example

Also, a compassionate and loving heart if not tempered by the logic and decorum emanating from the heart is but a rudderless ship, incapable of reaching its destination, being most of the time trapped in the morass of indecision and wavering. It is in the divine unity of the mental and emotional faculties that lies the true future of humanity and mankind. The Jesuit model of education actively inculcates the unity of human understanding and emotions. When the human personality is not amply mature and had not attained the ripeness ushered in by continual and persistent contemplation and education, the heart and the mind tend to be in a state a conflict.

This is many a times markedly signified by having a strong desire to do something or engage in some activity that innately seems to be inappropriate or wrong. I believe that a preponderance of such instances in human life gives way to ample emotional and mental problems, which if allowed proceeding beyond a certain limit could degenerate into some kind of neurosis. Yet, ironically, I feel that this is the actual dilemma of the modern civilization so open to the winds of materialism and a deluge of information.

Many a times in my life I felt that though I had everything that I materially desired and had access to most of the modern freedoms and rights, still there was something lacking within me that restrained me from evolving into a complete person. It is only after learning about, understanding and meditating upon the Jesuit value of the unity of body and mind that I realized that it was possible to pull myself out of this dilemma. I realized that the purpose of human existence and education is to aspire for a holistic development, the kind of evolution where the aspirations of the heart are shaped and molded by the discipline and formality emanating from the mind.

This may seem nice to read, but, believe me, achieving such a state of existence is easier said than done, and requires continual practice and dedication, not to mention the immense need for prayer and self evaluation. It is only when a person has the good luck to be placed in the circumstances that are imbued with just the right values and ethics that one is able to instinctively realize the unity and harmony existing between the mind and the heart, the body and the soul. However, if, by the grace of God, one turns out to be blessed enough to placed under the tutelage of experts and institutions that encourage the flowering and evolution of the whole person rather than lopsidedly encouraging the segmented faculties of the human personality that one is able to evolve into a complete person in whom the yearnings and aspirations of the heart are propitiously tempered by the wisdom and maturity of the mind, leading to happiness and completeness in most of the spheres of life, are they spiritual, social, academic, economic or domestic.

In that context, the Jesuit value of the unity of mind and the heart had a profound impact on varied facets of my life. It not only helped me to proceed on a journey that promised happiness and grace, but also endowed me with the much required qualities like humility, patience and persistence. It encouraged me to engage with the complexities of the outside world with a deeply felt and morally