[A sannyasin says: I’m a sort of a sentimental person. The mind says one thing and heart says something else. Up to now I’ve been always following the heart and am always at a loss.]
Osho – One has to be very very alert about one thing: there are things in which the heart will be a failure; never listen to the heart about those things. There are things in which the mind will be a failure; don’t listen to the mind about those things. And a clear-cut distinction is needed, otherwise one goes mad. For example, if you are trying to succeed in the world, don’t listen to the heart. In your business don’t listen to the heart, just be your mind. Because the mind is your mathematics; the mind simply means the part that knows how to do big business – nothing else! The mind is your business expert – listen to it!
When you are ill you don’t go and ask an engineer; you go to the doctor. If when you are ill you go to the engineer and when you want to make your house you consult the doctor, you will go crazy. That’s what you have been doing. If you fall in love with a woman then don’t listen to the mind, because the mind has nothing to say about it. It is not a question of logic or mathematics – listen to the heart. If you are reading poetry, listen to the heart. But when you are doing some calculation don’t bring in your heart. This is clarity. It is not a question of being sentimental or not. Just clarity is needed and a clear-cut division of labour. The mind is yours, the heart is yours. Both have their functions and one has to learn what exactly the function of the heart is; otherwise you will get confused and mixed up. So just see: if something needs logic, mathematics, the mind is needed. What will the heart do there?
Whenever you get confused, listen to the mind. Because confusion means that the mind is needed. The heart never gets confused; it simply knows. Confusion means that it is in the area of the mind. Slowly slowly you will get to the knack.
During these two years that you are in the Middle East, try this: always the first thing to decide is, is this a heart matter or a mind matter? And in life there are almost ninety-nine percent mind matters, rarely a heart matter. But that one percent is more valuable than the ninety-nine percent. And if there is a question of whether to save the ninety-nine percent or to save the one percent, I will say ’Save the one percent and lose the ninety-nine percent.’ But ordinarily there is no question like that. Use your mind more, continue to meditate, and things will become more and more clear.
Source – Osho Book “The 99 Names of Nothingness”