Heart Chakra vs Heart Center

Physically, our hearts are vital to our continued existence. Spiritually, they are often centered in meditation and yoga practices, self-care, energetic work, and so on. I consider them to be our metaphorical hearth, our spiritual epicenter of Self. When we talk about looking into the heart or centering our intention into the heart during any spiritual practice, it is common to jump right into thinking about the Heart Chakra, also know as Anahata. Anahata is a Sanskrit word meaning “unstruck”, or “unhurt”, which symbolizes the sound made when two parts do not touch, or the “soundless sound” of the divine, but also the state of clarity achieved from a detached and objective view of a conflicting situation when approached with openness (opposite/conflicting forces integrated together to create an effect (sound) without these forces confronting each other (two parts touching))*. This Chakra is located in the center of the chest and represents compassion and emotional balance. It also acts as the bridge between the lower and upper chakras, connecting the physical to the divine within. While it is an important part of energy work and energy healing, it is not the only energetic or spiritual “heart” we have. The other, and I think these two are sometimes confused or mistaken for being the same thing, is the Heart Center.
The Heart Center is located just to the right of the center of the sternum. Its Sanskrit name is Hridaya**, meaning Spiritual Heart Center. It is basically the seat of the Self, the inner self, and/or the consciousness.  It is a spiritual portal that provides connection to the “Whole” and to inner stillness. Ramana Maharshi (renowned Indian Sage and jivanmukta) says “The heart is the center of the Self, and the Self is the center of centers”**. He goes on to say that “The heart imparts sentience to the senses”**, which makes sense considering how deeply and diversely we feel things, and how differently our experiences and memories are, regardless of how many people share the situation.
  That said, the Self is not actually contained within the physical body. When we meditate or do other heart centered activities to help us connect with the divine infinite, this is where we first put our focus. However, during the activity, this connection should take us outside our physical selves and into the infinite (the universe, the Higher Self, a higher consciousness, etc..). Once we return from this work, or whenever we wish to “touch base” with this feeling, it will be there, just right of the sternum. It is said that this is because the memory of it is contained there, making it more easily felt, remembered, and connected to. The more we practice, the stronger and faster that connection can become. As Ramana Maharshi says, “The Heart is limitless, because it has no form, it can contain totality”**.
Although both the Heart Chakra and the Heart Center can both center around harmony, balance, and divine connection, they are not the same. Working with the heart and its energies, regardless of at what level, is important to any spiritual practice, but we should also be working through the heart to add those energies into whatever we do, and that is one way the Heart Center comes into play.
As I said at the beginning, I see the Heart Center like the hearth of the Self. The hearth was traditionally the heart of the home, both it’s physical and spiritual epicenter, a physical representation of what made the home feel Iike a home. A happy home would have a clean, well maintained, cared for hearth, that provided warmth, light, the ability to cook nurturing meals, and a place where the family could gather. Your Heart Center is your hearth, it is the home for the Self. How do you maintain yours? What nourishing things do you prepare there? What kinds of people and energies do you allow to enter or stay? How often do you care for yours and how? When was the last time you connected?
 
 
 
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anahata#~:text=In%20Sanskrit%2C%20An%C4%81hata%20mens%20%22sound,of%20energies%20at%20this%20level
** If you would like to know more about Hridaya and Ramana Maharshi you can visit hridaya-yoga.com/knowledge/core-teachings/what-is-the-heart-center