Intuition and intellect

 Hari Aum.

The yogis tell us that there are two broad sources of wisdom-- one is the intellect and the other is intuition. What is the difference?

The intellect of course consists of our ability to receive information, reflect upon and analyse it, and understand and utilise it (hopefully for the betterment of ourselves and others). It is a higher function of the conscious mind in the waking state.

Intuition, on the other hand, is more difficult to define and understand. We all have this ability to varying extents (and can develop it further). It is our capacity to know something without any external input. It is a sort of wisdom or knowledge that arises from within us, rather than from outside. It does not require or depend upon any information received via the five senses. 

It is peculiar sort of conviction or feeling that something is true without the need for any outside validation (one has to be very cautious with this as one can easily mistake delusion for intuition-- this is where spiritual practice and honesty come in. Spiritual practice sharpens the mind; it cleans and purifies it). 

Intuition is a divine quality; it comes due to the grace of God. It is given to us in proportion to the extent that we manifest the divinity within. It is received by us as a result of our ability to practice selflessness and surrender to the will of the Divine. And the knowledge received via intuition is also meant to be utilised in accordance with these spiritual values.

The pandemic has shown us just how fragile human life is. We have seen how a single virus can cause so much havoc and can affect millions of human lives. As humans, we tend to feel pride in our intellects, we tend to boast that we have conquered nature, that we are very advanced today compared to the civilisations of the past. 

But it is not so. We may have developed our understanding of many subjects, it is true. But intellect and character do not always develop together. An intellect guided by a strong and noble character is a blessing. But an intellect that is based on an immoral and undivine nature can become a curse both for the individual and humanity as a whole. 

We have seen and continue to see countless examples of this. Wars are often begun by people who regard themselves as very intelligent; sadly, history proves time and again, that those who begin wars are greatest of fools. The suffering that they ultimately create for themselves and others is immense. There is a price to pay for such mistakes according to the law of karma.

The pandemic has shown us how much we depend upon the grace of God. It is not over yet by any means but things are certainly better today than two years ago. We have vaccinations and medications-- the result of a combination of the application of human intellect and intuition, both being due to the grace of God.

We do not know what awaits us, what challenges will come next. One thing is certain-- we live in strange times. Truth sometimes seems stranger than fiction. It feels surreal to think that we have been living through a pandemic (if someone had told us this might happen five years ago, many of us would have laughed it off as nonsense and scare-mongering). Similarly, a bizarre and appalling war has begun this year, a war that has potential to escalate (as wars often do). On top of everything, the scientists tell us that climate change is a serious and real threat to our existence on this planet. 

What shall we do when faced with all these challenges? Well, the yogis tell us to aim for the highest-- to develop our intuition, our intellects, by the performance of spiritual practices. This, they say, is the most effective way of handling these various crises, and more importantly, handling the crises within ourselves. 

The human mind, as we all know, is hard work at the best of times. These external challenges can significantly affect our sense of wellbeing, our peace and happiness. And ultimately, as the yogis say, the greatest drive within all creatures is the need to be happy. So, to be happy, spiritual practice is a vital necessity. Every day, day-after-day, we need to do this, just like we eat and drink every single day. 

Over time, as a result of our spiritual practices, we will find that we know what we need to know; our faculties of intuition and intellect will both develop. And the most important thing, perhaps, is the intuitive knowledge that we receive that we are not alone, that God truly is there for us. Like a caring mother and father, She/He watches, guides and takes care of us. He knows what is in our minds and hearts and is responsive to our needs.We may fall many times (it is human nature to fall). But it is not the falling that matters, it is the getting up afterwards that is the key to success in all aspects of human life (both spiritual and mundane). 

The intuitive knowledge also comes to us eventually that the wisest thing is to surrender to the will of God in all things. We begin to realise that we do not know very much at all, and that our ideas about what is good and bad for us are often incorrect and misguided. 

The best thing to do therefore is to ask God to guide us at every moment of our lives, and to bless us that our lives may be lived entirely in accordance with His will. In this way, we guarantee that our lives will be blessed (regardless of the various challenges that we may inevitably face).

Even when we intuitively know that surrendering to the will of God is the best thing for us, implementing this in our daily lives is not easy. Why? Because of the ego. The ego is that sense of individuality, which makes us feel separate from God and other beings, which thinks it knows what is best for us. 

Our ego, individual self, likes to think it knows what is best for us. And so, surrendering to the will of God requires us to give up our ego, our personal desires and opinions. This obviously is not easy. In fact, the grace of God is required for us to overcome the ego.

Another major obstacle in surrendering to the will of God, are the five senses. The yogis describe the human being using the analogy of a person in a chariot yoked to horses (this is described in the famous Katha upanishad). 

The chariot represents the human body, the reins represent the mind, the five horses yoked to the chariot represent the five senses. The charioteer represents the intellect, while the owner of the chariot seated within is the soul (Atman or higher Self).

The destination of the chariot is God. However, the five horses usually have other ideas. They are wilful and stubborn and drag the chariot down the lanes of sensual desires, while the intellect and mind helplessly watch and follow. To empower the intellect to wisely direct the chariot in the right direction, the grace of the higher Self or God within the chariot is needed.

In the Mahabharata, Krishna took on the role of the charioteer of His friend, Prince Arjuna. Although He had declared that He would not lift weapons and would only drive Arjuna's chariot, His presence and guidance proved to be the key factor in the victory of the Pandavas over their unrighteous cousins. 

The battle in the Mahabharata is said to represent to represent the struggles and battle of human life, the inner battle within the lower self/ego and the higher Self/soul (which is one with God). The soul can only win this battle if the grace of God is invoked at every step in life. 

When things go well in life, it is wise to remember that this is due to the grace of God (and not due to our own cleverness/intellect; that is a delusion that comes from the ego). When things appear to go badly in life, it is useful to remember that everything happens by the will of God and ultimately for the higher good. This approach is not always easy to practice, but is the goal of spiritual life.

There is a famous prayer from the Vedas known as the Medha suktam. It invokes the Divine in the form of the Goddess of wisdom and learning, Sarasvati. The hearing and recitation of this prayer is said to enhance both intuition and intellect-- please see the link below for the prayer (with translation in English):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8yoR5LSTvw

May God bless us all with good intuition and intellect.

Om Sri Sarasvatyai Namah

Om Namo Narayanaya

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

Intellect- a vital tool

Hari Aum.

I am going to write about the human intellect in the context of spiritual life today. This is based on a recent experience that I had.

The human intellect is valued by society. Those who are intelligent are considered fortunate and blessed, by materialists and spiritualists alike.

Interestingly though, some people use the term 'intellectual' as a sort of insult in spiritual life. We hear quotations such as "spiritual life is a journey from the head to the heart" and similar. There is truth in this statement. However, the intellect also has an important role in spiritual life.

Those who are labelled as 'too intellectual' are often looked down upon in spiritual circles, whereas those who talk a lot about devotion are smiled upon, regardless of whether or not they are really devotional.

I would like to share my views on the intellect here.

The intellect is like a knife. It can be used to help, it can be used to harm (like a knife in the hand of a surgeon versus a criminal). This applies to both in material and spiritual life.

In spiritual life, the intellect can be very helpful when it performs certain functions, for example:

1. It recognises the futility of trying to find happiness in material life. This is called 'viveka', spiritual intelligence. This is a fundamental quality required in any spiritual seeker.

2. It helps us with the practicalities of organising our sadhana- deciding where to do sadhana, calculating the time required for completion of the sadhana, helping us to obtain the materials required to perform this.

3. It recognises its own limitations. It recognises that there is something beyond it, that it cannot understand. It accepts this.

4. It recognises the difference between right and wrong.


In spiritual life, the intellect can be harmful, an obstacle to sadhana, when it acts in certain ways, for example:

1. All theory and no practice- when it refuses to practice any sadhana but spends all the time theorising and arguing with others about sadhana.

2. When it procrastinates and makes up excuses for not doing sadhana

3.When it becomes impatient and looks for results too soon, saying "I've been doing all this practice, why haven't I got the results yet?"

But. Let us be clear. The intellect is absolutely vital and necessary. There are a large number of fake Gurus and babas on this planet. Not a day goes by when, in some part of the world or the other, somebody is not exploiting others in the name of religion- physical, sexual, mental, emotional, financial exploitation.

Here, the head and the heart must together recognise the problem of exploitation.

As the saying goes, "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck!".

Similarly, if a so-called spiritual teacher looks arrogant, speaks arrogantly, and behaves arrogantly, then they probably are arrogant. And therefore, not a real Guru.

Often in spiritual circles, people become very gullible. When a so-called 'Guru' behaves negatively towards themselves or especially towards others, they quickly say, "Oh, he/she is probably doing for a good reason. They are probably treating that person badly, because that person needs this bad treatment for their spiritual development".

The world abounds in such fake Gurus today. As spiritual seekers, we need to take care when faced with them.

Let us remind ourselves of Krishna's description of a self-realised soul as "Sarva bhuta hite ratah"- one who works for the welfare of all beings. This is a real Guru. Such Gurus are rare but they have existed and do exist on our planet. We take inspiration from their actions and try to emulate their noble example. This benefits us as seekers.

When we follow fake Gurus, and start copying them, particularly in their nasty, arrogant ways, we harm ourselves spiritually.

I will explain this with an example. Recently, I attended a two-day session given by a spiritual Guru, who teaches a form of pranayama and chakra meditation as a spiritual practice. I had read a book by him and found it interesting. He says all the right things, sounds absolutely fine - on paper. He also does social work, as many Gurus today do. All of this looked positive and I wanted to meet him.

I am also aware that real Gurus cannot be easily understood by the intellect. A Guru may appear angry but it may be an act of compassion. We cannot easily judge.

Having said that, as mentioned above, this world is currently full of exploitative and unscrupulous fake Gurus. Therefore, we cannot simply throw out our intellectual function altogether. It alerts us when something is wrong and is a vitally important tool. It enables us to follow the right path spiritually.

This Guru held an interactive session after his talk. During this session, some people asked him questions. He answered some questions reasonably politely. However, to other people, he was extraordinarily rude, mocking their questions (even though these were fairly reasonable), making sarcastic comments about their appearance and sounding unnecessarily angry.

I was surprised at the 'Jekyll and Hyde' behaviour - he seemed quite normal one moment (particularly with his known followers who were very respectful to him) and very rude to others (who seemed to be new-comers and addressed him politely but not as their Guru).

Even more bizarrely, when he publicly insulted one the people who had made a harmless statement, his followers who were listening, loudly applauded his negative comments in approval and glee- thus adding to the humiliation of the person who had asked the question.

What astonishes me is that this person is a well-regarded Guru. He has a reasonably large following both among the rich and poor in society, all over the world. I am not naming him here as I do not wish to offend anyone. I leave it to readers to make their own opinion of him if they meet him.

After the interactive discussion ended, one woman and I had a discussion about the session. I mentioned that I found the Guru rather rude and hurtful to one of the questioners in particular and that this seemed unwarranted. This lady laughingly dismissed the episode saying that the humiliated person "probably needed it". I wondered whether she would be so accepting if she had been the target of the public humiliation.

I thought about this for a while and tried to convince myself that this Guru was probably really great and that my small intellect just could not comprehend his greatness, despite his seeming display of arrogance and lack of compassion- but both my head and my heart rebelled against this.

Finally, I gave in and said to God "I'm sorry. If this person is a true Guru, and his display of arrogance and cruelty to those people is just a show, then I'm sorry, I am not at a level when I can perceive it.  I can only act based on the understanding I have now. I have to use the faculties available to me to understand the world- my current intelligence and conscience. And both of these tell me that this person's behaviour is unacceptable."

I then offered an obeisance to all true Gurus in the universe and said "I'm sorry if I don't understand you and if I have ever criticised or judged you in my ignorance. Please forgive me if I am lacking in my understanding of you. But I cannot currently bring myself to accept this sort of behaviour in a Guru, especially when there are so many fake Gurus around. I'm sure you can understand my position."

This Guru taught a pranayama and meditation practice which I cannot bring myself to practice. I ask myself- "If his practice has made him so arrogant, what is the use of my practising it?" I cannot bring myself to practice any teaching from him due to his negative behaviour.

I asked the Swami in the Sivananda Ashram (with whom I have a weekly online satsang) about his opinion of my experience.

I explained that I am not changing my main 'deeksha' (initiating) Guru- that will always be Swami Sivananda. I see all other teachers as 'shiksha' Gurus- who teach a specific subject. In all spiritual lineages, there can only be one main/deeksha Guru, but there can be unlimited 'shiksha' Gurus (from whom one learns a variety of material and spiritual subjects). The Swami from the Sivananda Ashram agreed with this approach- he told me that if there is something good in this person's teaching then I can accept it, if not, I should let it go. I have decided to let it go as it does not sit well with me.

I am writing this as a reminder to myself and my readers- to say that "All that glitters is not gold". Do not be fooled by talk of siddhis, pretence of humility and impressive talks and books.

And do not switch off your intellect. Keep it with you and switched on at all times. It is very important in this world of exploitative Gurus. As Sivananda says, "Use your common sense always".

Recognise a duck by its quack, and recognise a fake, quack Guru, by his arrogance, lack of compassion in practice -even if it all looks good on paper. Remember, many fake Gurus pretend to be genuine by speaking well and doing social work.

Beware particularly of those who show off a lot of siddhis (mystical powers such as materialising things, controlling weather, reading minds etc). Although all saints have siddhis, all those with siddhis are not saints. Real saints rarely discuss siddhis- rather they emphasise devotion to God and service of living beings as a manifestation of God. My Guru Sivananda was like this, and other genuine Gurus were like this too.

The essence of Guru is "sarva bhuta hite ratah"- one who wishes the welfare of all beings- and practices this in daily life at all times.

So, keep your intellect sharp, and keep your heart kind. And keep up the spiritual practice (be it japa or some other practice). This keeps the head and heart spiritually healthy. This formula, I feel, will be helpful on the spiritual path.

Do not be gullible and blindly accepting of everything- especially of cruelty or other negative qualities displayed by so-called spiritual Gurus. Remember, real Gurus are always compassionate and kind. They may be firm sometimes, but never cruel.

If the head and heart are both taken care of, then all will be well in spiritual life. This is my advice to myself and to you, based on my recent experience.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

P.S. The true Guru is God, who as Krishna says in the Gita, resides within each one of us in our own hearts. The real Guru is so near to us. So, regardless of whether or not one has found an external Guru, it is wise to cultivate a relationship with the Inner Guru through spiritual practices, especially mantra japa (the way advised for Kali Yuga), and development of good character, which pleases the Inner Guru.