Hidden Treasure Series-Intellect,Intelligence and WISDOM

My dear friend,

Am key-stroking this ‘piece’ in bliss from Aurobindo Ashram Guest House (a.k.a Park Guest House) in Pondicherry with laptop on my lap and myself on Mother’s lap and we both facing the ‘Mother Ocean’. Mother and Aurobindo are simply divine ‘avatars’ to have blessed us. What’s so remarkable about them is their universal words of wisdom where ‘spirituality meets science’ and “Wow! What a coincidence?” We stayed in a room named ‘Wisdom’! Maybe, subtly, Mother and Aurobindo tells me to always seek for wisdom rather loading my small-but-busy brain with more and more information, mostly USELESS!     

Shall we NOW walk-the-talk with Shri.GRK, the iconoclastic sage we are fortunate to have amongst us and understand Wisdom and Intelligence, in its purest form?


Ravi: Great to chat with you amidst the ‘pristine’ surroundings of Pondicherry beach.

GRK: Hey, this place is well-kept. This place is splendid for a ‘break’ in TIME for mankind. Souls like Aurobindo and Mother are ‘avatars’ to have blessed Mankind to ENABLE them to be more KIND.

Ravi: The rooms in this Guest House have individual names like Serenity, peace, bliss, courage etc. and we were allotted a room named ‘Wisdom’! Can we have a clear understanding of Intellect, Intelligence and Wisdom in its PUREST sense?

What is Wisdom in its PUREST form?

GRK: I shall start with Wisdom. My dear, Just by staying in a room named Wisdom, or by reading books, we cannot get TRUE wisdom. Nor wisdom is available in online or offline stores. It is neither marketable nor is a merchandise.  Nor it can be accumulated, memorized or stored up.

Ravi: Confusion….. Elaborate please.

GRK: De, Wisdom comes with abnegation of the ‘self’. To have an open mind is more important to learning. We can only have an open mind only if we throw away the two D’s – That is our dogmas and doctorates we have been conditioned – both by society and self.

 Let the self-abnegate itself. Not by cramming it with full of information BUT,

·         By being aware of our thoughts and FEELINGS

·         By watching the so-called rich and so-called poor, so-called beautiful and so-called ugly,

·         By carefully observing ourselves and the influences about us

·         By listening to others

Ravi: Shall we NOW say that Wisdom does not come through fear or suppression or oppression, but through the power of observation - of everyday incidents in human relationship.

And WHAT is Intelligence in its PUREST sense?

GRK: Well said. Moving on, Intelligence is the integration of reason and love. But the Intelligent quotient (IQ) that we use measures only our reason. So Emotional Quotient (EQ) and Spiritual Quotient (SQ) are also integrated in Intelligence, in its purest sense. However a caveat – Intelligence should never be crippled by LEFT brained Analytical thinking or IQ.Liberal doses of WHAT and HOW, the essence of RIGHT brained thinking is required for wholesome blossoming of human brain.

There can be intelligence only if there is:

·         Self-knowledge (IQ)

·         Deep understanding the total process of oneself and around us(SQ)

·         Be aware of our own conditioning and responses (EQ)

Ravi: Then what is intellect? Seems to be that there are many intellectuals around us?

GRK: Look, training the intellect does NOT result in intelligence. Intellect is merely a conditioning of thought functioning independently of emotion. In other words, one may have a high IQ, but EQ and SQ? Modern education should radically reform from being LEFT brained oriented to more holistic whole brain development.

Ravi: And the repercussion if IQ alone is practiced?

GRK: Well, until you really approach all of life with your intelligence (Which is IQ, EQ and SQ in conjunction), instead of merely with your intellect (IQ), no system in the world will save man from the ceaseless toil for neither bread and butter nor conjugal family relationship or any relationship for that matter.

Ravi: That, in the words of brain scientists means wholesome development of the brain is required.  For 800 long years, Indians have forgotten to use their RIGHT brain. SOME did, most were sent to the gallows. And we shamelessly remember them now.

Thank you so much for this learning today and let me NOW hear the sounds of Mother Ocean, we are fortunate to hear from our Guest House Garden.

Folks, hope you have enjoyed and cherished the LIFE juice in whole brain development for humankind. That way the torturous world we live in, would indeed be a better place, isn’t it? WHAT do you SAY?

Signing off sending tons of joules of positive energy.

Cheers

G&W Ravi

Hidden Treasure Series – Part IV- On ‘Courage’

 Dear Bretheren,

Am indeed grateful to Almighty to assist me forever –BE in the company of ‘Highly Pure’ souls like FEW of us, almost ‘pure souls’ like SOME of us and ‘less impure’ souls like MANY of us. Even VERY FEW ‘highly impure’ souls end up helping me for no rhyme or reason, I have observed over the years! Thank you benevolent almighty. As my colleague Priya always says, ‘Life is indeed beautiful’, if ONLY one WANTS it that way!

Well, lemme start with my answer to Appu who has commented (See comments section and please share your thoughts/ experiences etc) that some of the views in OUR blog are coming like ‘bouncers’ to him. Well, my dear Appu, I’m no Douglas Jardine (Of the infamous Body-line series) to bowl a ‘bouncer or a ‘beamer’! I’m a spinner and love the googlies, doosras and even carom ball! Hah Ha!  Well, as I keep repeating – That ‘Yours Truly’ is only a ‘key-stroker’ and do NOT wish to take any credit for OUR blogs.  However, one may give me ‘debit’ if any. The thoughts and thereby words have emanated from Dhyan and writings of many or simply ‘man watching’ (‘Women Watching’ as well! – Those interested in human behavior may read those two books of Desmond Morris).

Folks, you would agree that while it requires compassion to ‘share and care’, it takes ‘courage’ to speak our mind and THEN ‘walk-our-talk’, isn’t it? Well THEN, what’s courage? Is it a sheer physical prowess or shouting slogans or hurting others as we have a wide mouth to speak, freedom to DO whatever we WANT at the cost of others and able hands and legs to physically hurt, not to forget the technology arsenals!

Is America so courageous that they use all the arsenals and warheads against countries that don’t tag their line?

Are some agitating students OR politicians OR even the mafia OR just anyone on ‘Mother Earth’ so courageous that they take to violence to show their physical prowess or might?

Read on…

Ravi: A happy Friday evening to you Shri. GRK. As you know, our brethren on ‘Mother Earth’ have started cherishing the ‘Hidden Treasure Series’ and some of them have requested an e-book to be made on the series…

GRK: That’s nice to hear, Ravi.  We shall do that. Time would come for that. Let’s cross the bridge when we come to it.

Ravi: Thank you so much for your permission. Our friends like Suba would be happy hearing this. Well, let’s get to today’s topic. Is ‘Courage’ physical prowess alone or something else?

What is Courage?

GRK: Not at all, Ravi. Courage is not mere physical prowess. It is not the capacity to endure suffering, pain and agony patiently. Going into dark alone, playing with a snake or tiger, fighting with the robbers unexpectedly met, may be the acts of courage; but they do not reveal the full meaning of courage.

Ravi: Oh! is ‘courage’ something to do with the ‘intellect’ or ‘mind’ which science couldn’t unravel even NOW?

GRK: Ravi, ’courage’ is a psycho-physical phenomena. Its generating centre is in the mind and intellect. Hence, the greatest courage is the ‘intellectual’ courage. Realizing that each one of us IS alone in this life and world is itself a great act of rare courage. In fact, most of us are frightened to think that we are born alone into this world and THAT we have to face and confront life alone by each one of us.

Ravi: If it sounds so simple, WHY and HOW do we fear THEN?

GRK: Our fear to accept life as an alone process is due to our sense to possess gadgets, house, wealth, wife, husband, children, subordinates and friends as devices (rudders) to overcome our feeling of insecurity. All these DO fail and will not be of much help in assuring us of our security. So we resort to ideologies, religions, power, and status and then at last to the thought of God! – With all these coming handy as measures of security to our aloneness!  (Am afraid to ask if this is ‘helplessness’-If NOT, what else?) None of these possessions, obsessions and attachments could give humans a sense of security or sense of fulfillment.

Ravi: What is the greatest courage THEN for ordinary mortals like me?

GRK: Well, the greatest courage it to face life as alone-process and accept it, confront it and live with it! As such it needs a great courage for a human to accept life and death with the same equanimity. Humans need the rarest courage to accept death as part and parcel of life. After all, death is not cessation of life, but fulfillment of it. It is not dissolution of life, but culmination of it. Death is not shattering of life but fruition of it.

Ravi: Onto that, is death a ‘fixed’ or a static phenomenon?

GRK: Death does not take place at a particular point of time in our life. It is a simultaneous process along with living itself. We die every day, every minute, and step by step, as we live on. Thus life and death are a continuous bi-polar process. After all death is the sumnum bonum of life. It is the termination nay a conclusion of life itself. It is an ‘octave’ of life song. Death is NOT an-end phenomena, but an everyday process of life.

In other words, life does not mean mere pre-determined “dragging of feet” mechanically and the passing of time. It is a ‘live’ process, at the same time simultaneously perishing or dying at every moment.

Ravi: How does one make an attempt to realize WHAT you said?

GRK: To realize that death is inseparable part of life and to understand that our life and our entity is not permanent on this earth, we need a great courage nay a rare courage. This courage is possible when only we realize the fundamental truth or fact of life; that death is another side of life-or other embankment to the river of life. This very realization is a greatest benediction and peace nay courage. When we attain this courage, THEN only it gives us the real and true courage AND that is an ecstasy, a liberation, a nirvana, nay a moksha by itself. Do you get the point, Ravi?

Ravi: No way, my conditioning does not allow me to say YES right away to your thoughts and views on courage. Need to munch. Kindly give me some time.

GRK: Take your time. Hope you understand this fundamental ‘juice’ of life. Thanks for your time. Allow me to leave now.

Ravi:  Thanks a ton once again Shri. GRK. See you soon!  I can’t wait to talk to you next Friday on ‘Religion and Culture’!

Folks, some of you realized souls would have gotten and cherished the LIFE ‘juice’ on ‘courage’, many souls like me would need time to munch. That’s better rather than ‘disagreeing-agree’, like most Indian politicians do, Isn’t it? What do you like to share, especially our brethren in Slovenia and Saudi Arabia who are silent readers of our blogs and whose numbers are increasing, not to forget readers in the US of A where the number of readers have crossed 2000!

Wishing you ALL a ‘rocking’ weekend and hope India rocks tomorrow in the Cricket world cup final.  Ofcourse, the ‘Lankan Lions’ roar and are raring to go for the coveted cup! May the best team win, isn’t it? And we all would celebrate, whoever wins! Ultimately, the wonderful ‘team’ game CRICKET would be the eventual winner!

With Love,

Ravichander Venkatraman