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Gita Lesson - 0408: Role of Intelligence

Bhagavad Gita
Unit - 04
Lesson - 0408: Role of Intelligence
By Raja Subramaniyan

Animals are not as intelligent as human beings are. Human beings use their intelligence and control the environment to their liking. Animals have limited capability to do this. Even among human beings, those who are more intelligent have higher potential than others do. The level of intelligence determines the economic development, which gives us higher level of comforts.

In addition, when life presents varied situations, pleasant or unpleasant, animals do not have any choice but to endure the prevailing situation. Using their higher level of intelligence, human beings can determine how they respond to such situations and therefore, they can maximize happiness and minimize sorrow.

Arjuna faced an unpleasant situation of having to fight with his loved ones. How he deals with such a situation depends on the level of his intelligence. Lord Krishna pointed out that Atman cannot be killed and therefore Arjuna need not grieve. However, Arjuna did not have the required level of mental maturity to understand the nature of Atman. Therefore, Lord Krishna gives another perspective of his teaching 'wise do not suffer'.

Even if we do not want to talk about the Atman, it can still be shown that Arjuna does not have to grieve, if he thinks wisely.

1. Assuming that there is no Atman and death destroys everything, still Arjuna need not worry because death is unavoidable. No one knows when and how one will die.

2. All efforts to avoid war failed. Arjuna is in a situation where he has to fight against those whom he respects and loves. In such a situation, the level of intelligence determines the ability to accept the inevitable and deal with it effectively.
The intelligence of the wise will have sufficient strength to overcome emotional disturbances of the mind.

3. Wise people will understand that running away from the battlefield does not solve the problem. It aggravates it.
Example: A sales executive has not met the target for the third consecutive month and he is afraid to attend the sales review meeting. Fearing the consequences, he resigns the job. This is not the solution. He has to face the situation rather than running away from it.

4. The possibility of death is present for everyone at all times. No one knows when one will die. Only those who are less intelligent fear death every day. The wise face the situation without this unnecessary worry.

Example: If the medical diagnosis says that we have cancer, the wise do not lament, 'How can this happen to me?' The longer one takes to accept the situation the more the suffering.

There is no point in crying over spilt milk. Only if we keep talking about it or thinking about it does our suffering increase. The wise among see this truth and do not let themselves suffer.

5. In spite of our best effort, life will continue to present unpleasant situations. Intelligent people understand this fact faster by observing their own life and the life history of others. People who are not so intelligent continue to think that it is possible to reach a stage wherein they can create a perfect world with no possibility of any sorrow. They keep striving with a hope to reach the horizon. The wise will understand faster, that the world can never be made perfect. Therefore, they will learn to live happily with the pairs of opposites soon.

The degree of suffering is inversely proportional to the degree of acceptance of the environment. Intelligent people have the wisdom to change what can be changed and accept what cannot be changed. They also have the wisdom to know the difference.

How soon we realize that something cannot be changed depends on our intelligence. If we are less intelligent, we will struggle harder and longer before accepting the unpleasant situation. If we are more intelligent, we realize it sooner through trials and efforts.

6. Intelligent people know that they can neither predict the future nor change the past.

Our past actions can determine our future situations. If we have done the right actions, we will encounter a favorable future. Wrong actions will lead to an unpleasant future.

However, it is upto us to deal with such situations. Our past bad actions cannot compel us to suffer. They can just make our environment hostile and force us to face the unfavorable situation. If we are intelligent, we can enjoy the negative events also, just as a child who plays with a balloon, has the option to laugh even when it bursts.

Thus, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna that there is no reason for him to grieve, even if he does not understand the teaching with respect to Atman.

Matter cannot be created or destroyed. It takes different forms and shapes and keeps changing all the time. At the subatomic level, matter appears and disappears continuously. This is scientifically proved. Our experience also shows that there is constant change in everything that we perceive. It is ignorance to expect stability in life. Things will keep changing all the time. Accordingly, our experience will also change.

As a child, when our parents did not buy a balloon, we were greatly disappointed. All the events that we make an issue of now may seem silly years later. Only the wise perceive this irony.

Lord Krishna teaches us this scientific knowledge through the following verses with a purpose of reducing the sorrow of Arjuna.

Chapter 2: Wisdom is the solution [Verses: 26 - 28]

2.26 However, if you think that the Atman is also subject to the cycle of birth and death, still you still have no reason to lament, Oh Arjuna.

2.27 For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, you should not grieve over this inevitable fact.

2.28 Oh Arjuna, all created beings were in the un manifest stage in the beginning, manifest in the middle, and again go back to un manifest stage. So what is the use of grieving over them?

Gita Lesson - 0407: Understanding Atman << Home >> Gita Lesson - 0409: Application of Intelligence

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