Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
"The Difference between Mind and Intelligence"
From, "Ultimate Self Realization Course" -Thought for the Day-
a daily email from His Grace Sankarshan Das Adhikari, a devotee of Srila Prabhupada of the Hare Krishna movement's ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousnes.)
Sankarashan makes the distinction betwee mind & intelligence in this manner:
"The mind is the pivot point of the active sense organs and the intelligence is that which analyzes. The senses are compared to horses, the mind is like the reins, the intelligence is like the driver, and the passenger is like the self.
"Srila Prabhupada explains the difference in this way, 'mind is the instrument for feeling different experiences, but intellegence is deliberative and can always change everything for the better.' "
So, gentle reader, we have a distinction that is totally unlike trying to determine the number of angels on the head of a pin. This Krishna conscious philosophy is a practical affair, not your mental speculative Philosophy 101 of your college years. While Plato, with his analogy of the cave is interesting, still, because he did not know that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Plato is useless...
The purpose of my writing this blog, ("Bruce's Blog") is to, number 1, clarify my own thought to myself (the Self revealing itself to the self) and, number 2, help along anyone else (ie, you, my dear reader) in progressing back home, Back to Godhead.
For as Jesus would have it, this world, this life is like a bridge: use it to cross over, do not build your house upon it. A bridge is used to cross over an otherwise impossible span...who would build his house upon something like a bridge which is used to help one proceed homeward, to one's real nature.
So, some definitions are in order. We generally do not use our intelligence. We are on the mind level, the mind platform which is tiltering like the drop of water on the lotus leaf which can fall down at any time. Death even now is at your heels like Francis Thompsons' "Hound of Heaven."
We do not know when the last moment will come, when our last breath shall be taken in but not breathed out. We are not guarenteed even our next breath.
Masaraja Yudhisthira was asked by Vidura what is the most wonderful thing in the world. Yudhisthira answered, "The most wonderful thing is that even though everyone sees his father dying and his father's father dying, even though everyone all around him sees everyone likewise dying, still he thinks that he will not die.
So, not until one understands well that death is immanent, will one truly live...for this also is true: one should live as if today is one's last day and death is nigh. Seneca the ancient Greek philosopher spoke this truism some centuries ago and it is still relevent to we 'moderns' living in the high tech revolution. Put down that remote and prepare for death!! (to be continued...)
a daily email from His Grace Sankarshan Das Adhikari, a devotee of Srila Prabhupada of the Hare Krishna movement's ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousnes.)
Sankarashan makes the distinction betwee mind & intelligence in this manner:
"The mind is the pivot point of the active sense organs and the intelligence is that which analyzes. The senses are compared to horses, the mind is like the reins, the intelligence is like the driver, and the passenger is like the self.
"Srila Prabhupada explains the difference in this way, 'mind is the instrument for feeling different experiences, but intellegence is deliberative and can always change everything for the better.' "
So, gentle reader, we have a distinction that is totally unlike trying to determine the number of angels on the head of a pin. This Krishna conscious philosophy is a practical affair, not your mental speculative Philosophy 101 of your college years. While Plato, with his analogy of the cave is interesting, still, because he did not know that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Plato is useless...
The purpose of my writing this blog, ("Bruce's Blog") is to, number 1, clarify my own thought to myself (the Self revealing itself to the self) and, number 2, help along anyone else (ie, you, my dear reader) in progressing back home, Back to Godhead.
For as Jesus would have it, this world, this life is like a bridge: use it to cross over, do not build your house upon it. A bridge is used to cross over an otherwise impossible span...who would build his house upon something like a bridge which is used to help one proceed homeward, to one's real nature.
So, some definitions are in order. We generally do not use our intelligence. We are on the mind level, the mind platform which is tiltering like the drop of water on the lotus leaf which can fall down at any time. Death even now is at your heels like Francis Thompsons' "Hound of Heaven."
We do not know when the last moment will come, when our last breath shall be taken in but not breathed out. We are not guarenteed even our next breath.
Masaraja Yudhisthira was asked by Vidura what is the most wonderful thing in the world. Yudhisthira answered, "The most wonderful thing is that even though everyone sees his father dying and his father's father dying, even though everyone all around him sees everyone likewise dying, still he thinks that he will not die.
So, not until one understands well that death is immanent, will one truly live...for this also is true: one should live as if today is one's last day and death is nigh. Seneca the ancient Greek philosopher spoke this truism some centuries ago and it is still relevent to we 'moderns' living in the high tech revolution. Put down that remote and prepare for death!! (to be continued...)
Monday, December 7, 2009
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