The Role of Intuition in Decision Making

Intelligent And Intellectual

Mind is not your intelligence.

It may sound strange but this is the truth, that mind is not your intelligence. Mind can be intellectual, which is a very poor substitute for intelligence. Intellectuality is mechanical. You can become a great scholar, a great professor, a great philosopher – just playing with words which are all borrowed, arranging and rearranging thoughts, none of which are your own.

The intellect is absolutely bankrupt. It has nothing of its own, all is borrowed. And that’s the difference between intelligence and intellect. Intelligence has an eyesight of its own, a capacity to see into things, into problems.

Intelligence is your born quality.

What exactly is Intelligence…..

Intelligence is the inborn capacity to see, to perceive. Every child is born intelligent, then made stupid by society. We educate him in stupidity. Sooner or later he graduates in stupidity. Intelligence is a natural phenomenon – just as breathing is, just as seeing is. Intelligence is the inner seeing; it is intuitive. It has nothing to do with intellect, remember. Never confuse intellect with intelligence, they are polar opposites. Intellect is of the head; it is taught by others, it is imposed on you. You have to cultivate it. It is borrowed, it is something foreign, it is not inborn.

But intelligence is inborn. It is your very being, your very nature. All animals are intelligent. They are not intellectuals, true, but they are all intelligent. Trees are intelligent, the whole existence is intelligent, and each child is born intelligent. Have you ever come across a child who is stupid? It is impossible! But to come across a grown-up person who is intelligent is very rare; something goes wrong in between.

Intelligence dies in imitating others. If you want to remain intelligent you will have to drop imitating. Intelligence commits suicide in copying, in becoming a carbon copy. The moment you start thinking how to be like that person you are falling from your intelligence, you are becoming stupid. The moment you compare yourself with somebody else you are losing your natural potential.

Insightful Act

When Buddha became enlightened, the first thing he said to his disciples was, ‘I would like to go to Yashodhara and talk to her.’ His wife….

Ananda was very much disturbed (Anand was disturbed because he followed Buddha’s word to become sanyasi). He said, ‘What is the point of going back to the palace and talking to your wife? You have left her. Twelve years have passed.’ 

And Ananda was a little bit disturbed also, because how can a Buddha think about his wife? Buddhas are not expected to think that way.

When the others had left, Ananda said to Buddha, ‘This is not good. What will people think?’

Buddha said, ‘What will people think? I have to express my gratitude to her, and I have to thank her for all the help she gave me. And I have to give something of that which has happened to me – I owe that much to her. I will have to go.’

Read carefully both Ananda and Buddha’s words, Ananda wanted to follow something, decorum, rules, while Buddha, through his self-awareness, wanted to act. Buddha is not a follower. He is not identified with his sannyas.

Back to: Bhagavad Gita for Management > 2.2 Leadership and Decision Making in the Bhagavad Gita