Does the soul use its spiritual intelligence or material intelligence to realize its spirituality?

Podcast:

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.

Summary

How does the soul realize its spirituality while entangled in the material world? Discover how our mind and intelligence function during spiritual awakening.

• Innate vs. Conditioned Intelligence: The soul possesses an innate spiritual intelligence in its eternal form, but while conditioned in the material world, we primarily operate using material mind and intelligence resources.
• The Role of the Mind and Lower Modes: In unspiritual states, the mind often controls the intelligence to fulfill lower desires in passion and ignorance, sometimes even conniving to cover up undesirable habits.
• The Battle in the Seeker Stage: As spiritual seekers progress, the intelligence begins to control the mind, operating in higher modes of nature to introspect and recognize our true identity as spiritual beings.
• Purpose Over Constitution: Intelligence functions as a neutral resource—like a tool or weapon—that is technically material in constitution but becomes “spiritualized” when directed by scripture, guides, and higher intent.
• Intelligence as Treatment, Not the Cure: Just as intelligence helps diagnose a disease and choose a medicine, material intelligence helps us follow the spiritual path of yoga, which ultimately leads to true spiritual realization.
• Ultimate Transformation: Once a seeker purifies their intelligence and attains Krishna, the soul is fully reinstated with its eternal, completely spiritual resources to serve in the spiritual domain.

Full Transcription

We often say that we are not the mind or the intelligence. So, is this the material intelligence manipulating the material mind or does the soul have a spiritual intelligence? And we are that, that is non-different from the soul. How does the soul distinguish itself, between itself and the mind? Answer.

There are different principles. First is our existence in the material world and the way we function in the material world. Second is how we slowly disentangle ourselves from the material world.

And the third is our existence in the spiritual domain of reality. So, as far as existing at the spiritual domain is concerned, yes, the soul in the spiritual domain is a full-fledged personality. Soul has all the resources required for serving Krishna in whatever role that soul has eternally.

And that means that the soul has intelligence, a mind and a body which are all non-different from each other. So, it’s one unit manifesting as many. Now, having said that, that soul is presently in a seed form.

And in that seed form, the soul does not manifest its variegatedness apart from the stream of consciousness that comes out of it. So, at present, when we are entangled in the material world, then we tend to operate with our material mind and intelligence. And quite often the mind tends to control the intelligence and the mind then uses the intelligence to fulfill its own ideas.

It’s like people may smoke or drink and then they cover their tracks so that they won’t be detected. Especially if they are in a society where detection will lead to some problems. So, the mind is impelling them to do it, but the intelligence is also cooperating and conniving to cover the tracks.

Now, of course, even in the material world, sometimes the mind and the intelligence work in opposite directions. Even a person who has no spirituality, a student may want to study seriously, their mind may want to watch a movie, their intelligence says, let’s study, build a life and a career. So, then depending on which is stronger, they choose and act accordingly.

So, broadly we can say, when the mind controls the intelligence, it is the lower modes that are functioning. Passion and especially ignorance. And when the intelligence controls the mind, it means definitely the higher modes are manifesting.

So, in the initial stages, Krishna talks about this mind being controlled by the intelligence or mind and intelligence both being controlled by impurities. In the third chapter, when 41st verse he says, इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धि रस्याधिष्ठानमुच्छते एतैरिमोहितेशि घ्यानमावृति देहिनम् This is 3.40. But then in the same section 3.43, Krishna says, एवं बुद्धे परंबुद्धा संस्थब्यात्मानमात्मन् जहिष्ट्रम् महाबाहो कामरुपं दुरास्यम् So, what that means is that he is saying that we use our intelligence to situate ourselves on the spiritual platform. So, it’s not that the intelligence has two components.

One is the material intelligence and the spiritual intelligence. Intelligence is a resource. And that resource can be used materially, it can be used spiritually.

So, when the intelligence is guided by spiritual wisdom, is guided by spiritual guides, by spiritual texts, by one’s own realizations which are conditioned to spirituality, then one starts using that intelligence to realize their spirituality. So, we could use the word spiritual intelligence in two different senses. One is the intelligence that is innate to the soul.

But that is mostly not active as long as we are in the material world. Even when we are trying to grow spiritually. Only at a very advanced stage of spiritual growth will the soul itself start manifesting its innate spiritual individuality and variegatedness.

But till then, it is mostly the soul acting in terms of acting using the resources it has, the mind and the intelligence. So, yes, in this situation, in sattva guna arah, as one is moving beyond the mode of goodness higher, one starts using the intelligence, the material intelligence itself. Now, we could use the word material and spiritual in two different senses.

Whether it is made of matter in terms of constitution or whether it is used for material intelligence. That is in terms of purpose. So, in terms of constitution, the intelligence is a part of the material world and the material body.

So, in that sense, it is material. But in terms of intention or for what it is used, purpose, when it is used for spiritual purpose, it can be said to be spiritualized. That means the intelligence starts contemplating how to grow spiritually.

How to realize one’s own spirituality. And this is 343 in the Bhagavad Gita. The buddhi is used for a higher purpose.

To understand how buddhi can work in multiple ways at multiple levels. In the 18th chapter Krishna talks about how buddhi can be in the three modes. So, in that sense, the buddhi is a resource.

It is like the mana is a resource. So, if you consider the buddhi, the intelligence to be like a knife or a gun, a weapon, it can be used by criminals. It can be used by law-abiding citizens.

It can be used by law enforcers, the police, the military. It depends. So, like that, the intelligence can be used for various purposes and accordingly it depends on the modes in which a person is functioning.

So, to summarize, the soul has spiritual intelligence as a part of its innate spiritual identity and personality. But that is manifested only in the full spiritually realized state in the spiritual world primarily. In the condition stage and in the seeker stage, there is material intelligence and a material mind.

But generally in the condition stage, the mind and the intelligence are in a conflict with the mind winning most of the time. In the seeker stage, moving towards the seer stage, the intelligence starts controlling the mind and starts introspecting by which one understands that one is a spiritual being. Not just by the intelligence but the intelligence used to follow a process.

Just like with our intelligence we can understand that we have a disease and then we need to take a medication. But the intelligence itself will not cure the disease. The intelligence used to take the treatment will cure the disease.

So, like that, the intelligence used to follow the spiritual path of yoga, that will lead to the person realizing their spirituality. So, if all this seems too technical, there is no need to get too confused about it. The point is Krishna has given us what we need for our spiritual growth.

So, our intelligence can be purified and used for our growth. And then we become purified when we attain Krishna. Krishna will again give us what we need to serve him eternally.

That is completely spiritual resources.