How do we strengthen the intelligence?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
like Iskcon, and at the same time, how do we strengthen the intelligence? In general, the intelligence, basically, if you see the mind, mind takes in inputs from the sensory world. Yesterday, I gave the example of a monitor on which inputs come in from the different cameras. Like that, from all the senses, the inputs are coming in to the mind.
So, those inputs are more or less going to keep coming. With our intelligence, we are meant to perceive, we are meant to actually properly interpret the inputs. Every time I go to a desert, I will see a mirage.
I can’t avoid that. I will see a mirage. And to me, the mirage will appear like water.
But it is my intelligence. Now, what has to happen? My intelligence has to remember. The last time I chased after that, my tongue got burnt.
Or, my guide has told me, you will see mirages, don’t chase after them. So, recollection can be based on what we hear or it can be based on what we have experienced, either way. So, if you see, in the Bhagavad Gita, when Krishna talks about dhyayato vishyan pumsah, how from contemplation, it leads to self-destruction.
So, there the sequence is described, there is a dhyayato vishyan pumsah, saṅgāt saṅgāt jāyate kāmāt, kāmāt krodho vijayate, krodhād bhavati sammoha, sammohāt smṛti vibhrama, smṛti brahmaśād buddhi nāśo, buddhi nāśāt naśyate. So, Krishna says, when is the buddhi destroyed? When smṛti brahmaśād. When the memory is lost, then the intelligence is destroyed.
So, intelligence at our level is primarily based on remembrance. This remembrance is not just remembrance of facts. It’s not just a recollection.
Some people may have very good memory of facts. They may be able to remember mathematics tables, they may be able to calculate country’s capitals. That’s all fine.
But we want to have recollection which enables us to make healthy moral choices. That is significantly different. It is different from the, you could say, the intelligence quotients that are measured by various parameters.
We have emotional intelligence, we have analytical intelligence, social intelligence. All those are good. They are also based on recollection only.
Somebody who has emotional intelligence, they can remember, this person has gone through this and that’s why this person is like this. This is his sensitivity. Other person just forgets.
This person, what they have gone through, I don’t know. Why do I care? So, in general, intelligence is based on recollection. And to the extent we increase our recollection, to the extent we will be able to act intelligently.
Now, with respect to desires, our recollection is also based on our contemplation. That means, I may remember that, say, sense enjoyment leads to memory. But then if I keep contemplating on sense objects, you know what will happen? That will start, oh, it is so enjoyable, so enjoyable, so enjoyable.
And that memory of whatever pleasure we have got through that in the past, even if it is a little pleasure, that memory will over time predominate our consciousness. And the memory of the scriptural statement which also we have experienced, we will forget that. So, basically when Krishna says, I give remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness, on what basis does he give it? He gives it based on our desires.
So, if we have a desire, strong desire to connect with Krishna, then he will give us remembrance of his message, his beauty and over a period of time he will give us forgetfulness of worldly impressions. And that’s how we will compute it. But if we have a strong desire to enjoy the material world, then Krishna will give us remembrance of how enjoyable this world is.
And he will make us forgetful of the consequences of that enjoyment and he will make us also forgetful of the scriptural teachings that we have learnt. So, that’s why what we can do is, at least during the time when we are aware, in good consciousness, that time we can try to cultivate a good desire. Cultivate a pure desire.
And then by seeing that pure desire, Krishna will give us the remembrance in the right time. And that remembrance will be the basis of our intention.