When You Do Not Use Your Intellect
When a person does not use his intellect, his whole life revolves around acquisition and enjoyment. Sukha prapti and dukh nivrutti as edanta calls it. Such a person is unable conceive anythingelse. There is nothing wrong with cquisition and enjoyment per se. What would be our life if we never acquired nything or enjoyed anything! The world has so many wonderful things. It would be indeed a sad soul who could ot enjoy what this world has to offer. cquiringthings too is necessary. How would we live productively in this world ad we not got the means for survival? We need today the computer and the ellphonejust like early man needed re. All our discoveries have made our ves so much more convenient. And we would be indeed foolish not to benefit om modern discoveries. Thus acquisition and enjoyment are a part of life. The problem is: we often behave as if it was the whole of life! A simple illustration can show up the difference. A little sweet after a meal is enjoyable. It is desirable. But if we substitute the meal with the sweet what would happen? We would get fed up with it.We would gain no nutrition. Acquiring more sweets would not only be no longer enjoyable, but also positively distasteful; even harmful. No wonder people say they are tired of their lives work, parties, clothes, holiday homes.The attempt to acquire andenjoymore is not giving Not only that, this attitude is tree ruining their character and life. Imagine eating only sweets. So too mere acquisition and enjoyment will cause problems! It is no doubt important what one achieves. But it is also important what one becomes while achieving it Anacquisition is not permanent while one's character is. Besides, what we possess doesn't help us sleep at night. Character does! Character is having an intellect. Intellect is the power of discrimination. Every human has it in varying degrees. And we can all develop it further Discrimination tells us good from bad, right fromwrong, appropriate from inappropriate. The intellect governs the mind. The mind in us is the child. It demands constantly. And the more it gets the more it wants. It is not capable of discrimination, of understanding effects and consequences. It wants only instant gratification. It is the intellect's role to discriminate, to consider effects, to choose actions sensibly. The mind tends thing and keeps wanting it, ignoringelse. And that's where all our problerstart. We forget every other thing inpursuit of acquisition and enjoymerBut there is a lot more to life. And int'more' our happiness truly lies. If weexpand our vision even a bit we wills so many more things. Those things wgive us that elusive happiness that acquisition and enjoyment didn't brHuman lifeis designed for highervision. To expand our awareness to include other people beyond our famto include other creatures; to include higher ideals and noble thoughts; toseek the welfare of the world. Vasudakutumbakam. The world is my familEvery animal lives for acquisitionand enjoyment. Humans too have it.But humans are heir to so much Morton so much more satisfaction, to so much more bliss. Why have we denieourselves our birthright?
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Janki Santoke kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Janki Santoke Speaking Tree ,Times of India
When You Do Not Use Your Intellect
When a person does not use his intellect, his whole life revolves around acquisition and enjoyment. Sukha prapti and dukh nivrutti as edanta calls it. Such a person is unable conceive anythingelse. There is nothing wrong with cquisition and enjoyment per se. What would be our life if we never acquired nything or enjoyed anything! The world has so many wonderful things. It would be indeed a sad soul who could ot enjoy what this world has to offer. cquiringthings too is necessary. How would we live productively in this world ad we not got the means for survival? We need today the computer and the ellphonejust like early man needed re. All our discoveries have made our ves so much more convenient. And we would be indeed foolish not to benefit om modern discoveries. Thus acquisition and enjoyment are a part of life. The problem is: we often behave as if it was the whole of life! A simple illustration can show up the difference. A little sweet after a meal is enjoyable. It is desirable. But if we substitute the meal with the sweet what would happen? We would get fed up with it.We would gain no nutrition. Acquiring more sweets would not only be no longer enjoyable, but also positively distasteful; even harmful. No wonder people say they are tired of their lives work, parties, clothes, holiday homes.The attempt to acquire andenjoymore is not giving Not only that, this attitude is tree ruining their character and life. Imagine eating only sweets. So too mere acquisition and enjoyment will cause problems! It is no doubt important what one achieves. But it is also important what one becomes while achieving it Anacquisition is not permanent while one's character is. Besides, what we possess doesn't help us sleep at night. Character does! Character is having an intellect. Intellect is the power of discrimination. Every human has it in varying degrees. And we can all develop it further Discrimination tells us good from bad, right fromwrong, appropriate from inappropriate. The intellect governs the mind. The mind in us is the child. It demands constantly. And the more it gets the more it wants. It is not capable of discrimination, of understanding effects and consequences. It wants only instant gratification. It is the intellect's role to discriminate, to consider effects, to choose actions sensibly. The mind tends thing and keeps wanting it, ignoringelse. And that's where all our problerstart. We forget every other thing inpursuit of acquisition and enjoymerBut there is a lot more to life. And int'more' our happiness truly lies. If weexpand our vision even a bit we wills so many more things. Those things wgive us that elusive happiness that acquisition and enjoyment didn't brHuman lifeis designed for highervision. To expand our awareness to include other people beyond our famto include other creatures; to include higher ideals and noble thoughts; toseek the welfare of the world. Vasudakutumbakam. The world is my familEvery animal lives for acquisitionand enjoyment. Humans too have it.But humans are heir to so much Morton so much more satisfaction, to so much more bliss. Why have we denieourselves our birthright?
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Janki Santoke kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Janki Santoke Speaking Tree ,Times of India