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The role of the intellect
The role of the intellect
The role of the intellect
Victor Kannan
February 15, 2023 9 Mins Read
When we talk about consciousness, we are also indirectly including three other
aspects of mental functioning – the mind, the intellect, and the ego. Why? Because
these three play out within the canvas of our individual consciousness, and
consciousness only evolves when these functions of mind, intellect, and ego
evolve. Mind evolves from thinking to feeling, intellect evolves from instinct to
wisdom, ego evolves from identifying with our individual self to identifying with
the universal being, using the qualities of wonder and humility.1
The idea of “intellect” is not explored much in faith traditions. A lot more
emphasis is given to love, devotion, faith, and surrender. Many who are moved by
faith and devotion seem to lead a life of irrationality and emotional excess, devoid
of much self-awareness. They do not seem to take self-responsibility seriously.
This leads the skeptics and the rational to deny the existence of mystery, esoterism,
and the magical.
Let us assume, for the sake of discussion, that the intellect is the connecting link
between thinking and identification. Intellect is the discriminating or discerning
faculty. It is like a knife, dissecting and analyzing the world around us, in the
pursuit of meaning. It can cut off a lifeline or make things around us sharper for
better use! It makes sense of our thinking. However, intellect has to be refined and
evolve. How? By purifying, regulating, and focusing it. If the intellect is not pure,
it can justify all evil acts.
We start from the center of our being, and the transformation
eventually appears at the circumference.
The second element of intellect is intuition. We know that some people are more
intuitive than others. All of us have felt a sense of things and events before they
happen. This is intuition. A feeling. A premonition. A forethought. A foresight. An
aha moment. Intuition develops when we quieten our mind, observe, and witness.
In a nutshell, the role of the intellect is a crucial one. Intellect also sheds light on
faith. Faith is a state of mind. I struggled with the term “faith” for a long time. I
didn’t understand it in the context of how it has been practiced – to get from the
Almighty what we want, with faith increasing if expectations were met. This did
not inspire me. In one of my meditations, it occurred to me that the role of faith is
to beget hope; hope begets positive action, and positive action produces positive
results. So, to my understanding, intellect actually embellishes the understanding
of faith and puts it in its right place.
One way to explain the evolution of consciousness is to say that it is a release from
the limitations of the mind, the intellect, and the ego. It results from their
continuous refinement so that they become feeling, wisdom, and appreciation of
the world around us. It is an ever-growing subtle-fication of the body-mind-spirit
complex, ever tending toward moderation and balance in all aspects of life. In this
process, intellect plays a very big part. If the mind is not refined, the intellect is not
refined, and the ego is not refined, then love, obedience, and surrender will remain
misplaced, and will be counterproductive to our evolution.
The 20th century spiritual teacher, Babuji (Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur), added
the term “real” before love, life, and surrender, perhaps to indicate the importance
of the pure form of these attitudes to guide us to the truth. Also, when all the
elements of consciousness are purified, regulated, and focused, direct perception is
enabled. This is what saints and spiritual scientists like the Buddha and Babuji are
able to do. We also have the possibility to perceive directly when we embrace an
evolutionary practice like Heartfulness.
When all the elements of consciousness are purified,
regulated, and focused, direct perception is enabled.