Many times, human existence is characterized by the pitfalls and quagmires that it presents to the individual. Many times it so happens that engulfed in the sorrow derived from recurrent failures, the individual finds no hope of salvation. This essentially leads to a depressive state of mind, wherein the individual concerned becomes engulfed in negativity. Depression can never achieve anything. It can only lead us to death and destruction. How can we overcome this depression? How can we truly rise above it? How can we conquer it? Listen to the following audio snippet to find the answers.
Often in life we find that we are just unable to attain our goals and fulfill our dreams. Many times, we just dont find the energy to keep going against the tide. Many times our resolve fails us as we falter in our quest to achieve enduring superlative success. This is essentially owing to the fact that we are tired. As we life through the rat-race of life, we often feel at a loss of energy and stamina. Often the work-load and the irrational deadlines take an adverse toll on our health. Consequently we are unable to perform at an optimum level of productivity. We simply can’t enjoy what we do. How can we truly overcome this setback? How can we truly be rejuvenated? How can we truly conquer fatigue?
Hello and welcome back to the discussion. We have been consistently moving ahead with different subjects that concern man’s lofty quest here on The Last Pilgrimage weblog. Last time we discussed a term that was an entirely new concept for the spiritual seeker. For those that recall, we briefly discussed about the spiritual quotient that every individual has within himself. This spiritual quotient could be effectively described as a spiritual aptitude in the journey of life. There are many factors that make up an individual’s spiritual quotient. Today we are essentially going to elaborate on one of those factors; namely intelligence quotient.
To understand what Intelligent Quotient or IQ truly means, we would first have to understand what intelligence means. Many people have a deluded impression of intelligence. Many are confused when it comes to segregating intelligence from intellect. To put it simply, I would say that intelligence is intellect in action. Now a person’s intellectual capacity is something that cannot be changed. You either have it or you don’t. But if there is one thing that an individual can improve on, it is his intelligence. Intelligence is essentially intellect in its pro-active form. To put it simply, you are effectively using the brain-power that you have with you. Now this brain power would vary from person to person; but if you truly learn to apply your intellect, you will find yourself succeeding in all walks of life.
When I say that you can improve your intelligence, I literally mean that. Intellect is basically the resource that you have with you. How effectively and productively you employ that resource is entirely up to you. If you learn to effectively utilize the level of intellect that you have, you would indeed find that you are able to surpass many of life’s great obstacles.
The relevance that intelligence essentially has with a person’s spiritual quotient is indeed great. An intelligent person knows how to remain productive and creative in life. He can take the opportunities that come into his life and effectively achieve enduring success. Not only that, but an individual’s intelligence always gives him the motivation to stay creative. Any intelligent person would always find new and innovative ways to make life simpler for himself and for those around him. Effectively what it accomplishes is that it tremendously accelerates an individual’s journey of evolution.
Ultimately, we have to acknowledge that the spiritual journey transcends the worldly life. To be successful spiritually, you need to be an achiever; not in somebody else’s eyes, but in your own eyes. You have to be pro-active and creative; you have to be prudent; and you have to be responsible in every single act that you commit in life. That would be what would make any aspiring seeker an achiever. Intelligence merely helps facilitate this process. In the end, we have to say that intelligence is everything that the intellect is. It is all that and much more; for it is truly creative and productive. However, in the end, the one thing that truly separates intelligence from intellect is that an intelligent man is indeed very humble and appreciative of the work that others do. He takes every moment in his life as a learning opportunity and through every single moment, he learns and ingests all that life has to offer him; in the end, moving towards completeness…
Many times we hear the word intelligent quotient used in the sense of intellectual benchmarking. There are many tests out there that help determine a person’s IQ. The fact that they come nowhere close to determining his true intelligence is an entirely different issue. Point of the matter is that it is indeed very hard to determine an individual’s intelligence based on some tests. It is even harder to state what intelligence truly means. In this episode of the Satsang series Rutugandha recounts the day when the master spoke of true intelligence and ways in which it is conducive to our spiritual growth.
In this part of the Conquer It series, we discuss different ways through which we can conquer laziness. Many times we are ever unaware of the fact that we are indeed being lazy while dispensing some of our duties. We never understand the fact that we indeed lose upon many opportunities in life owing to our laziness. Often we disregard our laziness to be a nominal vice; and not something that necessarily affects our quest for success in an adverse way. It is only later that we realize the gravity of the situation. How can we conquer laziness? How can we ensure continued productivity? How can we truly achieve enduring success? Listen to the following audio snippet to find the answers…
In the ninth chapter of the Satsang series Rutugandha recounts the day when the master spoke of an individual’s spiritual quotient. Often times, our ability to stay contented and happy in life depends on our spiritual quotient. But what is the spiritual quotient comprised of? How can we develop our spiritual quotient? What are the advantages of a high spiritual quotient? Listen to the following audio snippet to find the answers.
Perception is Reality…or is it? In this episode of the Conquer It! series we question our perceptions thus. Often we find that the greatest obstacles that stand in our way to achieve enduring success are the illusions that we bear about life. Often when we fail to get a correct overview of situations that we are in, we encounter persisting failure. Thus many times, our inability to accept reality the way it is, results in our downfall. How can we change this? How can we uplift ourselves from our deluded perceptions? How can we conquer the illusions that forever cloud our discerning intellect? Listen to the following audio snippet to find the answers…
Many people accuse spirituality to be too idealistic and impractical in nature. Many feel that spirituality is essentially something that leads man away from the “real” thing in life; that it teaches an escapist way of life wherein the human being is not expected to stay pro-active at all. This deluded perception essentially leads them to shun the spiritual way of life at every point in time. However the fact that they fail to realize is that true spirituality is always practical in nature and it always advocates a prudent way of life.
25-Apr-2006 04:05, Canon Canon EOS 20D, 5.0, 45.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 400
Prudence necessarily means a sense of understanding of the worldly ways of life. The reason why I say that spirituality advocates prudence is owing to the fact that an individual can never gain salvation from the recursive human existence, unless he is absolved of all his karmic ties. These karmic ties are the ones that bind him to the worldly existence and the only way to absolve them is through prudence. To put it simply, prudence is knowing what to do; when to do it and how to do it.
An individual can start exercising prudence in his life by imbibing certain simple steps. Often the individual is caught in a paradoxical situation wherein he is forced to make a choice between idealism and practicality. In such situation it is always best to dispassionately judge both lines of action to determine what way is in the best interest of yourself and those around you. Herein your prudence comes pretty handy. Imagine a scenario wherin you need to lie to someone. Now you know that lying is essentially a “bad” thing to do; and yet you realize that if you lie just this once, that one lie would be influencing many lives in a positive way. In such a situation it is always best to go ahead and take the practical choice; but at the same, you should be completely prepared for all the backlash that you would receive if that one lie is to be discovered. Such is life. Most of the times, it is a great gamble of sorts; wherein unbeknowst of the results, an indiviudal is forced to take a leap of faith and hope that he lands soft. Such is life…
Many times spiritual seekers, who are in the early stages of development consider worldly life and worldly individuals to be redundant maggots. Often the seeker, intoxicated in the ecstatic bliss of his spiritual escapades, forgets that he too is a part of the worldly equation. Often this delusion leads him to adopt a solitary lifestyle, wherein he stops interacting with people whom he considers to be ‘un-spiritual’. The seeker herein, fails to realize that he is indeed making a grave mistake in acting so. Every seeker must realize that the reason to his physical existence are the karmic ties that he has with his physical body. He has to realize that the karmic ties that he has with other individuals also contribute to further extending the misery of his physical existence. The only way to aboslve those karmic debts is to be a pro-active part of the worldly life that he considers to be an illusion. In such a situation it would prudent for the spiritual seeker to reamin humble and centered in life. Once the seeker realizes that he need not go out of his way to truly make a spiritual effort; that spirituality is something to practised in the daily walks of life, only then will he come out of that deluded way of life.
Ultimately it is important to realize that in order to be successful spiritually, you need to satisfy all your worldly reponsibilities. Only then will the doors to the spirit world open for you. Thus in the worldly way of life as a seeker strives to achieve his goals, exercising prudence and discretion would go a long way in ensuring success.
In the following audio epistle, Rutugandha recounts the day when the master spoke of the importance of prudence in daily life. Prudence essentially means discretion in practical situations. In this worldly life, one has to choose his battles wisely. He has to fight in places where he knows that he can win; and try and elude the traps wherein he knows that he cannot hope to win. In the worldly rat race, prudence is indeed a great factor that determines whether an individual becomes successful or not. How can we effectively implement such prudence in our daily life? Listen to the following audio snippet to find the answers…
Doubt essentially arises owing to a lack of faith on part of the individual. When the individual starts doubting his own heart, it necessarily spells doom for his quest to achieve superlative success. One can only succeed in life if he truly believes in himself. We as individuals have to realize that there is nothing that can be accomplished without faith. Yet as we live through our lives, at times we are forced to doubt ourselves and then God in turn. We are compelled by circumstances to incessantly question our own capabilities. At times this leads us to have a pessimistic attitude towards life. How can we truly rise above that pessimism? How can we truly overcome our insecurity? How can we truly conquer our doubts? Listen to the following audio snippet to find the answers…
A Spiritual Revolution added to Articles. Embracing Reality added to Articles. Rebellion added to Articles. The State of Liberation added to Articles. Hypocrisy in Spirituality added to Articles. Pointless Spirituality added to Articles. Two Bytes of Life added to Articles. Change, Consistency & Success added to Articles.
Photo illustration by Mindy Ricketts
| admin | 
March 4, 2010 10:19 am | 
Comments (0) 
