‘Buddhi se bada koi ‘astra’ aur ‘shastra’ nahi hai …’

Swamiji says ….

” The word ‘buddhi’ can have different meanings and connotations in different settings.While a student or scholar would gauge ‘buddhi’ as academic intelligence or brain power or intellectual ability; a ‘fakir’, a ‘sadhu’ or an aspirant on the spiritual path could define ‘buddhi’, after considering it in broader terms, as ‘the mind’s ability to interpret the world around him’ ; ‘the ability to make logical and sound judgements unclouded by emotion and ego’. Our ‘buddhi’ is a window which allows us to gain knowledge about subjects and matters that interest us and encourages us to use ‘it’ in the most conducive and productive manner.”

“Thus, ‘buddhi’, in short, is the power of the mind to know the distinction between right and wrong, true and false; solve problems and come to logical conclusions. ‘It’ is something that we are born with and thereafter it is up to us whether we use it to its full potential or feel too lazy to use it ! Our ‘buddhi’ responds to our interests and choices.Some might crunch numbers better than others.Some might read and write better than others. Aim should be…’ ‘Buddhi’ ka sahi upyog karna!”

” The degree of success scaled or failure faced by us is related to the way in which we use our ‘buddhi’, as it decides and determines what we make of our lives. ‘ Humari ‘ buddhi’ hi hum se ‘karm’ karwati hai !Agar humare paas ‘budhi’ nahi hoti toh hum ‘karmheen’ ho jaate ! ‘Karm’ ke bina jivan jina asambhav hai !”

” Society often measures a person through the prism of money and wealth and accords him a reverential status purely due to the monetary strength that he has acquired. Although this is a poor parameter to judge a person on, the fact that, that person’s ‘buddhi’ had made him ‘see’ the right opportunities and ‘act’ on them to create and manage wealth cannot be taken away from him.
Even a person lucky enough to be born into money, can either multiply it by using his ‘buddhi’ to invest it wisely for his personal and professional development or waste it by splurging it on drinking, gambling and frivolous purchases – a sure sign of his ‘brashtha buddhi’ i.e. a mind that is out of control and blinded by greed, anger and lust.”

“Thus, the most powerful weapon that we possess to wield in the fight against ‘maya’ ; against the dark forces and our ‘chanchal mann’ aur ‘ahankaar’ that detract us from our physical and spiritual goals, is our ‘buddhi’. Be it a physically endowed wrestler or a gifted chess player, both have to ‘strategise’ to win their respective matches. Neither can become a world champion through sheer force or by simply relying on their intelligence. Both need to ‘observe’ the methods used by their opponents’, ‘prepare’ a training schedule and then follow it to the dot. Only then can they achieve success, assisted by their ‘buddhi’. And, while we all want to be ‘intelligent’ enough to do well in the physical world, the importance of ‘buddhi’ is paramount for attaining spiritual bliss!”

“The comparison between the intellect of Ravan and Shri Hanuman explains this best. Ravan was one of the greatest intellects of his time, as signified by his portrayal as a ten-headed king.
Using his intellect and knowledge of the Vedas, he was able to change his fortunes from being a Brahmin’s son, who used to live in an ‘ashram’ – into becoming the ‘King of the Golden Lanka’. Yet, can we say he had ‘subuddhi’? Wasn’t the kidnapping of Ma Sita an act of one ‘Jisski ‘buddhi’ brashtha ho gayee thi?’ The sacred knowledge that he had possessed in abundance seemed to have deserted him aur ‘uski ‘ahankaar’ se bhari buddhi ne …’ blinded him completely to goodness around him to such an extent that he was unable to see the Divinity of God in ‘Shri Ram’, who stood across him in the battlefield? If Ravan had used his ‘buddhi’ he could have avoided meeting his end in a war waged only to satiate his ego.”

” Shri Hanuman, on the other hand, was born a king’s son and could himself have become king.He, too, had gained the knowledge of the ‘Vedas’ and was strong enough to bring the world to His feet. Yet, his ‘buddhi’ showed him that true spiritual bliss could be achieved only by being a ‘true servant’ of Lord Ram.”

” Our ‘buddhi’ ; the intellect, is the finest instrument that lies within our being; ‘subtle’, yet most spread and active. ‘Buddhi’ also empowers us with the ability to understand the routine,and, discover the route needed for our spiritual upliftment…to open our ‘spiritual eye.’ It is our ‘buddhi’ that reminds us of its existence within us by providing us with solutions in the most trying circumstances; guides us to take the right step when plagued with doubts,and, instills the much needed faith in us to not despair, but ,to move ahead by using ‘it’ sensibly…’ek ‘buddhimaan’ Insaan ki tarah !”