“Prahlada Maharaja replied: Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Krishna are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.5.30)

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श्रीप्रह्राद उवाच
मतिर्न कृष्णे परत: स्वतो वा
मिथोऽभिपद्येत गृहव्रतानाम्
अदान्तगोभिर्विशतां तमिस्रं
पुन: पुनश्चर्वितचर्वणानाम्

śrī-prahrāda uvāca
matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām

1. Someone who can land a rocket

“My goodness, that person is a genius. Did you see what that rocket did? I watched it online. It was falling from the sky. It looked like the thing would crash into the sea. At the last moment, though, it turned straight. By itself! The rocket landed right where it needed to. Think about that for a second. It is like tossing a smartphone and having it fall into the upright charger sitting on the desk. Think of the intelligence involved in such a motion, which was not random.”

2. Someone who can argue in a political debate

“I really like this particular candidate. They are new to politics. I have not seen them on the stage before. They are so articulate in describing the solutions to the pressing issues of the day. They are also quick on their feet. They can speak well both extemporaneously and in delivering remarks previously prepared. People are giving this person trouble because of their religion, though. The faith does not align with what is popular in the nation. The faith bears no resemblance to the culture of dogmatic insistence and fear and threats. To me, that makes this candidate even more appealing. Their intelligence must be tied to their faith in some way. That is why they are considered a threat to the religious leaders of the country, who want to rubberstamp instead of resolve longstanding questions and issues of the human experience.”

3. Someone who can teach physics

“I did well in math. I received top marks in every class. For some reason, though, I had trouble in physics. The explanations of torque and the banked curve. The strange formulas. I was never quite able to grasp it. These people who understand and teach physics are really smart. They are at a higher level, if you ask me.”

4. Someone who can recognize patterns

“I call this the difference between foresight and hindsight. In this example, the person with foresight understands that spending an entire week with their family on a vacation has the potential to cause fatigue and frustration. Therefore, this person makes sure that the family stays in a large home during the trip. This allows ample space for separation, to get brief periods of relief from the madness.

“The person with hindsight does not recognize the pattern until it is too late. They have been on many family trips, and it is the same sequence of events. By the last day of the trip, this person is about ready to lose it. They start yelling and screaming at random people. They stay up late into the night, watching strange programming on television. They are in a dark room with the eyes glued to women’s volleyball, for instance. They would otherwise never watch such a thing. It is because they have finally found some time to themselves, after being attached to spouse and young children for many consecutive days.”

5. Someone who questions the reason for their existence

This is actually the beginning of intelligence, according to the opinion of Vedic culture. There is a corresponding Sanskrit aphorism. Athato brahma-jijnasa.

“Now, within the auspicious human birth, is the time for inquiring into the nature of existence, which is Brahman.”

The time was not before, as the birth could have been in any of the eight-million, four-hundred-thousand different species. The inquiry could not be made as a dog; the dog has no idea what a dog is. It must operate off of instinct, with which it is sufficiently equipped for survival. For instance, the dog inherently knows there is danger lurking when it merely gets the whiff of a tiger.

न हि गन्धमुपाघ्राय रामलक्ष्मणयोस्त्वया
शक्यं संदर्शने स्थातुं शुना शार्दूलयोरिव

na hi gandhamupāghrāya rāmalakṣmaṇayostvayā
śakyaṃ saṃdarśane sthātuṃ śunā śārdūlayoriva

“Smelling the fragrance of Rama and Lakshmana, like a dog smelling a tiger, certainly you will not be able to stand.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 21.31-32)

There is a logical basis for this assessment of intelligence. The human being questioning the reason for their existence has noticed the pattern at the largest range of time. From birth to death. From beginning to end. From the starting point of a desire to the ending point of failure or success. The cycle repeats, with a law of diminishing returns. Prahlada Maharaja compares this to chewing that which has already had the taste extracted from it.

An intelligent person notices this pattern. An intelligent person wonders what the purpose to fruitive activity is. They are not content with climbing the ladder in karma. They see that the people at the top become so miserable that they take to drugs and alcohol. They have everything at their disposal. They have no discomfort, but since they are ajitendriyah, it is like they never find peace; not even for a moment.

All others are desperately trying to reach that platform, to get ahead, only to be halted by time in its gruesome form of death. It makes sense that the Sanskrit word kāla would apply to both time and death. The effect is the same. This cycle continues for lifetime after lifetime.

‘के आमि’, ‘केने आमाय जारे ताप-त्रय’
इहा नाहि जानि — ‘केमने हित हय’

‘ke āmi’, ‘kene āmāya jāre tāpa-traya’
ihā nāhi jāni — ‘kemane hita haya’

“Who am I? Why do the threefold miseries always give me trouble? If I do not know this, how can I be benefited?” (Sanatana Gosvami speaking to Lord Chaitanya, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 20.102)

An intelligent person like Sanatana Gosvami looks for answers. There must be a different standard for applying identity. There must be a cause to the threefold miseries of life. We suffer from the effects of nature, from the maladies plaguing body and mind, and from the interference of other living beings. Something must be going on. There has to be a method to the madness. There has to be an original spark, which endures through the changes. That spark must have an ideal destination.

नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः

nāsato vidyate bhāvo
nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayor api dṛṣṭo ’ntas
tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.16)

In Closing:

Who do you consider smart?
Someone with answers from the start.

Who physics can teach,
Into outer space can reach.

Vedas with response revealing,
That those questioning their meaning.

Why suffering and then dying in the dark?
This position pursuit of knowledge spark.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, intelligence, life, poem, poems, poetry