The nature of intelligence

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Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev [1]

When I say intelligence, do not think of intelligence as purely logical thinking. Logical thinking is just a small part of your intelligence. Right now, this body knows that if it inhales this air, it should take only oxygen and leave out carbon dioxide. This is a huge intelligence, isn’t it? There is enormous intelligence in the body which is constantly functioning, and this functions even if you are unaware. This functions if you are sleeping, this functions even if you are in coma. It doesn’t require you, it is just constantly functioning. Somebody’s body becomes diseased because somewhere a certain part of the body intelligence is not functioning.
Otherwise, if the body intelligence is functioning fully, any organism that enters, it knows what to do. How to cleanse itself up, how to rebuild itself, everything is built in. But somewhere, for some reason, or for various reasons, certain parts of the body intelligence do not function.
So when we talk of intelligence we are not looking at intelligence as logical thinking. We are looking at life; we are looking at intelligence as the means and the fundamental source of life. Everything in the existence is hugely intelligent. The earth that you walk on, just see how intelligent it is. You put a neem seed here, only neem tree comes. You put a mango seed there, only mango tree comes. Never did it ever get confused and produce a neem tree out of a mango seed, or a mango tree out of a neem seed. Never has it failed, always in function. The mud that you walk on, see how intelligent it is. So, when I say intelligence, I am talking about that basic intelligence which is the very basis and means of existence and your aliveness right now. We want that to function on a higher scale. In a way, enlightenment means just that. The fundamental intelligence, that which is the basis of life, is in full flow within you. That’s enlightenment. An enlightened person may not be logically smart; generally they are taken for a ride by ordinary people. But his basic life intelligence is in function within himself — it’s in full flow. But outside, if he wishes to be smart with the outside situation, he can be. Many times he may not be bothered about being smart with the outside world. Shiva is like this too. In certain parts of the country, Shiva is worshiped as Bholenath. Bholenath means the innocent or even the ignorant.
So when we say intelligence, we are not looking at just being smart. We are looking at that dimension which makes life happen, allowing that to be in full flow.

— Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, a yogi, is a visionary, humanitarian and a prominent spiritual leader.
An author, poet, and internationally-renowned speaker, Sadhguru’s wit and piercing logic provoke and widen our perception of life. He can be contacted at www.ishafoundation.org [2]