Function of Intellect

Function of Intellect..................................Shrikant Soman

Sadhak : What is the proper function of the intellect? Is it a help or a hindrance to Sadhana?

Mother : Whether the intellect is a help or a hindrance depends upon the person and upon the way in which it is used. There is a true movement of the intellect and there is a wrong movement; one helps, the other hinders. The intellect that believes too much in its own importance and wants satisfaction for its own sake, is an obstacle to the higher realisation.

SVS Interpretation of Mothers Answer
We can not attach a fixed ‘label’ to the intellect as either a HELP or a HINDRANCE to Sadhana. It can be a hindrance in one case whereas it may be a help to Sadhana. It is relative to the person who is having and using it and also to the manner in which it is being used. The true movement of the intellect helps in Sadhana and the wrong movement of the intellect hinders Sadhana. As a general rule, any ‘egoistic’ use of the intellect is an obstacle to the higher realisation. This is the intellect which believes too much in its own importance and wants satisfaction for its own sake. It is a selfish manner and therefore not the intellect per se but the selfish manner in which it is being used is a hindrance to the Sadhana.

Mother : But this is true not in any special sense or for the intellect alone, but generally and of other faculties as well. For example, people do not regard an all-engrossing satisfaction of the vital desires or the animal appetites as a virtue; the moral sense is accepted as a mentor to tell one the bounds that one may not transgress. It is only in his intellectual activities that man thinks he can do without any such mentor or censor!

SVS Interpretation of Mothers Answer
We can say that this is a general rule and not just specific to the intellect alone. This rule also applies to the all-engrossing satisfaction of the vital desires or to the animal appetites e.g. sex, money, power, food etc. However, in these matters, we have our ‘moral values’ as a guide and it helps us to decide what is good or helpful for higher realisation and what is bad or harmful on the path. Unfortunately, in the case of intellect, we tend to slip out of this moral sense. We feel that in matters of intellect, morality has nothing to do or that it is outside the scope of moral values. This is the real problem.

Mother : Any part of the being that keeps to its proper place and plays its appointed role is helpful; but directly it steps beyond its sphere, it becomes twisted and perverted and therefore false. A power has the right movement when it is set into activity for the divine’s purpose; it has the wrong movement when it is set into activity for its own satisfaction.

SVS Interpretation of Mothers Answer
To put it differently, as a general theory, all the activities of any part of our being are helpful and conducive to our Sadhana which are within their proper place and play their appointed role. When they step beyond its sphere and become twisted and perverted – they become false. The cardinal test is this : Does the movement is serving the purpose of the divine or it is driven by selfish motive ? It is a right movement when it is set into activity for the divine’s purpose. It is a wrong movement when it is set into activity for its own satisfaction. The one is based on Vidya or true knowledge and the other on Avidya or the ignorance.

Mother : The intellect, in its true nature, is an instrument of expression and action. It is something like an intermediary between the true knowledge, whose seat is in the higher regions above the mind, and realisation here below. The intellect or, generally speaking, the mind gives the form; the vital puts in the dynamism and life-power; the material comes in last and embodies.

SVS Interpretation of Mothers Answer
Let us get to the root function of the intellect. The intellect is an instrument of expression and action. Like any instrument, it does not have any intrinsic label of good or bad. A gun for example, is bad in the hands of a terrorist and good in the hands of a soldier. Intellect acts as a ‘translator and interpreter’ of higher regions above mind to help the lower regions of our being ‘understand’ the messages of true knowledge or Vidya. The intellect, as an instrument of the mind, gives the form to the Vidya. The vital part of our being puts in the dynamism and life power to make it a living entity. The material world which is at the lowest level, gives it a body and solidity. This is the place of intellect in the overall scheme of our being. It is for us to make best use of this scheme for our progress on the path towards higher realisation or go downhill in a roller-coaster ride of selfish and egoistic satisfactions.

..............................................................pg 33, Conversations 1929-1931, 5th May 1929

Has Creations a Definite Aim ?

Has Creations a Definite Aim ?....................Conversations with Mother.............Shrikant Soman



Sadhak : Has creation a definite aim? Is there something like a  final end to which it is moving?

Mother : No, the universe is a movement that is eternally unrolling itself. There is nothing which you can fix upon as the end and one aim. But for the sake of action we have to section the movement, which is itself unending, and to say that this or that is the goal, for in action we need something upon which we can fix our aim. In a picture you need a definite scheme of composition and colour; you have to set a limit, to put the whole thing within a fixed framework; but the limit is illusory, the frame is a mere convention. There is a constant continuation of the picture that stretches beyond any particular frame, and each continuation can be drawn in the same conditions in an unending series of frames. Our aim is this or that, we say, but we know that it is only the beginning of another aim beyond it, and that in its turn leads to yet another; the series develop always and never stop.
..............................................................pg 31, Conversations 1929-1931, 28th April 1929

SVS Interpretation of Mothers Answer

Time is a continuum towards ETERNITY. We can not ‘segmentize’ time into different and distinct slots of days, weeks, years or even different births, epochs etc in a cosmic sense. There is no fixed ‘End’ or ‘Start’ for Time. There is no single aim or purpose for the time process. We do segmentize time for the sake of our convenience. There is nothing wrong in it provided you understand and constantly keep in mind that this is only a ‘convenient arrangement’ for the transactions and expressions of activity of our world. We need to fix some target and a destination for the purpose of our aim or goal. Therefore it becomes necessary to ‘artificially’ fix a certain ‘point in time’ as a part of our goal setting.


Take the example of a painting of a marvelous view of a sunset in the backdrop of mountain, river, clouds, birds etc. There is a certain scheme of composition and color. We have necessarily to set the parameters in order to give a structure and a frame to our painting. But we should keep in mind that painting is only a ‘representation’ of the scene of sunset, fixed in a particular framework of composition, color and style and NOT the actual sunset itself. To put it in other words, the actual view of the sunset is beyond any ‘painting of it’, howsoever a masterly work it has been. The sunset view is a ‘continuum’ – we can not break it into pieces.


Similarly, when we fix our aim, like say, passing of an examination, it is NOT the end of it. After we pass the examination, there is a next aim of passing the higher examination or of securing a nice job… and so on. Life is a continuous process of ‘unending series’ of evolutionary journey. There is no beginning or end to it.


To summarise, and to answer the question directly, we can say : NO, the Creation has NO definite aim in the COSMIC SENSE. There is NO final end towards which the Creation can be said to be moving. There can be intermediate stops and ‘milestones’, however.