We often come across people in this world who are really intelligent and impressive yet very narrow in their outlook. How can intelligent people refuse to grow and remain narrow? Ideally, any intelligent person would have the intelligence to understand the meaning of life and death, the meaning of life, and relationships, and would keep growing. Why would an intelligent seed remain confined to the soil? Why would it not grow into a full-fledged tree taking sunlight and turning that into food to participate in the play of nature? It seems strange that many intelligent people remain so constipated and constrained in their lives.
I feel that "intelligence" as we understand is overrated. Our understanding of intelligence is confined to logical and reasoning skills. Logic and reasoning are always within a frame. For example, some "intelligent" people may use their logical and reasoning skills to build their profile get the best out of the assignment, and earn a lot of money. On the other hand, some people may use "intelligence" to explore the deepest of the secrets of nature. Some may use "intelligence" to make the constitution of a country so that the country may run democratically in the decades and centuries to come. All three categories of people may be equally intelligent and in fact, the first category of people may be most intelligent but may have chosen such a narrow frame of life that their "intelligence" becomes a slave of their cunningness or self-obsession. While the "intelligence" of the second category of people turns into a vehicle making them travel to the deepest and widest secrets of nature. The "intelligence" of the third category of people helps them understand the deepest secrets of the human psyche and devise systems to bring harmony.
"Intelligence" is just like the capacity of a processor inside a mobile or computer. The best of the processors in a stand-alone mobile having few games and applications has very limited possibilities. Even an ordinary processor in a mobile that is connected to good broadband may do wonders. It is strange that we have recognized the infinite possibilities of connecting instruments across the globe through Bluetooth, WiFi, and the internet to the extent that we can communicate with the entire globe on a real-time basis through tweets, blogs, websites, and TV channels and yet as human beings, we are becoming more and more disconnected from the rest of us. We are becoming more and more obsessed with ourselves and getting disconnected from the rest of the world.
I find that the biggest reason for falling into the "trap of limited frame" is the missing "philosophical framework of life". That is the reason that we are so sure of what we want to do in life and what we want to achieve in life. Our framework of life has become so narrow that we can't look beyond the frame of money or the achievement of certain milestones in careers. Our "intelligence" is trapped in a tunnel unable to see the possibilities it may create in this world. A kid watches a toy in the hands of one of his friends and he becomes adamant about getting the same toy. The moment he gets to visit the toy shop, he gets to know that there are so many different types of toys and as he grows older, all these toys become meaningless. How long will we be obsessed with the toy in the hands of our friends?
I feel that it is the first and foremost duty of parents and educators to make kids aware of the widest possibilities of life. Their role is to provide a broadband connection to them. Why should intelligence be confined to such a narrow frame to operate? The "intelligence" inside kids should have the widest framework to function. Why should they be fixated on the "toys" of money and milestones? Why should they not grow up to explore the beauty of nature and participate in the play of nature through understanding? All our kids are Hanumana, who have huge potential inside them. We just have to play the role of Jamvanta, reminding them of their potential and giving them the confidence that life is much wider than they can presently foresee. They should not be afraid of seeing and doubting their capabilities. For that to happen, parents will have to understand their own fears and work on them. All fears are the creation of ignorance. If parents and educators themselves have a limited frame of life, they will end up passing on their fears to their kids, making their lives limited and depriving them of infinite possibilities. A person with a limited frame of life can never be secure be it the most powerful bureaucrat, politician, sportsman, or industrialist and an insecure mind can never explore freely.
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