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It’s been interesting to see the very slow tally of votes on the question of the importance of spirit vs. intelligence vs. knowledge. Many years ago I read some text from a Hindu source that expanded on this issue directly. In my usual method of things that intrigue my senses, I took the concept of these words within and explored them by applying the ideas to my own life. I found the words to be true, at least in the sense of how I see things work.

Though love is the ultimate goal of being in the world, there are many other aspects that have to be dealt with on a daily basis. Starting with knowledge, it is found that it is very hard to get things done, or to survive for that matter, without knowing how to do things. As we learn from our parental influences, we achieve the basics in life that we further in the ways that allow us to attain things that are interesting for us. Continuing on in knowledge, we learn a trade or skill that allows us (hopefully) to earn a living. These things are attained through a school of some sort… be it a formal education, guidance of a master, or learning on the streets of life. Either way, knowledge is the base of the experiences through one’s life to learn how to be in the world. In many ways, the world looks upon knowledge as the pinnacle of being, as reflected by the importance we give those who have dedicated their lives in such endeavors and achieving doctoral degrees. We have learned that we should only listen to those who have a surplus of knowledge in certain fields of study. These are the experts that flood the news and information channels everyday. But is knowledge the ‘end all, be all’ of the human experience? I think not.

Knowledge has a a limiting factor. Without intelligence, knowledge hits a dead end. Using intelligence we can filter through the facts of others’ knowledge to see what applies to our particular learning. We can also use intelligence to see outside the current mode of knowledge. Take for instance the old-world thought that the earth was flat, and the collective thought that heavenly bodies revolved around the earth. In their day, these were the dominating elements of knowledge, but for some it just didn’t explain the whole picture well enough. Intelligent persons surfaced with new facts and evidence, many against persecution, to enlighten the population of these new ideas. This is a prime example of intelligence. Intelligence is the constantly evolving notion that moves us as a collective force into more advanced (and hopefully more enlightened) ways of seeing and understanding the world.

But what is knowledge and intelligence without spirit? Indeed, what is life itself without the motivating force that animates our bodies and minds, creating a base from which sprouts the other two? I myself can see how spirit charges my mind and intelligence to attain certain kinds of knowledge. It is the alignment of my spirit with certain qualities that are important to me and motivates me to learn about some things, and to totally ignore others. Most of us don’t think about what forces drives us, but only that we are driven to learn about some topics. This force is spirit, and a poor alignment of the spirit can bring about harmful and dangerous results. A person armed with knowledge and intelligence, but with no concern for spirit, can do quite a bit of damage in society as shown by selfishly idealistic dictators and criminals of all sorts. Before I listen to the thoughts of any one person, I always have to assess where the person is in regards to her/his spirit. If that person cannot reveal that, then I cannot commit my devotion to his or her passion. It is therefore the most important factor of the three.

Aligning the spirit brings discernment to chase the proper goals. Intelligence allows us to find the best methods to attain the desired goals. Knowledge is the active force that gives us the retention of learned items to be able to apply them to our daily world. Though all three are inherently intertwined in our human existence, it is important to know where one should start.

March 23, 2009

Eugene, OR

             Last night I had a dream. In it I frantically searched for water as my tank fish were somewhere in the swampy carpet of someone’s living room. I couldn’t find the de-chlorinator, no matter where I searched. I kept looking at the carpet, wondering if my fish were all right. But somehow I couldn’t see the fish in the shaggy soggy carpet. Crabs began to crawl about, which I thought was rather curious.

             I woke from my dream and thought of my dream. How odd it was! It was only two days ago that I removed Sprinkles, the smaller pearl gourami, from the work tank. Goldie, the larger gold gourami, wounded Sprinkles after days of relentless rage. The two had to be separated before things became fatal. In the home tank Sprinkles seemed to be relieved that the fish were all smaller. This morning he appeared to recover well from his dilemma. 

             A little later as I walked into work, I noticed something was different.  As I approached the tanks, I suddenly stopped and gasped! There, on the floor, not far from the watery home, was Goldie. It was hard to tell how long he lay there, perhaps very recent or from the night before. His piscine body lay there lifeless and stiff. I found a makeshift glove and gently picked up the corpse. (I mean, I can’t just pick it up with my fingers… yuck.) I took him outside and found a nice place for a burial. After a few deep thoughts of Goldie’s life in the tank, I returned inside. 

             In the tank was Pancake, the large, long-finned, classic silver-black angel. He didn’t greet me like he always does. He stayed in the back of the tank, withdrawn and staring at the back wall. I almost thought for a moment that I sensed a bit of wrongdoing from him. I couldn’t distinguish the look on his face to gauge, whether he actually chased Goldie out, or if I projected guilt upon him. I easily remembered when the same fish murdered my gorgeous veil-tailed angel, Chocolate, two years prior. Either way, I think he knew I was pissed.

             A few moments later I stopped and reflected on the soggy and shaggy carpet in my dream. I somehow must have felt the unconscious energy of my doomed Goldie while flapping helplessly on the floor. And perhaps before his last fruitless gulp for water, he thought of his feeder while I dreamt and felt his panicked energy. Or maybe he looked back at Pancake, and with the last bit of strength, stuck up his middle fin.

I - Fish