Swami Brahm Bodhi

In spirituality, and equally in life as a whole, a person needs feeling and intellect in equal measure. Without a balance between these two, neither life can be happy nor success enduring.

In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord gives supreme importance to both intellect and faithful feeling. He says that without shraddhā—faith and inner devotion—no spiritual progress is possible:

“Aśraddhayā hutaṃ dattaṃ tapaḥ taptaṃ kṛtaṃ ca yat,
Asad ity ucyate pārtha na ca tat pretya no iha.”
(Gita 17.28)

Meaning: Any sacrifice, charity, or austerity performed without faith is called “asat”—vain; it bears no fruit, neither in this life nor in the next.

Yet elsewhere, the Lord declares that in spiritual progress and in liberation from the cycle of birth and death, intellect too holds a vital place:

“Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ,
Manas tu parā buddhir yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ.” (Gita 3.42)

Meaning: The senses are superior to the body, the mind is superior to the senses, the intellect is superior to the mind, and that which is beyond the intellect is the Self.

“Evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā saṁstabhyātmānam ātmanā,
Jahi śatruṁ mahābāho kāma-rūpaṁ durāsadam.” (Gita 3.43)

Meaning: Thus, knowing the Self as higher than the intellect, and steadying the mind by the intellect, O mighty-armed one, slay the difficult enemy that takes the form of desire.

Because the role of the intellect is not properly understood—or is seldom explained by teachers or Gurus—we find that most seekers, even after decades of practice, attain no tangible spiritual realization. Their effort is not wasted; their sādhanā accumulates merit. Yet without a harmony of faith and intellect, the fruit remains distant.

Take, for instance, the practice of mantra-japa or nāma-japa. Many have repeated sacred names for years, yet few experience genuine realization or inner transformation. This fact, evident to observation, should make us reflect—somewhere an error is being repeated, an error we must recognize and avoid.

When certain teachers merely hand out a guru-mantra and say, “Keep repeating this; everything will happen by itself,” what can the devotee do? Such half-guidance leaves seekers wandering.

But the greatest Teacher—Bhagavān Krishna—never misguides His devotees. He reveals every principle with perfect clarity: how spiritual attainments truly arise, and how devotion to God culminates in divine realization and liberation.

Therefore, those who are earnest seekers should read the Bhagavad Gita daily, and read it with attentive reflection—to grasp what the Lord actually teaches.

Hari Sharanam!