The limitation of ‘buddhi’ is language. We need the service of ‘buddhi’ to understand our bhakti in the Lord with proper reasoning based on theology, which is expressed through proper doctrine. But when reason becomes rationalism and begins to involve in hair-splitting analysis of that theology by giving various interpretations, the very same language defeats ‘buddhi’. This is my strong conviction: ‘buddhi’ cannot go beyond language to express its reasoning in any human language. Whereas the atman, transcending the limits of any language, can both understand and express its bhakti even beyond language. Any bhakta who experiences this intuitive realization, which we can call experience (accepting the limitation of that term and the experience itself), needs no language.
When ‘buddhi’, using all kinds of reasoning, gets stuck in rationalization, unless we seek the help of the atman, we will get stuck in our own rationalism without knowing the way to come out.
I had this experience several times. After reading some deep theological books—where the play of words and technical terms dominate the discussion at the cost of spiritual intuition—I take the help of the atman to bring back both buddhi and mind to understand the danger of too much intellectualization of bhakti.
When I was contemplating this, I wrote song 972 [BT Song 972].
Gurukulam
7-6-2024
The limitation of ‘buddhi’ is language. We need the service of ‘buddhi’ to understand our bhakti in the Lord with proper reasoning based on theology, which is expressed through proper doctrine. But when reason becomes rationalism and begins to involve in hair-splitting analysis of that theology by giving various interpretations, the very same language defeats ‘buddhi’. This is my strong conviction: ‘buddhi’ cannot go beyond language to express its reasoning in any human language. Whereas the atman, transcending the limits of any language, can both understand and express its bhakti even beyond language. Any bhakta who experiences this intuitive realization, which we can call experience (accepting the limitation of that term and the experience itself), needs no language.
When ‘buddhi’, using all kinds of reasoning, gets stuck in rationalization, unless we seek the help of the atman, we will get stuck in our own rationalism without knowing the way to come out.
I had this experience several times. After reading some deep theological books—where the play of words and technical terms dominate the discussion at the cost of spiritual intuition—I take the help of the atman to bring back both buddhi and mind to understand the danger of too much intellectualization of bhakti.
When I was contemplating this, I wrote song 972 [BT Song 972].
Gurukulam
7-6-2024
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