In the Samvat year 1876, on the first day of the dark half of the month of Magh in the early morning, Shreeji Maharaj was seated in front of the veranda leading to the upper floor which was the residential place of Dada Khachar in Gadhada. He had put on all white garments. Saints and devotees from various places had gathered before Him in an assembly.
Then Shreeji Maharaj said, “A person with sharp intelligence can realize Brahm. How can a person well versed in worldly matters be said to possess sharp intelligence ? Or can a person who knows the meanings of scriptures and holy books very well be said to possess sharp intelligence?” The saints tried to give an answer but no one could give a
satisfactory reply.
Thereupon Shreeji Maharaj said, “There are some persons who are very worldly wise, and there are some persons well versed in holy scriptures. But they do not do anything for their own good. They cannot be said to be persons of sharp intelligence. They must be said to be persons of dull intelligence. But a person who does something for his final salvation must be called a person of sharp intelligence, though his intelligence may be ordinary. And a person who runs after worldly matters with zeal must be called a person of dull intelligence, though his intelligence may be very sharp. There is
a verse in Bhagavad Geeta :
[When it is night for all the creatures. the self restrained sage keeps awake. And when all the creatures are awake it is night for the sage who perceives everything.] The verse means that so far as worship of God is concerned, darkness of night prevails in the intelligence of all the peoples of this world. They do not worship God. And those who are devotees of God are always alert in the worship of God. They always keep themselves engaged in His worship. The ordinary souls of the world are alert in the enjoyment of the objects of the senses. i.e. sound, touch. sight. taste, and smell. They are always engrossed in such enjoyment. The intelligence of these devotees is as it was in darkness as regards such enjoyment of the objects of the senses. That means they do not enjoy these objects at all. Therefore one who is always alert in achieving his final good is the only one who can be called a person of sharp intelligence. All others are fools.”
