THE HEART DOCTRINE: INTELLECT versus INTUITION by Stefan Carey

As I see it, the subject of the Heart Doctrine focuses our attention on the conflict between the intellect and the intuition. In some ways the topic is about how we can come to terms with our own inner searchings in a world of apparent chaos and perhaps combine these two aspects of ourselves, the mind and the heart, in our search for inner understanding. Carlos Castanada says when talking of the life choices we have to make, to choose a path with a heart, his simple statement says more than many books. Choose a path with a heart.  

How do we find the path with the heart? By tuning into our finer uplifting side of ourselves, by allowing ourselves to be the best we can be. Listening to our inner monitor is the first step. The doing is probably even harder. The mystery behind many ancient ideas is a potent force, but this is hard to sense when the words get in the way. This is where the intuition can be so useful: it can get past all the cogs and wheels of the mind and target the nucleus of the ideas immediately - to revive the inspiration if you like. 

Intuition as commonly understood represents the whispering from within, that for example on the most basic level; one should watch one’s back when walking down a dark road, or that the petrol is empty or some other warning; a danger signal from within. I suppose that this is intuition in its basic form; an agent looking out for us on our behalf. But it extends much further than this. Going a level further, intuition is also a channel to our better self, our universal self. This is the major difference between the intellect and the intuition or the heart. The mind is always on the lookout for itself, grasping and limited to the perception of the senses, often unable to go any further in understanding than satisfying our own needs and desires. We seem to have forgotten that the mind is a powerful tool only and not the driver. I wonder if this misunderstanding prompted the phrase often quoted in theosophical discussions: “mind born illusion”, as it describes the individual caught up in the senses and the mind as the only way of seeing. 

To see with vision is to use intuition. As the Buddhist sacred book, the Dhammapada, suggests in its introduction, there are men who have no vision, and yet speak many words. Intuition is also described as the whisperings of the cosmic spirit, from a source higher than that of the conscience. Remember not to confuse intuition and conscience! The conscience is our own personal store of wisdom, built from our experience, lifetime after lifetime. Intuition on the other hand comes from a limitless spiritual source; it’s like tapping into a power generator instead of the power point at home! This generator is powered by universal consciousness, not coal! My main point is to get us to see the value of heart doctrine and this I think is achieved by intuitive thinking. No one can genuinely offer quick fixed here: all I can suggest is that the intuition is an undervalued resource, and is in fact a means to what many might call inner understanding, albeit a slow means.As always, there are no fast track solutions that don’t involve effort on the seeker’s path, and the development of the intuition or unfoldment as it better describes the process, is no exception. 

This all raises a question; does intuition offer any benefits to our modern style of being, which is undeniably self centred and egotistical? Personally I find the intellectual side of my nature to be reliable enough to get me through the day – most of the time. I must admit that I am too fearful and too unsure of the consequences, to let myself be driven by the intuition alone. Most of us agree with this. Many see the intuition as illogical, emotional and unreliable. Risky thinking at best. Although, the real situation, I feel, is this, it takes real courage to take a risk, to take a chance on the promptings from within and begin to trust this inner mentor of ours. 

Some will argue that the intellect serves us well, why change things? But then if I look at the world around me I am not so sure. Do the intellect and the brain intellect, brilliant as they are, serve us so well as a species, or is our sense of fair play increasingly squashed under the heel of cool level-headed rationalism? Have our lives become a form of trivial pursuit with no real understanding? Are we information junkies with no depth? The best way to test this is to look at how we treat the planet and each other.As far as the planet goes, it really seems that the intellect has let us down badly here. We waver on the edge of an environmental nightmare, the sea and the skies are in a poor shape, we really are starting to get the kind of planet we deserve! The intellect has no conscience, little time for the broader implications of action and no inclination to see things holistically. Yet when you look at the structure of the brain, surprisingly each part of the brain cannot work without the other parts. It functions on the basis of wholeness but inculcates the ideology of separateness. Strange idea, crazy thought! 

Look where the ‘eye doctrine’ or intellectualism has brought us: anything we do to the Earth, can be rationalised comfortably and neatly, satisfactorily and empirically. For example, the current (2008) controversy over the slaughter of whales in the Antarctic oceans in the name of scientific research. The only ‘research’ this involves is the research on the palate of the connoisseur! We feel that we are competent masters of the world. We feel that we have nature firmly in our grip. Our technology often appears to demonstrate this. But as temporary guardians of the Earth – ‘empire ‘Terra’ - we are rather lax, and it might more truely be said we are “in Erra”! Because our technology has become so advanced with the intellect in control and not so much ethics we have weapons such as chemical weapons; the impact is now far greater when things go wrong. This I guess is not a big surprise. The materialistic outlook, i.e. the separateness of the individual, and, for example the lack of trust of any thing not scientifically provable has been a major cause. 

What has created this scenario, is a complete lack of understanding. We think and act in isolation, in the dark; we do not see with light if you will, or the spiritual intelligence of the heart, just the mind. Logic does not allow for compassion or empathy in the management of our affairs. Business is business as we say. We must begin to understand there is possibly no separateness between matter and spirit or God or whatever. 

If we look even closer matter is condensed energy. The illusory aspect of nature as the mind sees it is sometimes explained by the materialists themselves. The world according to the brain is not all it seems when you consider that there is more space between atoms than there are atoms, the solar system illustrates the relative dimensions of this fact. Even some of the world’s religions have adopted the concept of the separateness of matter and spirit: they extend this notion to discover where God actually resides. In some cases they appear to tell us that God sits off afar on a great throne and moulds matter in the image of His likeness, to create and destroy. Make sense? Of course not! The energy that drives the universe works through matter not from afar but from within. 

To be wise we might try to understand what we are made of, what energies and attributes the human constitution is made of, and then try to balance the lot. For example if you drive a car with the handbrake on, you don’t go so fast and the car wears out. The car has expended enormous energy because we are ignorant of how to operate it correctly. Ignoring the intuition is like living with the handbrake on: we waste energy and get nowhere. The heart doctrine is a fuller understanding or a willingness perhaps to soften up a little without becoming an imbecile and rely on the more intuitive part of us, the kinder part of us. Because when it all comes down to dust, all that matters is how we treat others; very simple yet, boy do we have a lot of trouble with that! 

The heart doctrine is all about ethics and morality. Can we rely on each other or trust each other any more? Look at what happens on the roads each day. “By their fruits ye shall know them”, not a bad indicator I think. We fail that test of the heart, of ethics. Our supposed business and political leaders also seem to have let us down in so far as providing an example. But can we send men to the moon, or deliver missiles with pinpoint accuracy? Yes, we pass this test with flying colours! It seems that the doctrine of the eye or the perception of the world with the brain and the intellect is the creator of many of our problems as well as the saviour in many instances. Perhaps in addition to logic we are so fond of, intuition offers a broader perspective of the way we need to act. 

This ‘enhanced’ mode may well be the only way out of many of our problems. Yes, it will be technology working with the more sympathetic side of us that will help us from the morass. For example, current efforts to produce alternative fuelled cars such as Hybrid, hydrogen, or even compressed-air driven cars! However, I am sure that what will gently and surely occur, is a movement away and perhaps a drift towards a forced recognition of the inner dimensions, which will slowly have its impact on the outer.  What we will discover is that the intuitive side of our nature is also the source of the understandings that will allow us to become more responsible in the management of the planet and of ourselves in the world. We will appreciate the lifestyles of some of the simpler people of the world, who seem to have the answers when it comes to enjoying life and by keeping things in perspective and avoid all our modern urban diseases; e.g. drug abuse, depression, stress, etc. Our heartless behaviour will slowly turn to a recognition that each person however strong or humble cannot walk the earth and not consider anything or anybody else. This does not mean that we become witless and soft-hearted fools. No, it means to open up an eye which we have covered well with our greed and our fear, and to use all our faculties. 

Let’s look at a couple of quotes from the theosophical literature: “The brain mind is a good instrument when trained and guided, but is a tyrant when left to its own devices and impulses, for it is always selfish.”

“Strive always to find the ethical values of truth – I mean the moral value of the intellectual teaching. Get that inner consciousness that a thing is right, as well as the intellectual sense that it is right. A person may have an intellectual perception of a truth but be cold hearted, with no urge to help others, no urge to pass on the light to other”. 

Interesting comments on the moral value of the intellectual teaching. The doctrine of the heart appeals to the person who decides the universe tends towards the side of fair play and justice for every speck of consciousness. If we have to, the hierarchs of the universe could be said to be wearing white hats! To be successful in this life we are expected to follow the well worn path of financial acquisition, at the expense of our competitor and the other few billion people who share the globe. Just look at the aggressive capacities of some of the world leaders and their use of them in overpowering other smaller nations. This is an extension of the success ideology inflicted on a planet. 

Only an unbridled consciousness, that allows the light from within to shine through, without the intellect having the full control, will advance along the path to spiritual fulfilment. Thus the materialistic outlook does not allow the presence of the inner divinity and the value of the intuition or the higher reason to go unchallenged and in most cases doesn’t allow these qualities to any ‘air time’. A part of this process is to tap into the intuition and to read the intellect not as the final arbiter of reality and behaviour, but as an obedient servant to the spirit.  As has been said, we are all unexpressed buddhas, each and every one of us  here now. Our potential for buddhahood; waits patiently for us to awake! Learning to trust our inner hunches, and slowly to become more aware of our inner resources so we may be better people for it. Isn’t that what it is all about? This is the ‘heart doctrine’ applied to the torrid exam room of daily living.  

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