1
Alertness
The first sign of intelligence is being alert. You can’t say that I am intelligent but I am a little sleepy. Intelligence means alertness. When you are alert your perception and observation improves, and this helps your expression become perfect.
Many times people say, “Oh, nobody understands me.”
Instead they should say, “I haven’t been able to express myself.”
If you have the skill to express, then there can be no misunderstandings. Perception, observation and expression – all these come from being alert.
Now if you keep yourself very alert for long periods of time, what happens? You get tired and feel exhausted. So, it’s not in the nature of our brain to be alert all the time. We need is relaxation. And the type of relaxation we know is taking a pillow and going to sleep. That's it. Sleep is necessary, but there is another type of relaxation where you are alert and at the same time relaxed, and that is meditation.
2
Ability to Resolve Conflict
The other sign of intelligence is the ability to resolve conflict! Fools create conflicts. An intelligent person knows how to resolve conflicts in oneself and in his surroundings. If someone is creative but creates a lot of conflicts, you say, “Oh my god, that's not an intelligent thing to do”, isn't it so?
If you put an intelligent person between a conflict, will there be more conflict or will he reduce it? He will reduce or resolve it! The tendency to bring harmony is a sign of intelligence. The ability to find a solution is a sign of intelligence.
3
Humor
The next sign of intelligence is humor.
There is a story I would like to tell you. Swami Vivekananda went to a restaurant and went and sat on the same table as his professor. The professor told Swami Vivekananda, “A pig and a bird can't sit on the same table and eat.”
Do you know what Swami Vivekananda said? He said, “Sir, whenever you tell me, I will fly away.”
Intelligence has the ability to turn every conflict into humor. Humor is another sign of intelligence. If you have humor, you will overcome any conflicting situation.
4
Stress Management
Another sign of intelligence is not getting stressed, and if you get stressed, to know how to get over stress. Intelligence is to know: how much to use our mind and our body, and not overusing it. If we overuse our mind and our body, we get drained, exhausted and tired. Intelligence is walking the fine line of the middle path.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji
