QuoteProject
The intellect is a beautiful servant but a terrible master. Intellect is the power tool of our separateness. The intuitive, compassionate heart is the doorway to our unity.
Ram Dass
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Intellect can be useful but should not dominate our decisions; true unity comes from compassion and intuition.

This quote by Ram Dass emphasizes the dual nature of intellect as both a valuable tool and a potential source of separation among people. While our intellectual capabilities can enhance our understanding and serve our needs, they can also lead to an ego-driven mindset that fosters division. In contrast, cultivating an intuitive and compassionate heart enables a deeper connection to others and promotes unity, suggesting that genuine understanding transcends mere intellectual reasoning.

Themes

IntellectUnityCompassionIntuitionEgoSeparateness

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about teamwork, you might use this quote to emphasize the importance of compassion over intellect.

More from Ram Dass

Maharajji told me, 'Give up anger and I'll help you.' I found _x000D_ that love freed me back into the ocean of love and my righteous anger didn't do that. And I would rather be free than right.
Ram DassRead
The gift you offer another person is just your being.
Ram DassRead
Let the natural flow of the universe, course through your being, and harmonize your soul.
Ram DassRead
You can be still and still moving. Content even in your discontent.
Ram DassRead
The heart surrenders everything to the moment. The mind judges and holds back. _x000D_ _x000D_ In most of our human relationships, we spend much of our time reassuring one another that our costumes of identity are on straight. _x000D_ _x000D_ When we see the Beloved in each person, it's like walking through a garden, watching flowers bloom all around us.
Ram DassRead
When I look at relationships, my own and others, I see a wide range of reasons for people to be together and ways in which they are together. I see ways in which a relationship - which means something that exists between two or more people - for the most part reinforces people's separateness as individual entities.
Ram DassRead

Similar quotes

Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
Fools admire everything in an author of reputation.
VoltaireRead
It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we mistake panic for inspiration.
Oswald ChambersRead
There exists a world. In terms of probability this borders on the impossible. It would have been far more likely if, by chance, there was nothing at all. Then, at least, no one would have began asking why there was nothing.
Jostein GaarderRead
Peace is not only better than war, but infinitely more arduous.
George Bernard ShawRead
A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes anothers.
Jean PaulRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.