Without any hesitation Andy responded, "The way I see it Peter, wisdom is an inborn spiritual knowledge that lies deep within the soul of all human beings. On the other hand, intellect is just our capacity for learned and memorized knowledge. One could say the ego and our intellect are functions of our personal mind, while wisdom is a function of the spirit."
Janet asked Andy if he would elaborate on the difference between the two.
The gardener considered for a few seconds, scratched his head, then said, "Being therapists, you could say that wisdom lies deep within your psyche and that such knowledge is revealed from the inside out. Wisdom is an innate God-given intelligence, before the contamination of any personal thoughts. Intellectual knowledge, on the other hand, comes in from the outside world— the outside world being nature and everything you survey."
"You've lost me somewhere," Peter declared. "What do you mean by wisdom comes from the inside out and intellect is acquired from the outside in?"
Andy replied, "I have already explained to you that wisdom lies in the soul of all human beings. This is why I say to you, wisdom is revealed from the inside out."
For the longest time, no one said a word as we all tried to understand Andy's unique philosophy.
Something Andy said had intrigued me, so I asked him to explain what he meant by "before any personal thoughts."
Andy contemplated for a little while, then replied. "This physical life, all matter and all that we can survey, is what I am calling after form. That includes all personally formed thoughts, or, if you wish, your intellect."
I asked Andy what he meant by the term ''contamination of personal thought."
Once more Andy sat quietly for a few moments as he carefully considered his answer. Then he said, "Before personal thoughts lie the virgin spiritual thoughts sometimes known as wisdom. Or similarly, before personal bias can affect thinking, there is original thought."
Andy waited to see if anyone was going to challenge him, but no one did. He continued, "The fortunate ones of this world have found a balance between their inner wisdom and their personal intellect."
We must have looked baffled. Smiling, Andy explained, "This is why we can have The Nutty Professor or the wise teacher. One has wisdom accompanying his intelligence and the other hasn't. When wisdom is lacking, our intelligence can, ironically, be our own downfall."
"What do you mean by that statement?" Peter inquired. "Can you give us an example?"
Andy stood up. "Take Hitler, for example," he said. "The way he manipulated the whole German nation and many others to get his own way was definitely shrewd and intellectually cunning, but he was completely out of touch with his own inner wisdom and was quite mad, making him a very dangerous person."
"There's no argument there," Janet replied. "But how do you suggest we find this inner wisdom?"
"My dear young lady, there are many ways to find such knowledge, which is why we all must exercise our own judgment and follow our own hearts when seeking such answers. But I guarantee you one thing: Regardless of how you may search for it, such a treasure will always be found from within the depths of your own consciousness."
"I'm with Janet," Peter remarked. "I'd like to know how you find such knowledge. To date, I think I've read over a thousand books and I still haven't found what I'm looking for."
In the most compassionate voice, but with a twinkle in his eye, Andy pointed to a butterfly on a nearby bush and said, "I am told one of the main criteria to find such knowledge is to:
Let your mind be still, for the wisdom you seek is like that butterfly over yonder. If you try to catch it with your intellect, it will simply fly away. On the other hand, if you can still your mind, someday, when you least expect it, it will land in the palm of your hand."
Although he appeared deep in thought, a responsive smile lit Peter's face as he considered Andy's answer.
After a lengthy silence, I told Andy that some of the teachers I'd met in India had used words very similar to his. "The only difference was, I never heard them discuss the subjects of Thought or Consciousness," I said. "Many of them, however, talked about little mind and Big Mind, but nobody ever really explained their connection to each other."
"Perhaps they would have, if they had known you and your friend were training to be therapists," Andy chuckled. "Then again, maybe they did offer the explanations, and you just weren't ready at that time to appreciate what they were trying to bestow upon you."
"Possibly," I replied. "Although, I remember there was one particular mystic I met in Nepal who was a very unusual character. He was a little, skinny guy with shiny, coal-black hair that hung all the way down to his waist. I remember he had an extraordinarily serene face and his deep brown eyes were so gentle looking; there was something about him that made you think, 'this man knows what he's talking about.'"
"What was so different about him?" Peter asked.
"It's really difficult to explain," I said. "I just remember that he talked in quite a different manner from all the others I'd encountered on my travels."
"But how was he different? Can't you explain what you just said in a little more detail?" Peter queried.
"Well, although this individual spoke in a highly mystical manner, he always answered questions in a non-prohibitive way. He was always non-judgmental. But to be truthful, I don't really remember too much of what he actually said; it was more of a feeling that emanated from him than any intellectual understanding. One thing I do remember is that he talked about our time in the world being a divine mystical journey, and throughout my travels he was the only one I ever heard speak in such a fashion."
Andy and my three colleagues sat quietly listening to my story. When I finished, Janet wanted to know what else was different about what this particular Nepalese mystic had to say.
"I tell you, Janet, he really confused my friend and me when he talked about the world being connected to the great nothingness."
Peter looked quizzical. "What did he mean by 'the great nothingness'? How can there possibly be a great nothingness?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," I answered. "As I said before, I understood very little of what the man said. However, he did say that if we could understand the riddle of the great nothingness and the allness being the same, we would find our answer."
The three other therapists sat speechless, then burst into laughter at such a conundrum, wondering what the mystic could possibly have meant by such a paradoxical statement. Then, with measured sarcasm, Tom asked Andy what he thought about the mystic's views on nothingness.
"Nothing," Andy replied playfully. Then, with a more serious face, he said, "It seems to me that when Eric was in the Far East, he may have had the good fortune to stumble upon someone who knew what he was talking about."
With a look of disbelief, Janet asked Andy, "Are you trying to tell us that you have some idea what the mystic meant when he talked about the great nothingness and the allness being the same?"
Andy shrugged his shoulders and, in the most casual way, replied, "The way I see it, Luv, the great nothingness is the spiritual reality before form; the allness is spiritual reality and physical reality as a whole, which includes the form and formless. Such a concept can most definitely only be found within the depths of your own soul. After all, how can anyone tell you about nothingness? That would be the equivalent of trying to eat the hole in the center of a doughnut."