Purpose of Intellect

All living beings are aware of their surroundings; and, therefore, intellect must be surmised in all of them.  At the same time, there is a difference between the intellect of man and that of other animals because man not only sees the world as it is and acts accordingly, but also seeks fulfillment of desires.  He extends his vision far and wide, and yet he turns away dissatisfied.  He then begins to think and reason out.  The desire for permanency of happiness and for peace bespeaks such permanency of his own nature.  Therefore, he seeks to find and regain his own nature, i.e., his Self.  That found, all is found.  Such inward seeking is the path to be gained by man's intellect.  The intellect itself realizes after continuous practice that it is enabled by some Higher Power to function.  It cannot itself reach that Power.  So it ceases to function after a certain stage.  When it thus ceases to function, the Supreme Power is still left there all alone.  That is Realization; that is the finality; and that is the goal.  It is thus plain that the purpose of the intellect is to realize its own dependence on the Higher Power and its inability to reach the same.