Chinmoy is altogether in different league. I envy his writing skills and erudition. Above all his humility. Many a time he said that he was a Learner.

To sum up he is  Excellence personified.

All are born equal. It is the environment in which one grows which shapes his intellect levels as that determines his/her levels of exposure to the contents of the world outside. The home and school and teachers also play a very important role in one's intelligence level attainment. Exceptions in both directions also occur. An intelligent person usually is well read the converse may not necessarily be true. Experience acts like a chisel sharpening the intellect.

True. The role of parents and teachers is vital. As you said experience acts like a chisel in sharpening the intellect.

vijay wrote:

All are born equal. It is the environment in which one grows which shapes his intellect levels as that determines his/her levels of exposure to the contents of the world outside. The home and school and teachers also play a very important role in one's intelligence level attainment. Exceptions in both directions also occur. An intelligent person usually is well read the converse may not necessarily be true. Experience acts like a chisel sharpening the intellect.

I am tempted to narrate some stories. There is a Sanskrit language story of a boy who learnt astrology. He weant to king's court with his father. The king tried to test his knolwdge. He asked what was in his hand. The boy found out astrologocally that the king had something round shaped with some hole. He quickly told. The king joyously asked- Correct. Now tell what is exactly this. The boy said- ginding machine. He could not even understand that the grinding machine was too big to hide in hands. The king had a ring in his palm. This shows that knowledgeable person may not be intelligent.

another story.  a very learned man crossed a river in a boat. He asked the boatman if he knew Sanskrit. The boatman replied- No.  Then 25% of your life is wasted- said the man.  Nest he asked if he knew mathematics. The boatman did not knbow. He was illiterate. As illuck would have it, a fierce storm and heavy rain disbalanced the boat. The boatman asked- Do you know swimming? No- said the learned man. Boatman said- Your whole life is waste.

Everyone has knowlege. But all knowledge is not useful everywhere. Where swimming is needed, maths, Sanskrit, Vedas are of no use. 

You are intelligent if tyou can use your knowledge correctly. You are intelligent if your knowledge is practical. 

True, but first knowledge has to be gained and that is where individuals differ because all are not in a position to acquire it in same amounts for a variety of reasons.

Gulshan Kumar Ajmani wrote:

vijay wrote:

All are born equal. It is the environment in which one grows which shapes his intellect levels as that determines his/her levels of exposure to the contents of the world outside. The home and school and teachers also play a very important role in one's intelligence level attainment. Exceptions in both directions also occur. An intelligent person usually is well read the converse may not necessarily be true. Experience acts like a chisel sharpening the intellect.

I am tempted to narrate some stories. There is a Sanskrit language story of a boy who learnt astrology. He weant to king's court with his father. The king tried to test his knolwdge. He asked what was in his hand. The boy found out astrologocally that the king had something round shaped with some hole. He quickly told. The king joyously asked- Correct. Now tell what is exactly this. The boy said- ginding machine. He could not even understand that the grinding machine was too big to hide in hands. The king had a ring in his palm. This shows that knowledgeable person may not be intelligent.

another story.  a very learned man crossed a river in a boat. He asked the boatman if he knew Sanskrit. The boatman replied- No.  Then 25% of your life is wasted- said the man.  Nest he asked if he knew mathematics. The boatman did not knbow. He was illiterate. As illuck would have it, a fierce storm and heavy rain disbalanced the boat. The boatman asked- Do you know swimming? No- said the learned man. Boatman said- Your whole life is waste.

Everyone has knowlege. But all knowledge is not useful everywhere. Where swimming is needed, maths, Sanskrit, Vedas are of no use. 

You are intelligent if tyou can use your knowledge correctly. You are intelligent if your knowledge is practical. 

Both the examples say in no uncertain terms that knowledge without application to real life situation is an exercise in futility.

 

I totally agree that environment plays an essential part in shaping ones intelligent.A child born in a middle class home with an average intelligence if given the right exposure would be able to fine tune its intellectual skills , which probably will not be possible if there is no such exposure.

It's an undeniable fact that environment in the society in general and in the family in particular play a vital role in shaping up a child.

Gulshan Kumar Ajmani wrote:

vijay wrote:

All are born equal. It is the environment in which one grows which shapes his intellect levels as that determines his/her levels of exposure to the contents of the world outside. The home and school and teachers also play a very important role in one's intelligence level attainment. Exceptions in both directions also occur. An intelligent person usually is well read the converse may not necessarily be true. Experience acts like a chisel sharpening the intellect.

I am tempted to narrate some stories. There is a Sanskrit language story of a boy who learnt astrology. He weant to king's court with his father. The king tried to test his knolwdge. He asked what was in his hand. The boy found out astrologocally that the king had something round shaped with some hole. He quickly told. The king joyously asked- Correct. Now tell what is exactly this. The boy said- ginding machine. He could not even understand that the grinding machine was too big to hide in hands. The king had a ring in his palm. This shows that knowledgeable person may not be intelligent.

another story.  a very learned man crossed a river in a boat. He asked the boatman if he knew Sanskrit. The boatman replied- No.  Then 25% of your life is wasted- said the man.  Nest he asked if he knew mathematics. The boatman did not knbow. He was illiterate. As illuck would have it, a fierce storm and heavy rain disbalanced the boat. The boatman asked- Do you know swimming? No- said the learned man. Boatman said- Your whole life is waste.

Everyone has knowlege. But all knowledge is not useful everywhere. Where swimming is needed, maths, Sanskrit, Vedas are of no use. 

You are intelligent if tyou can use your knowledge correctly. You are intelligent if your knowledge is practical. 

 

All of us people are a sum total of our experiences and knowledge gained through books , education and life. And we all have beliefs and prejudices and an intelligent mind would analyse before believing in anything, also evaluate and use knowledge to their advantage. It is also true that you are constantly learning and changing ideas , unless one is extremely rigid ! An intelligent person is not wary of being exposed to new ideas and gaining new knowledge irrespective of it being bad or good because he or she is able to discern the useful from the dross !