Prakṛti . . . by nature's law, he is working. Why not everybody scientist? Why not everybody? If it is accidental and it is automatic, why there are so many differences? Here is a scientist; here is a fool. Why? Why this distinction? The distinction is made by prakṛti, by nature. And what is this prakṛti? That prakṛti is, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). Oh. Kṛṣṇa says, "Under My direction this prakṛti is working." The prakṛti, nature, is the agent. The real worker is Kṛṣṇa. We are simply instrument. That is our position. If you have got intelligence, then you have to understand that you are simply an instrument. Just like my hand. What is this hand? This is an instrument. I can pick up. So I am working, not this hand is working. I am working.
So people do not understand it. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. By false ego he is thinking, "Oh, I am scientist," "Oh, I am philosopher," "I am Rockefeller," "I am businessman," "I am svāmī," "I am this." Sometimes we think, "I am poor. I am this. I am that." No. You are simply instrument in the hands of Kṛṣṇa. That is intelligence. Therefore you should work as Kṛṣṇa desires. That is real intelligence. If you work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is real intelligence. And if we work against Kṛṣṇa, that is foolishness.
That is the distinction between intelligence and foolishness. Jñānam. Jñāna means knowledge. Now, so far knowledge is concerned, here is a key packet. If you want to make research who has made this packet, who has discovered it, in which country first it was introduced, in what material it is made, oh, you can write volumes of books. You can speculate in any damn thing, and you can write volumes of books. That does not mean that you are a man of knowledge. There are so many.
I'll give you one very nice example. This is practical. In my youthhood I was manager in a big chemical firm. So there was a sulfuric acid chamber. There was some defect. It was not working well. In that chamber sulfur is given, and it is fused, and then acid comes out. So it was not working. So there were many scientists. They were sitting, consulting books: "Oh, why it is not working?"
Then the managing director, Dr. Bose—he was very intelligent man—he at once went to another firm. They were also chemical. He knew there was an ordinary worker, he was very experienced. So . . . he was Muhammadan. He called him at once, "Just come and see, what is defect there." And he at once came and manipulated some machine—at once acid transformed. All the theoretical scientists, they sat down. So this kind of experience you will find even in an ordinary man.
And even in bird you'll find. They have got some sort of specific intelligence or knowledge. That is not knowledge. You'll find even in animals there are some wonderful activities which we cannot perform. That is not knowledge. Knowledge means, to understand spirit and matter. That is knowledge—what is spirit, what is matter. Just like, after intellectual research you find that there is something within this body which is working, without which this body is useless. Then, when you come to knowledge that this is this and this is that, when you understand that this is spirit and this is matter . . . matter is working due to the touch of the spirit.
Just like I have already explained that this, I mean to say, tape recorder, this microphone, is working because a boy who is spirit soul, he has touched it. Without touching. So therefore we must distinguish, that what is matter and spirit. Matter cannot work without touch of spirit. Matter is dependent on spirit. This is knowledge. Not that matter is prominent and spirit is neglected. That is foolishness.