Characteristics of an intelligent man

I was reading a chapter “Science of Self realization” by Srila Prabhupada, founder ISKCON. He narrates an incident: “A small child walking with his father goes on inquiring constantly. He asks his father so many odd things, and the father has to satisfy him with proper answers. When I was a young father in my householder life, I was over flooded with hundreds of questions from my second son, who was my constant companion. One day it so happened that a bridegroom's party was passing our tramcar, and the four-year-old boy, as usual, inquired what the big procession was. He was given all possible answers to his thousand and one questions regarding the marriage party, and finally he asked whether his own father was married! This question gave rise to loud laughter from all the elderly gentlemen present, although the boy was perplexed as to why we were laughing. Anyway, the boy was somehow satisfied by his married father.”

The lesson from this incident is that since a human being is a rational animal (either he is believer of god or atheist), he is born to make inquiries. The greater the number of questions, the greater the advancement of knowledge and science. The whole of material civilization is based on this originally large volume of questions put by young men to their elders. When elderly persons give the proper answers to the questions of the youngsters, civilization makes progress, one step after another. The less intelligent make lesser inquiries, but the questions of those who are more intelligent go higher and still higher. The most intelligent man, however, inquires about what happens after death.