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Video Information: 28.05.2022, All India Radio, Greater Noida
Context:
~ Which genre of music ought should we listen to?
~ What ought to be the meaning of life?
~ Which musical selection is healthy for us?
~ How may songs impart wisdom?
~ Why is music significant?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Be a part of the Live Sessions: https://acharyaprashant.org/hi/enquir...
Want to read Acharya Prashant's Books?
Get Free Delivery: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/books?...
Read 3 handpicked wisdom articles, just for you: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/articl...
~~~~~
Video Information: 28.05.2022, All India Radio, Greater Noida
Context:
~ Which genre of music ought should we listen to?
~ What ought to be the meaning of life?
~ Which musical selection is healthy for us?
~ How may songs impart wisdom?
~ Why is music significant?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00A very good morning to all our listeners tuned in and a warm welcome to the Brunch Time Show
00:13this Saturday morning with your friend Kiran.
00:15And this morning we have a very very enlightened guest with us who is going to be sharing his
00:21views and thoughts.
00:22It will be a pleasure listening to him.
00:25He is Acharya Prashant who is an IIT and IIM alumnus, an ICSC topper and an NTSE scholar.
00:34An ex-civil servant, he served in prominent organizations like GE Capital, ECS and Bennett
00:39Coleman and Company before starting the Prashant Advait Foundation.
00:43Author of over 80 books on important subjects like joy, love, marriage to commentaries on
00:49the scriptures including his national bestseller Karma.
00:53He shares his teachings via social media, online discourses and lectures and debates,
00:58monthly Vedanta Mahotsavs and one-on-one counseling on various platforms worldwide.
01:03With over 10,000 videos and articles available in Hindi and English, his body of work is
01:08the largest repository of spiritual wisdom available on the internet.
01:13More than 5 million minutes are watched daily with lifetime views of more than 1 billion.
01:19He is also a regular speaker at IITs, IIMs and other prestigious institutions and we
01:24are indeed honored to have him with us over the airwaves this Saturday morning.
01:30Welcome to our show Acharyaji.
01:34Thank you for the introduction.
01:35I'm glad to be here.
01:37It's really an honor and a pleasure to have you on air and we're going to make the best
01:41of it by asking you that in this day and age when stress levels are building up, worldwide
01:47tension is building up, escalating on every platform be it economic, financial, military,
01:54domestic, business, what is the importance of Vedanta and its teachings that can help
02:00us steer through such crisis?
02:03Vedanta is a very empowering philosophy.
02:09It focuses on the self as both the projector which you could say is the creator and the
02:19experiencer of the problem.
02:22So when it comes to stresses of all kinds and all the problems in the various domains
02:27that you just listed, the first thing it talks of is responsibility that those problems have
02:35not been sent to us just coincidentally or through some divine plan.
02:44Those problems are all self-made, man-made.
02:48That is the first thing, owning up responsibility.
02:50When you own up responsibility, then you also own up the power to come to a solution.
02:58So that is the second part.
03:00It empowers you as the experiencer of the problem to not let the problem be too much
03:07for you.
03:09Because the more a problem unsettles you, unnerves you, the more you lose your capacity
03:17to actually solve the problem.
03:18That happens to all of us, we are weak humans.
03:23Definitely.
03:24So first thing, you own up the responsibility that the problem, if it is there, surely there
03:30is a certain contribution and consent from my side.
03:35Secondly, I am the experiencer of the problem.
03:38The problem is not just something objective.
03:42Because I am experiencing it, therefore, if I can do something with the experiencer who
03:47I am, then the experience of the problem and the stress it gives me, the suffering
03:53it gives me, that can change.
03:56So in today's times, Vedanta is indeed a philosophy that comes with no baggage of beliefs
04:03or superstitions.
04:04It is a deep and honest inquiry into whatever is going on and how it can be tackled.
04:13So more than just the happenings outside of us, Vedanta looks at what is happening
04:22inside of us.
04:24It says if outside of yourself you see a problem, it is fundamentally because within yourself
04:30there is a problem.
04:31You are the projector and the creator of the problem.
04:34So don't focus just on the global problems and what is happening in your house and in
04:39your neighborhood and everywhere else.
04:41Focus on the mind because it is from the mind that all problems and their solutions
04:46also emerge.
04:47Okay.
04:48Okay.
04:49But see, problem management, crisis management is being taught at the highest level to executives
04:56in corporates and it's even a part of the curriculum in management institutes.
05:02And you yourself have studied management from a very, very prestigious institute.
05:06Do you feel that if these teachings were not, you know, taught to you later, you would
05:13not have been such a great person at crisis management than you are now after having read
05:18the Vedantas?
05:19Vedanta definitely goes way beyond whatsoever is taught at management institutes or in leadership
05:31development courses.
05:33It is not just about problem management, Vedanta diagnoses problems to their very root.
05:42Where exactly is the problem coming from?
05:44Because you see, with all due respect to problem management and such things, what happens is
05:50that we just end up firefighting and transforming one problem into another or suspending a problem
06:01to the future.
06:04And that does not help.
06:05In fact, that is the reason, that approach is the reason why we have come to a point
06:09in history where we are unfortunately very, very close to many kinds of ultimate disasters.
06:18Be it the nuclear stockpiles we are carrying, be it the threat of climate change, be it
06:23the horrible specter of extension of species and biodiversity loss.
06:29These were not things that we saw at any other point in human history.
06:35Forget about human history, even long before humans came, no such thing was ever seen.
06:42For example, the carbon concentration in the atmosphere today is higher than what it has
06:50been in the last 2 million years.
06:54And the results of that we are all experiencing.
06:57We know of the heat waves, we know of the consequent suffering and these are things
07:02that are all coming because of incorrect diagnosis of the problem and a total ignorance about
07:10the experiencer of the problem.
07:13If we do not go into who we are, if we do not realize that all problems come fundamentally
07:19from the mind of the human being, then we will be barking up the wrong tree.
07:24We will be looking at problems as situated somewhere outside of us and we will be fighting
07:31shadows.
07:32We won't know where the real thing is and so the real thing will keep lurking in the
07:37dark and will retain its strength and will only get stronger each passing day and ultimately
07:46will completely eat us up.
07:48Brilliant!
07:49Actually, you remind me of the famous lines by Dale Carnegie that the best way to end
07:53an argument is to say that, all right, I was wrong and I'm sorry, even if you weren't
07:57wrong.
07:58You know, I mean, it calls for a lot of moral courage to take it upon yourself.
08:02Yes.
08:03And it's about actually seeing that I am responsible and I am responsible, let's please see, is
08:12not just an admission of guilt.
08:14Guilt, etc. have not much place in Vedanta.
08:18It's a very bold philosophy.
08:21It's about empowerment.
08:23The moment I see, I did it.
08:26I could also say I can undo it.
08:30Yeah.
08:31Great.
08:32Great.
08:33That's really empowering.
08:34Now, at this point, I'd like to play a song of your choice.
08:37Which one will you play?
08:41It's a Hindi song, one of my favorites, Raat Aur Din Diya Jale from the movie Raat Aur Din
08:48Diya Jale and sung by Mukeshji in his melodious voice.
08:53Thank you for playing it.
08:54Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
08:55Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
08:56Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
08:57Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
08:58Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
08:59Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:00Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:01Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:03Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:04Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:05Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:06Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:07Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:08Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:09Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:10Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:11Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:12Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:13Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:14Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:15Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:16Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:17Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:18Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:19Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:20Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:21Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:22Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:23Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:24Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:25Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:26Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:27Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:28Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:29Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:31Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:32Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:33Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:34Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:35Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:36Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:37Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:38Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:39Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:40Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:41Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:42Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:43Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:44Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:45Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:46Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:47Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:48Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
09:49Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
10:00Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
10:11Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
10:21Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
10:31Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
10:41Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
10:51Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
11:01Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
11:11Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
11:21Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
11:31Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
11:41Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
11:51Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
12:01Raat Aur Din Diya Jale Mere Mann Mein Phir Bhi Andhiya Rahe
12:11Indeed, very profound lyrics. Sometimes we feel that there's so much of darkness inside us and we put up a brave front.
12:19But now, Acharyaji, I would like to ask you a question.
12:21That very often we are asked that how many scriptures have you read?
12:27And when it comes to the Hindu scriptures, we are quite frightened by their enormous size and the depth of it and also our lack of the knowledge of Sanskrit.
12:37And then there are people from many different faiths who have, you know, taken the plunge and read these scriptures.
12:44Now, if somebody wants to, you know, read them, which is the simplest way to understand the basics of these beautiful scriptures and especially the Vedants?
12:54The core of all Indian philosophy is actually Vedanta.
13:01Though we have the six darshans, yet Vedanta is indisputably the crown jewel of Indian philosophy.
13:11So it is Vedanta that one has to start with.
13:14And in Vedanta, obviously, the Bhagavad Gita is quite popular.
13:20And if you want to go to the Upanishads, then the Ishavasya Upanishad is there, Katha Upanishad, Kena Upanishad, Niralambha Upanishad is my favorite, Mundaka Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad.
13:34And these are not colossally voluminous documents.
13:40The Upanishads actually are very precise.
13:43So one need not be frightened.
13:46But where can one access them? Where can they be easily accessed?
13:49Oh, they are very accessible. They are very accessible.
13:52They are on the internet and there are so many commentaries available.
13:57And since you're talking to me, our foundation has published several of my works on Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita.
14:09So you could access them or even otherwise starting from Acharya Shankar till current times.
14:18There is no dearth of commentaries on Upanishads.
14:23So they are actually very accessible.
14:25It's just that they need to be publicized because they are not publicized.
14:30So it appears as if they are inaccessible.
14:34They are not.
14:35If you just do a Google search, you will find the relevant links.
14:38Okay. Now when we talk about relevancy and accuracy of Upanishads and Vedanta in our times,
14:44you think that these contain philosophy and teachings for people of all faith?
14:49Are they, you know, pan-global and they can reach out to everyone or are they only confined to Hinduism?
14:56Oh, definitely.
14:58They are very, very open, broad, inclusive and liberal in their message.
15:07They do not preclude any ideology, any faith, any religious persuasion.
15:13They do not require that you believe in any kind of dogma to enter them.
15:22You could come from any side of the religious or ideological divide and yet the Upanishads are for you.
15:31So it's a great thing for Hinduism that the Upanishads are very much a part of the Vedic literature.
15:43But in spite of being a part of the Vedic literature, the Upanishads are not a belief system.
15:48They do not ask you to believe in the Hindu sects or Hindu fold or the Hindu gods and goddesses.
15:58You could approach them with a spirit of just pure inquiry.
16:03You want to go into them because you want to know yourself.
16:08And that's the reason why Swami Vivekananda called Vedanta as the religion of the future,
16:15the global religion of the future.
16:17Can you cite instances where Upanishads and Vedants have found readers abroad
16:24and they have found propagators abroad belonging to other faiths apart from Hinduism?
16:28Oh, definitely, definitely.
16:30In fact, when it comes to the part of the Indian philosophy that is most popular abroad,
16:39it is definitely Vedanta.
16:42You take thinkers and philosophers like let's say Schopenhauer
16:51and they actually lived and died by the Upanishads.
16:58Schopenhauer went so far as to say that the Upanishads have given me peace in my life
17:07and they will also be the solace of my death.
17:11And when you go to scientists, you think of Max Planck,
17:18you think even of somebody like Albert Einstein
17:23and they all have very gladly stated that they were inspired by the Upanishads.
17:30When you go to poets and writers, you think of somebody like B.B. Shelley,
17:37you think of the modern spiritual writing, let's say Richard Bach.
17:48I'm sure Jonathan Livingstone's Seagull is a cult classic that our listeners would have enjoyed
18:00and it's coming purely from Vedanta.
18:03Similarly, if you look at Herman Hesse and his works like Narcissus and Goldman or Siddhartha
18:12and a Hindi movie was indeed made on Siddhartha.
18:18So these are all inspired by Vedanta.
18:21In fact, that's the thing about Vedanta. Vedanta has benefited the entire world.
18:27Even if you look at the streams of Indic religions that emanated from the Hindu mainstream,
18:41Jainism and Buddhism before Christ and Sikhism and several others more recently,
18:50they all drew their inspiration in some way or the other from Vedanta
18:55because Vedanta is the purest part in all Hindu literature
19:01and the entire world has been glad to draw from there.
19:07And that's the reason I sometimes say it is indeed fortunate that the entire world knows the importance of Vedanta
19:16and rather it's the Indians who have ignored it and are instead vulnerable to playing host to all kinds of superstitions
19:30and empty-ended rituals and life coaches, life gurus and hollow beliefs that are of no use in the contemporary world.
19:42Great. Now I have a very interesting question lined up for you,
19:47but that will be after I bring on a song of your choice. Which one will it be now?
19:52The song is Akhiyon Ke Jharukhe Se by Hem Lata ji.
20:02Actually, the last song that was played and even this one, I'll just take a few seconds to elaborate on it.
20:10Because Vedanta is all about the self, therefore even these songs that I am playing are in some way a cry of the self.
20:20So in this particular song, the female voice that we have, Hem Lata ji's voice, you could say is the voice of the self,
20:28the ego in love and the one being addressed is the truth.
20:33The truth you could call as the peace or the point the ego aspires to reach.
20:38So it's not a female person singing to a male person.
20:44It is female ego, you could call her prakriti, singing out to the male consciousness.
20:52You could call it the truth or the pure purush.
20:56So if you hear it in that line, it becomes a little more interesting.
21:00Okay, here it is.
21:14Kaliya yeh sada pyaar ji, muskaate rehengi.
21:40Kamoshiya tujh se mere apdhane kahengi.
21:52Kaliya yeh sada pyaar ji, muskaate rehengi.
22:16Kamoshiya tujh se mere apdhane kahengi.
22:28Jeelungi naya jeevan, teri yaadon mein baith ke.
22:42Jeelungi naya jeevan, teri yaadon mein baith ke.
22:58Akhiyon ke jarokon se, maine dekha jo saav reh.
23:26Tandoor nagar aaye, badi door nagar aaye.
23:34Bandh karke jarokon, zara baithi jo soch le.
23:52Manne mein tumhi muskaaye.
24:02Now Acharya ji, I said that I had a very interesting question lined up for you.
24:06And here it is.
24:08When I was a young girl, I was reading an article somewhere and it said that when Newton stated the third law of motion,
24:16to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
24:19Little did he realize that he was stating the law of karma.
24:22Because that is exactly what the law of karma, or as we say karma, the law of karma states.
24:27That jaisa karoge, vaisa phal paoge.
24:30Now that made me believe from a very young age that the teachings in our scriptures are very, very scientific.
24:39How much of science is incorporated in our Vedas and Upanishads and Vedants?
24:45Can you tell us about that?
24:47I'll have to correct it a bit here.
24:54Newton's third law is actually not the law of karma.
24:58What happens is that there are two things that we have as Indians.
25:03One, as you said, due to several reasons, we have not gone very close to our most important scriptures.
25:12They are not a part of the standard curricula and also they are not a part of the mainstream culture.
25:19So we can't really be faulted for not having read them.
25:23So that's the first thing.
25:25Second thing is we take a certain natural pride in the fact that we have certain scriptures
25:33and those scriptures might be finding resonance even in modern scientific discoveries.
25:39Now when you take these two together, what we get is a bit of an incorrect conclusion
25:48that modern scientific principles are already enunciated in the ancient scriptures.
25:55That is not so. The subject matter of Vedanta is the self, not an inquiry into the external world.
26:07Vedanta is about the self, the ego. Its fundamental question is who am I?
26:15Similarly the law of karma, if we are talking of Nishkama Karma Yoga coming from the Bhagavad Gita
26:22is about the fact that if you are working from a desirous center
26:31then what you will get will never exceed your desire.
26:37And that action has to be seen in context of where it is coming from and what it does to the actor.
26:46That really is the law of karma and in the popular culture there is a lot of confusion about it.
26:53The way we talk of law of karma and also the way we talk of the law of attraction.
26:59These are not laws at all. In fact they really do not have any substantial basis.
27:05Law of karma is a wonderful thing but it is not what it is usually thought to be.
27:13But we keep on alluding to it day in and day out that watch out for your steps, your karma will get back at you.
27:20Yes, yes. We keep on doing that and that is useful in some measure
27:26because that gives us a sense of certain morality and a sense of fear as well
27:31that if you will do wrong things you will have to face repercussions.
27:34But that's not what the Vedantic Karma principle is about.
27:39In fact last year Penguin Publishers released my book Karma
27:46in which I have thought to dispel exactly this fallacy.
27:51What law of karma is all about and man being a working animal, man being a creature of karma
28:01what should action be all about?
28:04And can you look at action without considering who the actor is
28:10and is it not possible that we talk so much of action because we do not want to
28:16or we are rather incapable of looking into the actor.
28:20If we can look into the actor then we are inquiring in the way Vedanta wants us to.
28:28The question who am I? Who is the actor? The ego is the actor.
28:32Can the actor change? Because if the actor does not change
28:36then its actions and all the experiences that it gets they will not change
28:40and that is our fundamental problem, is it not?
28:42What we experience, the experience of sorrow, Vedanta sets out to relieve us of sorrow
28:50that is the only objective and in that direction being very conscious of the acting entity
28:59the self becomes very important.
29:02Which means that we should be paying more importance to ourselves
29:06and we should do a lot of self introspection to be able to stand up to the world and face the challenges.
29:12Definitely and we should be very careful. Where are for example my thoughts coming from?
29:16These emotions that I call as my own, where are they coming from?
29:20These identities that I call as my own, where are they coming from?
29:24And therefore these actions that I call as my own, where are they coming from?
29:29The moment you start this inquiry it becomes so interesting.
29:33It takes a while because it is not our natural tendency to be inwardly oriented
29:38but if you can practice that it becomes so interesting to see that
29:42you know let's say the anger that we call as our own, the beliefs that we call as our own
29:48they are not really our own. Anger might be very biological, very hormonal.
29:54Beliefs are all coming from external influences, society, media, education and culture
30:01and then you are left wondering what really is my own
30:05and when you see that then a new life begins, a new and authentic life
30:12in which what really is your own that comes to the fore
30:16it's very empowering, very beautiful, very relieving, very liberating.
30:22Indeed, indeed. I'm fascinated by all this talk.
30:25And now I'd like to bring on yet another song of your choice. Which one will it be?
30:29Another Hindi song, Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyon from the movie Pyaar Jutta Nahin
30:36sung by the legendary Lata Mangeshkar ji and Shabbir Kumar ji.
30:51Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyon
31:21Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyon
31:42Aur Bhi Kuch Yaad Aata Hai
31:52Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyon
32:02Aur Bhi Kuch Yaad Aata Hai
32:09Aaj Ka Apna Pyaar Nahin Hai
32:19Janamon Ka Yeh Naata Hai
32:26Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyon
32:38Welcome back to the show Acharyaji. And now Acharyaji, I'd like to ask you one question.
32:44We are going to be celebrating the International Yoga Devas on 21st June.
32:50We are just barely three weeks away from it.
32:54And I want to ask you that does yoga find mention and a place in our scriptures also?
33:03Definitely. Of course, we have the Patanjali Yoga Sutras.
33:09There is an entire darshan.
33:12But even in Vedanta, yoga has a very important place.
33:20And in the Vedantic parlance, in the world of the self,
33:25Yoga means the union of mind with its beloved destiny.
33:34So there is the mind that is always aspiring, always hungry, always thirsty, always desirous.
33:42Of course, it has to be desirous of something.
33:46That something that the mind so desperately yearns for continuously.
33:54When it is attained, that is known as yoga, union, coming together of the two.
34:02Okay. So when we talk about yoga, in our present day cosmopolitan life,
34:12when we get up early in the morning, it's a rush hour, we have to get to work,
34:16we are delayed at work, we get home, and there are so many other things to catch up with.
34:20I think sometimes people think they associate yoga with doing yogasana or kriya.
34:25And they feel that they do not have the time for that.
34:28Is that what yoga is all about? Or is it about leading a certain kind of lifestyle?
34:33And can you tell us what should be that lifestyle?
34:35That which is popularly considered as yoga these days is unfortunately a very, very preliminary thing.
34:46In some sense, even a peripheral thing.
34:49If you are thinking of yoga as merely bodily postures and breathing exercises,
34:56it's not going to take you very far.
34:58We are talking of hatha yoga here.
35:02Even those who gave hatha yoga to us were very clear that hatha yoga is just
35:09the very basic preparation for something far more important.
35:15If that other thing, the real thing, is nowhere in our sight,
35:22if we do not even want it, then hatha yoga will remain just bodily exercise for us.
35:29It will help us in some sense. It will reduce the bodily stiffness.
35:33It will maybe take care of your excess weight.
35:38And some physical benefits might be there.
35:41But beyond that, it won't take you.
35:44So, the real meaning of yoga has to be understood.
35:52You see, when we talk of Vedanta, there is the Bhagavad Gita.
35:55And the Gitakar, the author of the Gita, is also known as Yogiraj.
36:00And Nishkama Karma Yoga is the real thing, the most fundamental yoga.
36:09Yoga is something that has to lead to Samadhi.
36:13That's also the last step in Patanjali's darshan.
36:18So, if you are not focusing on the mind,
36:23because it is not the body that will attain Samadhi, no?
36:26The mind will reach there. Body does not experience suffering.
36:30It is the mind that experiences suffering.
36:32So, the mind has to be taken there.
36:34And if the mind has to be taken there, then one has to have self-inquiry.
36:39One has to ask oneself, who am I acting this way?
36:45This life is there. I am living as a body.
36:48What am I spending this life as?
36:52What am I doing all the time?
36:54Day by day, it's death that I approach.
36:59And what is coming out of my life?
37:03Even if some tangible result is not to be obtained,
37:08then don't I at least deserve a certain peace, a certain joy in my moment-to-moment experience?
37:15And when those questions arise, that's when you have an aspiration for yoga.
37:24Most people do not even want yoga.
37:26Because, you see, we said yoga is union.
37:28Union of the mind with its beloved destiny.
37:32Now, in that union, the mind loses its individuality.
37:37And most of us are very insecure about losing our individuality.
37:42We want to remain as we are.
37:45Because we are afraid, therefore, we shield and protect ourselves from all sides.
37:53Therefore, yoga is not something that we don't want.
37:57It actually appears threatening.
37:59So, even if we go to yoga, all that we have is mudras and asanas.
38:07You mean to say that there are more metaphysical aspects of yoga concerned
38:11beyond the mudras and asanas and kriyas?
38:14It has to be metaphysical.
38:15Because, you see, the physical does not satisfy us.
38:19The physical, at best, can be a resource towards attaining that
38:24which the mind desperately wants.
38:28And the mind will never be satisfied with anything physical.
38:32Not that Vedanta scoffs at physicality or materialism.
38:36The physical world is indeed the only thing that the body has.
38:43So, all that is there in the world has to be used.
38:46Yes, absolutely.
38:47We could have gone on and on, but the studio clock tells me the time,
38:51that it's time to wind up the show, time for the news coming up.
38:54So, on behalf of all of us here at All India Radio and on behalf of my listeners,
38:58I'd like to thank Acharyaji for sharing his brilliant thoughts with us.
39:02Thank you so much.
39:03Thank you. Wonderful conversation.
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