Addicted to something? The final solution is this || Acharya Prashant, with IIT Bombay (2022)

Acharya Prashant

‍♂️ Want to meet Acharya Prashant? 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: Video Information: Shastra Kaumudi, 20.12.2021, Rishikesh, India  Context: ~ Why an IITian loses focus - and what's the purpose of life ~ Why there is so much suffering in life? ~ Do we suffer by our own choice? ~ How to avoid pain and suffering? ~ How to get rid from sufferings?  Music Credits: Milind Date  ~~~~~

Transcript

00:00When I am trapped in the addiction, for example, if I am addicted to smoking or I am addicted

00:08to watching videos, what I have got from your previous answer is, it's through valor and

00:18through intelligence, but it becomes more hard when I am trapped in my addictions.

00:25Can you help me with this, when the addictions are involved?

00:30You see, you have to first of all respect the fact of your addictions, they are doing

00:36you some good.

00:40Those things you are addicted to exist because you have nothing better in your life.

00:53Understand this, no point just cursing one's addictions.

01:02Addictions exist to fill a deep inner void, you have a need to be addicted and that's

01:13why those things exist, be it, you know, whatever, TV shows or videos or drugs or many other

01:24things one can be addicted to.

01:30So they didn't plead to you to let them into your life, you went to those things.

01:45The videos don't just suddenly pounce at you from your mobile screen after midnight.

01:56You must be clicking at the application and scrolling through the list of videos and then

02:02choosing one particular video and then choosing another and binge watching and, so you are

02:09the one who is going to those things, why are you going to those things?

02:15That's what spirituality is about, look into yourself, why do you need to go to those things,

02:19you need to go to those things because there is a crying hollow, unless you bring something

02:30higher into your life to fill that hollow, those videos and other things will continue

02:37to exist irrespective of how much we beat our chest over them.

02:48Get something into your life that you know to be more important than those little things

02:58and I refuse to believe that a young man of your intellectual caliber cannot think of

03:08something worthier to pursue.

03:16Set your mind upon something good, high, noble and then you will find that you have

03:24no time for all the petty things that surround you and can potentially attract your attention.

03:32Your attention will then be super focused, you know what is important and you don't want

03:37to look at other things and if sometimes, mistakenly, you happen to look at other things,

03:43you realize that a lot of damage has been done and you are taught a lesson and next

03:48time you don't repeat your mistake because the loss is right there in front of you, it

03:53stares you in the face, it teases you.

03:57You cannot look at yourself in the mirror, you say because I wasted myself in all the

04:05nonsense for four hours or eight hours, therefore I've had to suffer this loss and the loss

04:12is a fact, I can't deny that and the loss is big.

04:19So what you call as distractions are very intimately related to purposelessness.

04:28You cannot be distracted without being purposeless.

04:34Have a solid purpose in life and fall in love with it and all these distractions will vaporize

04:43into thin air.

04:46Am I making sense?

04:49Are we together?

04:52Very much so.

04:57So, you don't even require to be counseled, ask yourself what is the highest you can think

05:06of, what is the most beautiful you can think of and why is it not worth committing yourself

05:14to.

05:16If it is indeed high and beautiful, give yourself totally to it and then even if you have to

05:26go to, you said Netflix etc., you will go with a purpose, it's not some kind of a heinous

05:37crime to watch videos or something, but you will remember the purpose, you will know why

05:43you are going there, you are not going there to waste precious time.

05:47Even in there, the mind somewhere is remembering what the purpose is, why are you watching

05:54something.

05:55There is a lesson, there is a learning somewhere and that's why you are watching that.

06:07So wisdom is not about do's and don'ts, do all the good things, read books, read newspapers,

06:19read wisdom literature, meet good people, travel to beautiful places and don't do bad things.

06:27Booze, drugs, sex, no, no, this is not to be done, this is not spirituality, this is

06:34just very superficial and jaded kind of morality.

06:42To be spiritual is to know what your central need is and then chase it wholeheartedly.

06:54Spirituality is thrill and adventure and you don't mind what your chase leads you into.

07:10It takes you to riches, you travel through riches.

07:14It takes you to poverty, penury, you don't resist being a beggar for a while at least.

07:25It takes you for a while into an existence of solitude, you don't mind being alone.

07:35It requires you to move into public life, you accept that without resistance.

07:46None of all these things are important.

07:48What's important is that you identify your purpose in life and live only for its sake.

07:56All else is trivia and when I am talking of purpose, I am talking of the right purpose,

08:08I am talking of the central purpose of life and determining the purpose one has to be

08:14extremely mindful, attentive, deep and honest.

08:21Acharyaji, may I add the same question?

08:31Yes, please.

08:33Regarding purpose, Acharyaji, for me it is more meditation.

08:41It gives me immense pleasure but it also makes me disinterested towards other activities

08:50of my life.

08:53And is this okay and because it affects my social interactions, my family responsibilities,

09:04my academics also.

09:07You have to ask yourself, ultimately you are the judge, it's the pleasure that you get

09:20through these videos or addictions, the highest that you can get and if you will with conviction

09:30say this is the highest pleasure possible to me in life, I will say go ahead and just

09:36drench yourself in your addictions because what I am calling as the purpose of life is

09:46also in another way called as joy.

09:53In one sense joy is not pleasure, in another sense joy is beyond pleasure, in another sense

10:03joy is the highest pleasure possible.

10:06So, very crudely speaking, yes, top-class pleasure is indeed the purpose of life but

10:20the pleasure that you are getting through your addictions is that really top-class only

10:26you can answer and I leave it to you.

10:33How can it be top-class if it is leaving you mired in guilt?

10:38How can it be top-class if it is not giving you clarity about stuff?

10:43You do not know how to choose between your responsibilities and your self-interest.

10:47You probably also do not know what responsibility really means.

10:55One characteristic of joy is that it comes with clarity and that's the difference between

11:01pleasure and joy.

11:04Pleasure requires the sacrifice of clarity.

11:09You typically get pleasure only when you are in a drunken and befuddled state of mind.

11:24Otherwise pleasure is not possible.

11:27Look at people when they are having pleasure.

11:30Are those the moments of their utmost clarity?

11:34Are those the moments of their deep wisdom?

11:38In fact people get drunk specifically to have pleasure.

11:42That's the thing with pleasure.

11:46It cannot coexist with clarity.

11:49Joy on the other hand is an inseparable accompaniment of clarity.

11:57Joy and clarity are the same thing.

12:01If your pleasures are not bringing clarity to you, then there is a lot of work you still

12:12need to do.

12:13Don't get stuck.

12:16I can only assure you from my position that higher pleasures are indeed possible and that

12:26it is your responsibility towards yourself to go for those higher pleasures.

12:32When better things are possible in life, why settle for lowly ones?

12:39Makes no sense, right?

12:41You have one life, never settle down.

12:49Keep aiming for the higher than the highest you have known and irrespective of how high

13:01you have come, something higher still remains and beckons.

13:09Respond to its call.

13:18Lack of exposure is probably a problem.

13:20Lack of spiritual education and lack of right company is probably a problem.

13:27Probably the set of options you are making your choices from is a very limited one.

13:36Probably you have no exposure to what all is possible in life.

13:41Therefore of the five little things that you know of, you are choosing one to get addicted

13:45to.

13:47Your life is way beyond the five things that you know of.

13:51Keep expanding your horizons.

13:55Never settle down for something small.

14:01Your nature is infinite and that has not been said without reason.

14:06It was a call to all to keep reminding you that you must keep moving, charaiveti, charaiveti.

14:14Charaiveti is not a point to be ever reached.

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