Living in the Moment vs. Battling Thoughts and Suffering || Acharya Prashant (2023)

Acharya Prashant

🧔🏻‍♂️ Want to meet Acharya Prashant? Be a part of the Live Sessions: https://acharyaprashant.org/hi/enquiry-gita-course?cmId=m00056  📚 Want to read Acharya Prashant's Books? Get Free Delivery: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/books?cmId=m00056  ➖➖➖➖➖➖  #AcharyaPrashant #आचार्यप्रशांत #Philosophy #BhagavadGita  Video Information: 08.06.2023, Gita Samagam English, Goa  Living in the Moment vs. Battling Thoughts and Suffering || Acharya Prashant (2023)  Description: In this conversation, a questioner expresses feelings of exhaustion and depression due to the overwhelming nature of worldly experiences and physical discomfort, which overshadow his thoughts. Acharya Prashant explains that the ego is shaped by a lifetime of experiences and beliefs, leading to a mix of pride and dissatisfaction. He emphasizes that one cannot selectively enjoy the benefits of life while ignoring its consequences. True liberation requires a willingness to let go of attachments and experiment with new paths. Acharya Prashant encourages the questioner to move beyond familiar routines and embrace new opportunities, suggesting that entrepreneurship and reinvention are ongoing processes. He highlights the importance of immersing oneself fully in life, akin to being "neck deep" in one's occupation, to experience true vitality and growth.  🎧 Listen to Acharya Prashant on Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/2QmVEAAnsNE7Xs0MW0Li8Y?si=09fbcbc7c99c469b

Transcript

00:00Namaskar, Sir. Sir, worldly things are everywhere. Whatever we see or think about, the thought

00:17process is all worldly. So I feel like I am creating my own world through this thought

00:25process. When it comes to what you are saying, that living without death and all that, in

00:36that also I feel like that too is just a thought process, that I name some things differently

00:43and I name other things differently. So I keep thinking on this and it becomes very

00:49exhausting. I have, there is no clear clarity in my head regarding this and actually in the last

00:594-5 months, I have been suddenly hospitalized for different reasons and also there is this

01:08physical discomfort which overpowers you sometimes. It does not do mentally but on a physical level,

01:18it is very tiring. It overpowers me and so this also affects the thought process. Even small

01:25things like temperature, physical suffering, it overpowers you and this concept of thought

01:33process, it feels like it is just present in the thought. If the entire process remains

01:45as it always has been, the results cannot be too different. There is a reason why the

02:00inner thing becomes the way it currently is. An entire train of experiences over the last

02:12several decades brought it to its current position. That's what the ego is made of,

02:21right? Experience after experience, result after result, one belief upon the other conviction,

02:31an array of conclusions validating one's own concepts and this leading to a sense of confidence

02:51in the way one has been. All that gets together to convert one into the one, one currently is

03:03and there is a lot of belief involved because there are only certain aspects of one's current

03:14state that one dislikes or wants to change, improve or get rid of. There is a lot in one's

03:23current state that one approves of, admires, is actually proud of. So, it's a hodgepodge.

03:37It's like enjoying the power that comes from burning coal but detesting the pollution that

03:58it causes. Think of a steam engine. One is enjoying the ride and one has been on the

04:07train since decades now and it's a coal-fired thing but now one is seeing that it's emitting

04:16a lot and there is so much carbon and other gases and other trash. Is it possible to

04:27keep thinking of certain things as enjoyable or right or proper while trying to get rid

04:46of other things that are definitely linked to the things one cherishes? There are aspects

05:00of one's inner state and fruits from one's journey over the decades that one really likes

05:11and admires and they happen to be there in everybody's case. Nobody disapproves of himself

05:19fully and then there are certain things about oneself that one selectively wants to get

05:28rid of. Now, that's where the problem is. It's not that it is too difficult to get rid

05:35of those things. The problem is in the selectiveness. If one says I want to keep enjoying the power

05:46from the coal, one will have to keep bearing the pollution from the coal but then one finds

05:57one has come to a point where the pollution is overriding the pleasures from the power.

06:12If one finds himself at that stage then it's time to deboard. It's time to say goodbye

06:25to the entire thing in its entirety. You cannot be half aboard a train. Either you

06:41are fully on it or you have deboarded and if you are fully on it then you will have

06:53to bear the full package of consequences. I wish the entire package was detestable but

07:10it never is. Certain parts of that package are always cherishable. Are they not? Even

07:23right now in your narration, there were only two or three points that concern you. The

07:35other aspects of your life obviously you are quite satisfied with or rather proud of.

07:46So that brings us to that almost, it has been turned into a cliche.

08:15The two or three points you spoke to me of all concern your dukkha but that dukkha is

08:27just the other side of the various kinds of sukhas that you have been enjoying and enjoying

08:36and continue to have the desire and the determination rather to keep enjoying and these two are

08:51inseparable unfortunately. One cannot be selective. You see how can I give something to others

09:00without letting the thing affect me. How is it possible? If for example I work in a

09:18bomb making plant where I am manufacturing death for others, a uranium enrichment plant

09:26to produce an atom bomb, it is but very likely that I too will become a victim of radiation.

09:37Even if the bomb is not dropped on others, first of all it will affect me in a continuous small

09:49and passive way. So these are all intertwined aspects of life. The way one's relationships are,

10:02the way one's livelihood is, the way one's social status is, all that is deeply related to one's

10:14inner state. We cannot want to continue the way our relationships and our livelihood and all our

10:24other things are and yet want to change the inner state. Think of all those things that you find

10:36admirable in your life. Think of all those things you seek to protect day in and day out. What is it

10:43that you work for? What is it that you care for? What is it that you want to defend continuously?

10:52And then you will see that in all that lies the seed of the inner problem.

11:02I cannot overemphasize that that which appears as a problem is a small thing. In fact, it's an

11:20innocent thing because it has revealed itself to be toxic, undesirable. You are already calling it

11:29openly as a problem. Therefore, actually it is only half a problem. It has been detected, diagnosed,

11:37identified. The real problem is the stuff that is never seen as a problem. But that is the thing

11:49that continues to give life to the problems. That thing remains not only hidden within us

12:02but actually actively defended within us. Somebody comes to you to take away those things.

12:10Oh, you will offer mighty resentment. Your resistance will be not just active but probably violent.

12:23Think of those things please. And it is those things that you hold so close to your chest

12:31that continue to harbour the things that you today identify as your problems.

12:37Is it possible to break away from the life that you have lived so far with courage,

12:46with the recognition that there is hardly anything to be lost in the experiment,

12:56that one is anyway already running out of time,

12:59that as far as the desirables go, one has already experienced enough of them?

13:08So, why not try out another kind of experiment?

13:16Unless there is a willingness to have a total change, selective transformation,

13:25will remain very difficult.

13:34Sir, whenever I see my profession, I feel like I am doing a fair job. As I told you last time,

13:40I work as an insurance broker. I have a company which feeds around hundreds of families.

13:47I have a company which feeds around hundreds of families. So, I might not be directly linked to

13:55their families or I have shareholders. I might not be directly linked to my shareholders but

14:02I feel like I am doing a few things which are helping others whom I am directly not related to.

14:10It's not my son or my daughter but I feel like I am doing some amount of good.

14:16Sometimes, I think about this that I am doing this much and I feel like I have to do way more.

14:23I am capable of doing way more. So, right now, currently, I am experimenting in my thought

14:32and if I apply your logic to it, I feel like I have to definitely do something about it.

14:38But I also feel that whatever I am doing in my current field, that is, let's just pursue it

14:45up to a certain level and then before shifting my field.

14:51Also, we have been doing this campaign for elderly people. Elderly people get their

15:00medical claim. There is a thing called Mediclaim where a few elderly people

15:08who won't be able to get their claims on time. So, we help them. We help them get their settlements

15:17and my organization works with them. You can say I do this out of attachment for them or

15:25for my employees but even though it is based on our income and it is dependent on how much

15:35we are earning but I also think there is an aspect of service inculcated in this.

15:42So, but definitely service comes before the income part.

15:47Please, please understand something. In the Grahast way of life, is there any Grahast

15:56who is not required to do his share of good deeds?

16:08So, there are a lot of good deeds that you have to do, right?

16:14And the householder, the Grahast, the normal follower of the path of goodness,

16:21he is the one who constitutes 80, 90, 95, 99 percent of the world's population.

16:29So, all these things he does. He feeds the cow. He gives some money to the beggar. If there is a

16:38friend in need, he will lend some money. He keeps some sugar for the ants. He keeps some water for

16:48the birds. Then there is Zakat in Islam. Then there is Daan Dakshina in Hinduism.

16:59This the householders, the entire world over have been doing since centuries

17:07and when they do this, they obviously get beneficial results, right?

17:11The results are good if you do all these things.

17:18You know, you be good. These are things of policy, Naitikta. Good conduct, Aacharan.

17:28And when you do all these things, then you get some benefit as per the measure

17:36of the goodness you have served. But what you are demanding is something extraordinary.

17:47What you are demanding is something absolutely extraordinary.

17:52You are demanding freedom from body identification

17:54and there is no way basic acts of goodness towards the world

18:04can fetch you freedom from the fundamental bondage itself.

18:13You are doing something and to the extent you are doing good things,

18:19you are being rewarded with goodness. Please be grateful.

18:25The equation is not deceiving you.

18:30To the extent you are doing good things, life is rewarding you with goodness. So, the game is fair

18:37there. But what you are demanding from life is far beyond the goodness you are practicing.

18:45You are demanding liberation itself.

18:49If you are on the operation table and you want to remain equanimous even at that moment,

19:04then you are de facto wanting to be a Buddha and that is not being over ambitious.

19:15We all deserve to be Buddhas. In fact, we are Buddhas in disguise and we are needlessly disguised.

19:24So, that's your fundamental right. Obviously, I agree.

19:30But then if that's what you want, Buddhahood itself, liberation itself, Brahmanirvana itself,

19:39then the price that you need to pay has to be far greater.

19:45Kindness is wonderful. Obviously, wonderful and if you are a kind person, believe me,

19:52the universe responds to you with kindness. That happens.

19:59There is a certain large heartedness within and there is a certain pride,

20:06a justified pride in living. I have given more to the world in comparison to what I have given to

20:15withdrawn and that's all very beautiful and I wish more people do that. The world is in

20:22need of good people. But being good is one thing and demanding something that is totally in another

20:31dimension is a desire of another sort. I am pretty sure the young prince Gautam, when he was in the

20:41palace, even then he was a kind fellow and we have some kind of literary proof available as well.

20:50You remember, Nyaay Dayaa Ka Dhaani Maasun Ek Kahani.

20:57So, he was roaming in the garden. That was his morning routine

21:01and then a bird pierced by an arrow fell at his feet

21:07and then he refuses to give the bird to the hunter. That was his kindness and he was yet

21:15not a renunciate. He was still in the palace living the life of a householder. He had a

21:19beautiful wife. He had the kingdom and he had this little kid. Even then he was very large hearted

21:26and this bird is there and he says, no, no, no, no, no. You have no claim over this thing.

21:31You have no claim over this thing. You might have managed in hunting it down but the thing deserves

21:38to live and I will not give it to you. The hunter was returned and I am pretty sure there must have

21:42been an argument and such things and maybe he would have needed to pay the hunter off, buy him

21:47off. You take this money and you go away. So, he was kind even then but did that suffice? Did that

21:55kindness suffice? In the palace, he would have remained at most just a kind prince,

22:06a nice prince. Niceness is not the same as liberation. He ultimately had to take

22:17what we would call in our worldly parlance as an extreme step.

22:21Even if we are unable to take that kind of an extreme step, we must still experiment.

22:28We must still do as much as possible. Step out. Maybe he stepped out and went all the way to the

22:35jungle. Alright, do not go all the way to the jungle. Go to some other place at least.

22:40Try things out. Life is inherently fair in some sense. You get what you deserve.

22:47If you are prepared to pay the price that Gautam did, you will probably get what Gautam got

22:54and you can still practice love and kindness in your palace and in that too, you will get

23:04the returns that you deserve. Life in that sense is fair. So, if you are not getting the returns

23:11that you want, then you need to enhance the scope of your experimentation.

23:21You will get that. It depends on your stubbornness to want and to have it

23:33before life takes everything away.

23:36I hope the health is better now. Thank you, sir.

23:42I was inquiring about your health. Yes, sir. My health is a little better now. Thank you.

23:47Sir, I would like some more clarity on what you have been saying regarding the price we have to

23:54pay, the direction and experimenting mentally. Would you give more clarity on that? Because

24:02what happens is, I am living in a normal family with my kids, my wife and all. I am running a

24:08business. So, is there nothing that which remains? Because if I renunciate all the things or if I

24:17can't, what type of experiments should I be doing? You see, I actually do not know the details,

24:26I actually do not know the details, but let me give a broad hint to the extent I can.

24:35There are things that you must have been practicing since decades, right? And those

24:40things have brought you certain pleasures, happiness, a certain satisfaction as well.

24:47Those things have brought you certain goodness as well. So, they have made you into the person you

24:53are. Now, if you want to exceed what you have, obviously, you cannot continue doing those same

25:00things. So, you have to look at what you have been consistently doing since long and the moment you

25:08detect a consistency, you have to see that this is not the thing that will now take you from where

25:15you are to the next dimension. That thing has brought you to the place you currently occupy,

25:22but it cannot, that same thing, that thing cannot take you to another place now.

25:28It's like a bus that takes me from A to B and it has already brought me to B.

25:35That bus is not supposed to take me from B to C. So, I have to get off.

25:45And the bus is wonderful. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with the bus.

25:49It was the bus that brought me from A to B and coming from A to B is in itself an achievement.

25:56Something that qualifies me to now want to go to C. Had I not come to B, going to C

26:06would not have been possible even as a desire. So, I am grateful to all the things that brought

26:12me to this place, but now I must get off. I must exceed.

26:28And that does not mean a sharp breaking away. I am talking of experimentation.

26:36We remember the Buddha's story in a very dramatic way, as if he just got up one night and left.

26:45There would have been surely a lot of context to that. Maybe the departure was not an event,

26:53but a very spread out process. Maybe he was experimenting with this, that over several years

27:03and then after experimenting, one day he found that I can get a little further away

27:09and then a little further away and then things take their own course.

27:16So, there is that security that lies in all the things that past has given you

27:22and I am acknowledging that we need to be grateful to those things.

27:27We need to be grateful to those things, but then there is a time to move on.

27:37If you will look at it as something like a letting go, then there will be a problem.

27:48You will feel the pangs of attachment. You are not dropping something. You are just moving on.

27:56Moving on is a beautiful thing. Is it not? Yes, sir. It is.

28:02So, one has to move on. It's not as if one gets into entrepreneurship at a particular age.

28:10Entrepreneurship is a constant state of being. You want to reinvent yourself.

28:18You want to tell yourself as long as the body stands erect, it still can do a lot of magical

28:28things. I am up for the next enterprise. Why can't I try something new now? What makes me think that

28:37I must stick to the existing ways of life, of relationships, of business? Why can't I start

28:44something afresh? That's the kind of experimentation I am talking of.

28:52Think. Begin. Be better. Challenge. Do not stop at what you have attained.

29:06Today we talked of deathlessness. You remember what we said about immortality?

29:11To be immortal is to be neck deep in your occupation.

29:21I am so occupied. I am so fully immersed that I have no time to die.

29:29Yes, sir. So, that's what one needs.

29:34It's a kind of a fresh love affair.

29:40And it has to be as much of a greenfield thing as a fresh grad from a college

29:54begins when he first gets his thing incorporated.

30:03We cannot let the old experience extend into the future.

30:07So, I have to start a new identity. Whatever I have learned from you, it is like a new life,

30:13new identity. It is like campus placements.

30:16Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful. It's great. Even just to listen to it.

30:25Definitely, sir. Definitely. I will do that. I will experiment as well. Thank you.

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