Questioner: You have quite an illustrious standing when it comes to demolishing all that is false. I personally find that intriguing. In a world of distrustful agendas that people carry, what has been your driving force? People either have blind faith in a failed leader or they don't connect at all with this side of spirituality. So, how is it working between these two extremes that you often come across?
Acharya Prashant: You see, both these extremes are one thing, really. When people go blindly into accepting something or somebody, then they are not inquiring, they are not questioning, they are going by belief. This belief is on the traditional or religious side. Nevertheless, it is a belief. Then there are people, who reject stuff and are convinced that the entire field of wisdom or spirituality is fraught with charlatans and mischief-makers. Even these people are not inquiring or questioning, trying to seek the truth; no, that's not what they are doing. They, too, are just believing. And this belief is a little bit on the progressive side, so-called progressive side, modern side, liberal side, whatever you want to call it. Nevertheless, it is just a belief.
Real wisdom or spirituality deals with inquiry. It does not exist to reinforce beliefs on either end of the spectrum, or anywhere in the middle of the spectrum. So it's not as if one has to straddle between these two ends. No, not really in between them, but beyond them, above them. One has to ask, one has to question, and one has to try to understand. You see, Vedanta very emphatically elaborates, and if you pay attention, it comes from our everyday experience also, that our nature is to know. The nature of our consciousness is to know, and without knowing, we do not feel at rest, at peace. That is the reason we do not like it when somebody lies to us, because he has prevented us from knowing. Knowing what? - the truth, truth at a factual level.
