If you find yourself in big problems, just realize that the way out is small action || Acharya Prashant (2015)
Acharya Prashant: In the world of the Real, there is neither change nor permanence – no substance, no happenings. In the world of the person, in our world, everything is changing; and continuously where everything is changing, then a single change can never be too big. Please realize this, a single change can never be too big. And everything is continuously changing, so, there can be no big changes.
There is an infinite series of changes; not only series, a network of changes, interconnected networks. Everything is changing all the time – infinite number of changes – nothing but changes. So many and so frequent and so continuous changes that you cannot say that something is changing, because, for something to be and change, that thing must have at least a little permanence. There is nothing except change. Change! No ‘thing’ really to change, but change.
So, in this whole universe of changes, one change cannot matter, cannot be too big; it’s going to be small. But the Ego wants big! Big is not there, only small is there – infinitesimally small. So small that you want to disrespect it, ignore it, miss it – that’s the mistake. There is only that which is so small, and if you disrespect it and miss it, then you are missing all that there is.
If you really want change then start respecting the small.
You will never get a cataclysmic change because even the most cataclysmic change is infinitesimally small when looked at in perspective. There are no big changes. The Ego misses change because it wants ‘big’ change. It is so fed up of itself that it wants quick changes. It says, “Bring it on! Get me the real fat one!” There are no fat ones; there are only little ones.
Every step that you take is a potential change. In fact, it is the only change possible!
Every small thing that you do is the only place where change can happen. You may have your own personal definitions of ‘big’ changes, but even those so-called ‘big’ changes are enabled only by the small ones. Without the small ones, those big ones remain just a dream. They are not actionable! They are good as dreams but can’t be acted upon.
What you can act upon is — Immediate, straightforward, and small.
You say, “No. When I have to go a thousand miles, what is the point in taking one step?” That’s your logic! That’s what the Ego says. The Ego says, “My destination is so far away, how does one step help it?” And the Ego’s calculation is very right. A thousand kilometres, and one step is not even one meter.
But you have no option because there are no big steps. Every step that you take will be commensurate with your size. Look at your size, how can your step exceed one meter? Yes, you can dream about long jumps. You jump from here and you land two-hundred kilometers ahead – but that doesn’t happen, that’s good just as a dream. You are small, your steps will be small; take care of these baby steps. Take care of the little things; take care of the little tasks.
The immense lies in the smallest and that’s where we all lose it.
Not to the giant devil, but to the little mischief-maker. Such a dishonorable defeat it is! The Ego wants to fight great battles and it doesn’t realize that it has been losing everything to the little mischief-maker.
You talk of your troubles as if they are such humungous troubles. You do not realize that what bothers you as cataclysmic, earth-shaking is born out of your small, petty mistakes. And small, petty mistakes are so easy to commit when you are obsessed with the big.
I assure you there is nothing called the ‘big’. In your world, everything is small, take care of the small.
The more you find yourself in big problems, the more should you realize that the way out is small action!
There are no great, miraculous, overnight solutions. The solution will come through you; you are so small. The solution will also be small in its manifestation. Act small; do not miss out on the little things; pay attention to the small matters – your walk, your talk, your stalk. Pay attention to the small matters, that’s where you are losing it. Pay attention to your everyday living, that’s where you are losing it. Very small things, they pass under the radar, unnoticed.
There were many questions here, that talk of ‘great’ problems, and when problems are there, they do appear great, right? There is nobody here who would say that I have a small problem. Had it been a small problem, you wouldn’t be talking about it.
I could have approached this answer by talking about problems. I could have said, “That there are no big problems, and all problems are small.” But, you would not have believed me because that hurts: “Have I been defeated by small problems? Look at my face! I am prepared to give up the ghost! See how tensed I am and you are saying my problem is small! You are disrespecting me!”
So instead, I prefer to say: “The solution is small”.
That should sound like good news!
Yes, your problem is great. But, the solution lies in the small.
Does that sound more acceptable?
