Question (Q): Acharya Ji, being in Satsang, my mind is peaceful. But after some trigger happens, it gets deviated. How to deal with these external problems?
Acharya Prashant (AP): The trigger does not work really automatically. You program yourself to be triggered. You are standing and a fellow comes over and slaps you hard on your shoulder from behind. The automated response is to turn back and look at him. But if he is a friend then the same touch or hit or a slap often becomes a matter of rejoice. But if he is a stranger then the whole thing gets triggered off often into something bigger.
We tell ourselves what to be triggered by. This is not merely a matter of culpability. This is potentially a matter of our freedom. Because if you can tell yourself to get triggered, get agitated, or disturbed then you can also probably equally tell yourself not to get triggered.
It is not events but the meanings that you hold of them, agitate you.
You are in a building and the fire alarm goes off and you can get quite scared. But if someone comes over and tells you, “Oh! It's just a mock drill. It's just a simulation. No need to worry”, then the same alarm can keep buzzing or ringing, you don't bother. Now the meanings of those sounds have changed. The sound in itself was not a trigger, the meaning you added to it was. And it is in your discretion whether or not to add that meaning.
