Quiet the Mind to Receive Krishna's Wisdom
Questioner: Namaste, sir. The question is from Kirti Singh Ji. She's asking that, "So, are we saying that to receive knowledge from Shri Krishna, one must be empty from the mind, from the intellect, not do any thinking, and be an open receiver? But how to stop this internal chitchat of the mind? It keeps on going."
Acharya Prashant: "No, no, you don't have to be empty of anything. You just have to be empty of the choice to use anything in your defense. Right? You are born with ammunition; you don't have to keep the ammunition aside. Let the gun be there with you—just don't fire at the teacher. That's all that Shri Krishna is saying. You don't have to empty the gun. Keep it loaded; it's all right.
Because your entire existence is just a resource. What all will you empty yourself of? Everything can be potentially used against the teachings. Every single thing. Why only intellect? Why not memories? Why not muscle power? Why not punch the teacher in his face? So, will Shri Krishna say, 'You must empty yourself of your fist, of your arm?’ No. Keep it—just don't use it in a destructive, foolish, malicious way.
Let the intellect be there. It should simply not become fodder to the ego. You have to ask yourself, you have to watch yourself—what are you using your things for? That's self-knowledge coming from observation. What are you using your arguments for? Oh, your beautiful piece of rhetoric you came up with—what for? What is all this for? And if you can see what all this is for, you'll also see for whom is all this? And the answer is just ego. All this is just to secure the ego.
Beautiful answer, lovely argument, what an alibi! What you have not seen is that all this is just to remain who you are. And you stink. Somebody is telling you to go get a bath, and you came up with a fantastic argument proving that a bath is not needed. It's a beautiful argument. Maybe you won the debate. Oh, you did! But what you don't see is that you lost out on something much deeper. Getting it?
It's only through your inner honesty and observation of your intention that you will know what you are using your resources for. Was not Ravana a great warrior? Is not Duryodhan practically invincible with the mace, right? The question is not about his physical strength or his dexterity with his weapon. It's about the purpose, the end, the intention that he's carrying. Karna has the bow and the arrow, Duryodhan has the mace, and their counterparts are Arjun and Bheem, right? Same weapon, same kind of warriors, same ammunition. The difference lies in the purpose you are using your ammunition for.
What are you using yourself for? Such a wonderful display of your skill with your weapon. Wow! But what did you use it for? What is your entire argument for? Ultimately, what is it that you want? Please see, don't just say, "You know, I have an argument for this." No, no, no, no. It's not for this. You must see what the entire thing is ultimately drifting towards.
And ultimately, it drifts towards nothing complicated—just one thing: "I'm already all right. Let me do as I wish. Don't teach me." That's the final thing. Great argument, complex, convoluted, wide. Wow! Full of scholarship. But ultimately, trying to say just one thing: "What I already know—I am the dude, I am the king, I am the scholar." Is that not the purpose of every single argument?
"I'm already great, I'm all right, I'm superior, so I don't need to learn." Why do you always want to win an argument? To prove that you are already superior? "I am superior, I won the debate." And if I'm superior, what is that superiority for? To remain as I am because if I'm already superior, then I don't need to learn and change.
Everything is just so that you do not change. Everything is just so that you can convince yourself that you are already all right. Intellect is so stupid. Intellect is not intelligent at all. I used all my arguments to remain stupid—extremely intellectual arguments, this and that—just to remain as dumb as I am, dumb as a dodo.
Don't throw the gun away—fire it at the right targets.
Suddenly, Santoshi (name of the listener) became interested. "What is going on? Who's throwing the gun?" Anyway. The moment I said, "Don't fire at the teacher," he said, "But where is the gun?"
"I am harmless. Perfectly..."
(Laughs.)
