Sir, Why are you so dissatisfied? || Acharya Prashant, Vedant Mahotsav at IISc Bangalore (2022)

Questioner (Q): I had been part of the last Delhi Camp, IIT Delhi Camp. During those three days, I have seen that you have spoken to the participants continuously for 6 hours, then later in the evenings, with hostel students, for another two, to three hours till 2 a.m. in the morning. And we also get to hear it from the volunteers that you have a very rigorous work schedule.

So I wanted to put forth this question which I came across on Twitter, directed to you, and I quote “what kind of dissatisfaction do you have in you, that makes you teach Vedanta and offer yourselves in the service of other people, to ease their suffering? A witness will not intervene or will he?

Acharya Prashant (AP): This is not a question this is a taunt. Give it to me (asking for the mobile). ‘What kind of dissatisfaction do you have in you? That makes you teach Vedanta and offer yourselves in the service of other people to ease their suffering? A witness will not intervene’ (Read out the mobile). Obviously this is more of a barb. What kind of dissatisfaction you have that, you do these things? A witness will not do anything.

Obviously the witness is not doing anything, whatsoever is done, is done by this form in Prakṛti. Who told you that the hand can be the witness my hand moves when you say, I am doing so much. Who is doing so much? The Self the Ātmā is a non-door, and it does not do anything.

When you say “I am doing something”, who is doing something? The lips move, the tongue moves, the throat is working, the brain is working. These are moving. And in the middle of all this bodily movement, surely there is something immovable. And it is by the virtue of that immovable thing; whatever I am saying is coming. The fellow is saying, “Why do you work so hard? A witness is not supposed to work, right?”