The Individual is real, the person a copy || Acharya Prashant, with youth (2013)

Acharya Prashant

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The Individual is real, the person a copy || Acharya Prashant, with youth (2013)

Speaker : What a beautiful name you have Sakshi, and this is the basic difference between a person and an individual. The individual has साक्षी भाव( witness) and the person doesn’t have it. Let’s look at it clearly. There are so many things happening on the outside. Right ? There is nobody here, not you nor your teacher, not me who has external situations under his or her control. Getting it? External situations are always random always chaotic no one can predict or determine the ways of the world.

No one predict or determine the ways of the world. But your response to what is happening outside can be of two types:

It is tumultuous outside and I become tumultuous on the inside. There is a great disturbance on the outside, and I become disturbed on the inside. This is one kind of living. This is called the life of the person. The person is always dependent upon others for his internal climate. If he is here, he maybe a little peaceful and that will be evident in the quality of the mind, in his countenance. If outside the situation changes, the climate of his mind also changes and that will be evident upon his face. A new mask will come up.

Goes to home again the situation changes and the quality of his mind, the climate here again changes and another face comes up this is the person.

The person has no resistance; the person has nothing of his own. He is defenseless. He is like an old leaf that has dropped down from a tree at the mercy of the winds, the winds blow this way he goes this way the winds blow that way he goes that way.If the situations are scary he becomes horrified in the mind. If the situation is alright, if everybody else is laughing he will start laughing. He has nothing of his own. He is totally dependent upon the climate outside. Getting it! This is personality, this is the person. This is the person.

There is a second way of living. What is that?Seasons will come and go on the outside, nothing will disturb the weather within. There may be a great disturbance on the ouside still there would be a stillness in the inside. This is the individual.

So who is the person? Who allows the external to affect him deeply. Who is the individual ?Who does not allow the external to affect his inner calm.

Only the individual has the power to respond to changing circumstances. Only the individual because of his inner stillness understands what is really going on. When there is stillness in the center it becomes possible that there is great movement on the outside. Then it becomes possible!

When there is a great stillness at the center, only then great movement becomes possible on the outside, on the circumference. Take this fan for example, it is only when the axel is stable that the wings, the blades can freely rotate. The more is the RPM that you desire from this fan, the more must be the strength of the axel to stay firm. What will happen to the fan if the axel also starts moving?What will happen?

(Silence)

Speaker : So those who want great movement on the outside must have great stillness within. This is called individuality. Those who want to be able to respond completely, adequately to the external situation must have a great firmness within. Where nothing moves, nothing changes. That nothing moving, nothing changing is also called by the name of साक्षी( witness), so just remember your name. Your name itself is individuality.

Is this clear? The difference between personality and individuality.

The person is the slave of circumstances, the individual is not. What would you like to be?

Listeners : (Unanimously) Individual.

Speaker : Individuality does not come so cheap. You have to earn it, and your mind will say, “NO ! it’s scary. I don’t want to be individual”. Because all your training, all your upbringing in the family, in the education has been so that you may dawn a personality.

Now to become an individual, now to regain your individuality, certain effort will surely be required. It’s your responsibility to put in that effort.You can either put in that effort or escape from it like a coward, and its so easy to become a coward, so easy to put your head down. ज़िन्दगी से आँखें चार करो, मुँह छुपा के नहीं जीते .

‘ना मुँह छुपा के जिओ और ना सर झुका के जिओ’

Excerpted from a ‘Shabd-Yog’ session. Edited for clarity.

This article has been created by volunteers of the PrashantAdvait Foundation from transcriptions of sessions by Acharya Prashant
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