Question: Sir, we copy others because we do not have anything of our own. But, is it wrong to copy the good qualities of others?
Acharya Prashant: Bhaskar,
When a person ‘X’ decides to copy someone’s good qualities, two questions arise:1. Who is deciding to copy?2. Who is deciding which are good qualities, and which are bad qualities?X is deciding to copy. This means X does not have it within himself, otherwise he would not have needed to copy. Had X been living from his own understanding, would he have tried to copy? The mind of X is the mind of a copier.X is dependent, confused, and does not have an inner control point from where his understanding can come. Such a weak person – X- how will he know which qualities are good, and which are bad?Surely, even this concept of good and bad, would have been copied by him from somewhere.Do you see that copying itself is a problem, be it copying quality A or quality B? Whatever you copy, you are just a copier, a fake.Live authentically. That is the only good quality. And that need not be copied. 🙂Then the question arises: is there any role that another person has in the process of my self-awareness and development?
True freedom begins when we question the beliefs that make us feel trapped. Most of our suffering comes not from circumstances but from unquestioned assumptions, attachments, and imagined obligations. By suspending our beliefs, even briefly, we allow truth to enter, revealing that life always offers choice. Transformation is born from love for truth, the courage to let go, and the willingness to step beyond the boundaries created by the ego.
The Bhagavad Gita deserves reverence not because of inherited beliefs about its author, but because of its power to dissolve falsehood and reveal Truth. Real devotion is not ritual or blind faith—it is understanding, inquiry, and living the wisdom of the Gita. Through sincere study, one discovers the true meaning of Krishna, making the Gita the most authentic path to knowing and worshipping Him.
Real change begins not by changing the world alone but by understanding the one trying to change it. Laws, technology, policies, and scientific progress have value, yet they cannot solve problems rooted in human consciousness and endless desire. Truth remains the same across cultures and disciplines, requiring only a change in language, not in essence. Lasting solutions emerge through honesty, self-inquiry, and inner transformation, because no external system can replace a change in the human mind.
