When there are no questions to ask the Teacher || Acharya Prashant (2019)

Acharya Prashant

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When there are no questions to ask the Teacher || Acharya Prashant (2019)

Questioner: Dear Acharya Ji, Pranaam! I know that the online sessions are interactive. A question needs to be asked, and the question will be addressed by you. Sometimes I desperately search for a question to ask, maybe just so that I may participate and my presence is acknowledged, but nothing comes to mind.

At other times, I feel the need to say something but then it is all garbled in the mind. No clear thoughts emerge. It’s like a dumb person who is trying to speak but can’t say something. Am I not able to express myself clearly? Is something holding me back?

Sometimes these thoughts come to mind, especially when we are urged to ask questions in the sessions. So I thought I will put it out to you to bring it to light.

Thank you for your love and guidance, and infinite patience with all of us.

Acharya Prashant: Nimisha (the questioner), there are many aspects to this, you see.

First thing – one need not always ask a question. Listening is enough. The ego tendency is one, and therefore the mind of mankind is just one. Therefore, the question asked by one person is in some way, the question of entire mankind. Even if you say that your question is different, you still have a question.

If you have a question, this means the fundamental tendency still stands unresolved.

The central knot is still there.

So, the knot exists in one person, the knot exists in another person.

In one person it manifests itself in the form of one question, in the other person it manifests itself in the form of another question.

So it doesn’t matter what the content, or the language, or the direction of the question is, it is actually pointing towards the knot, it is actually coming from the knot.

And that knot is common to all.

It could be anybody’s question. You may feel that you don’t have this doubt, but still, the answer will be greatly beneficial to you because all doubts are one. It is not proper to say that half your doubts are clear. If your doubts are really clear, no doubt would remain.

You cannot say that your doubts belong to another area. One person’s doubt is another person’s doubt, one query is everybody’s query. And if you say that a particular query is not yours, you are actually making a very tall claim. You are saying de-facto, that all your queries have been resolved.

Do you get what I am saying?

Fundamental knot is the same, queries differ on the surface.

When the Teacher responds, then even to a superficial query the answer is deep.

So, he might be starting from anywhere, but he will go right to the central knot.

And the central knot stands untied, problematic for all.

Therefore all answers are useful.

Even if one just listens benefit would follow.

And second thing is, one has to figure out why the questions are not arising. I said that the first thing is, it is not necessary to ask questions. You may just as well listen, benefit would follow. Now I am saying, it is equally important to ask why questions are not arising.

Questions arise when one’s pre-existing concepts are challenged, then there is a question.

Questions arise when one’s conceptual and imaginary world hits against facts, then questions arise, then one feels woken up.

A question represents an inconsistency in your life.

Only when there is something inconsistent in your life, then you want to ask a question.

If everything appears resolved, in place, in order, squared, fair enough, explained, then there would be no questions. Now you see why it may portend a danger if one doesn’t have questions?

If you don’t have a question, it may mean that you are not really striking against your boundaries. It may mean that you are living for too long, or too comfortably within your confined world. And within that confined world, everything is orderly, within that confined world everything stands explained, structured, resolved, refined, sorted out. And because everything stands explained, refined, sorted out, therefore there is no query at all.

Now, I said that, that portends danger. You know very well, why? Because that means that you are not hitting hard enough against your boundaries. It might mean that it is quite comfortable within the boundaries. So instinctively, you are not feeling like cracking the boundaries open.

One has to arrive at an inconsistency, only then a question will arise.

One has to arrive at something unusual, only then a question will arise.

If the daily life is such that, it is just a repetition of the usual patterns, then obviously no question will arise.

A question arises, when something strange happens.

The kid says, “Mumma, what is that?” For the kid to raise a question, the kid has to be taken on a tour. If you are not taking the kid out on a tour, it should not surprise you that the kid has no questions to ask.

So, Nimisha (the questioner), you need to take the kid out. Probably, you are being over-protective of the kid, that is you. Or you are keeping the kid too busy with homework, you know for the sake of progress or something. The kid needs to encounter something abnormal, something beyond its concepts, something that it has not seen or experienced. And the whole world is full of such things.

Outside our little, arranged, and ordered world, everything is unusual. Everything is beyond our knowledge and comprehension. It’s just that we are not exposed to it.

New situations are needed, extraordinary events are needed, a breaking out, rather a coming out is needed. And then things will happen that you would be curious about, and then things would happen in a way that would belie your expectations.

If everything happens according to your expectations, why would someone ever ask a question?

And if everything is happening as per expectation, even expectations are being broken as per expectations, then it means that life is just too structured, predictable. Probably boring as well.

Get into new activities.

Challenge your limits.

Wear different caps, play different games.

Test that which you might have taken for granted.

And then you will flood the session with questions!

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