When there is innocence in the Heart only then there is intelligence in the mind || Acharya Prashant (2015)

Question: Sir, can there be a ‘conscious innocence’?

Speaker: No, but there can be ‘innocent consciousness’. In the same way as there can be no ‘worldly God’, but there can be a ‘Godly world’.

Innocence is your center. Innocence is far above consciousness. In fact, innocence means a point that is not stained by consciousness. With innocence in your heart, you can be conscious in the mind and it will be an ‘innocent consciousness’. With God in your heart, you can have the world in your mind and it will be a ‘Godly world’. But if you try the opposite then you are inviting hell. If you make God a thing of the mind then, not only have you lost touch with God but even this mind, that dares to contain God, becomes a petty mind and suffers.

You have talked of ‘conscious innocence’. ‘Conscious innocence’ is pretended innocence. ‘Conscious innocence’ is the mask of innocence. ‘Conscious innocence’ is fake innocence. Just as a ‘worldly God’ is a fake God. You cannot be conscious first and then decide to be innocent. Innocence is not a decision of your consciousness. Innocence is the very environment, the very ambience in which the game of consciousness can play out. The entire game is going on, and it is being played out in the arena of innocence. Innocence has to be bigger than consciousness, just as the arena of the sport has to be large enough to contain all the sportsmen, the entire game.

Keep the First things first, always. Innocence is first. Consciousness comes much later. Innocence is your root and later on you acquire this thing called consciousness. Innocence is your foundation, and then you build this worldly mansion of consciousness. Let the Foundation remain the foundation.