Who am I? A naked child walking towards the mother and getting closer and closer || Acharya Prashant
Question: Sir,was it a particular moment or series of events that led you towards the spiritual journey?
Acharya Prashant (smiling): Why do you want to know?
No, there have been no special events. No special events at all. It is not a spectacular thing. It is not something fanciful or glorious or glamorous. It is simple and ordinary.
As a naked child, there is a mother, you keep walking towards the mother. There is nothing spectacular about it. As a naked child, you are walking towards the mother. And they are getting closer and closer and closer.
That’s me.
No glamorous memory of this. No particular date. It’s a continuous movement taking baby steps.
Listener 1: You like receiving appreciation?
AP: Yes, if that helps the other one receive more of me. Not because appreciation means something to me. But if he appreciates me then there are chances that he receives more. So I like it when you appreciate.
(Enacting) Fill that form nicely there. Write good things. And in the end, say that you will come back . It’s nice.
L2 : And if the appreciation is coming from an identity?
AP : The identity never appreciates. Appreciation always comes from somewhere else . As an identity, you will only appreciate another identity. If the appreciation is real, then it is real only from the real centre.
L3 : Sometimes I feel no gratitude. And then the ‘need’ to feel gratitude arises.
AP: We all have done that. We have all done that so often. “I need to feel grateful”, so I’ll smile and all that.
*‘I need to feel grateful.’*
Gratitude is not a need. Gratitude is not an obligation. Gratitude arises. It arises in spite of your resistance. You are not obliged to feel grateful.
Do you see the extent to which these roleplays percolate in our life?—”I need to act like a lover. I need to act joyful. I need to act grateful. I need to act respectful.”
L4 : “Our relationship with God”, please explain.
AP : We all have relationship only with God. You may be related to anybody. But why anybody? So that you can get some joy, some peace and some fulfilment. And joy, peace and fulfilment are God. So, all our relationships are for the sake of God.
You may call it gratitude. You may call it commitment. You may call it honesty. But, it is about being Real, not being fake.
L5 : The mood keeps on changing. Conflicts arise.
AP : These are your dependencies.
It is only when you are dependent that conflicting thoughts arise; it is only when you are not dependent, then it is easy to stay firm with the obvious.
