Acharya Prashant (AP): Tell me all of you, what is right and what is wrong? How do you know, what is right and how do you know, what is wrong?
Someone told you what is right and someone told you what is wrong and not only that, someone also told you that there is something called ‘right’ and something called ‘wrong’ and you started believing in it so deeply; you have been made a fool of.
What do you mean by right, what do you mean by wrong? What do you mean by right, what do you mean by wrong? All our sense of right and wrong is a borrowed sense of right and wrong. All this ethics, morality they are coming from outside we never founded out on our own.
You are this old and mama says, “Don’t hurt others, be respectful to elders, speak the truth, be a loving person.” And all this is right and the opposite of this happens to be wrong. But if you are a smart kid, you turn around and ask mama; “Mama, why should I speak the truth always?”
But mama doesn’t know because her own mama told that to her and her own mama got it from her own mama and nobody really knows but the mantra is been repeated — ‘speak the truth’ and the world is now full of liar, who are all being told in their childhood ‘please speak the truth’, all have been told ‘respect others’, ‘don’t hurt others’, ‘don’t be violent’ but the world is entirely full of rapists.
Have you not wondered, why that happens? That happens because nothing comes out in our life from our intelligence, all comes from outside and when it comes from outside that’s what we get; a botched up human being, a botched up human being, a caricature of a human being, not a really healthy intelligent man.
All these rights and wrongs that you get, that you soak-in like a sponge from here, from there; had you ever paid a little attention you would have discovered how fallible they are, how incomplete and false they are.
What is wrong in one country, is right in another country, what is wrong in one house, is considered right in another house, what is wrong in one age, is right in another age, what is wrong in one religion, is right in another religion, what is wrong in one’s view point, is right in another’s view point. One man’s a terrorist, is another man’s freedom fighter. What do you mean by right and wrong.
The only wrong, if you are insisted upon asking what is wrong, the only wrong is to be stupid, that is the only wrong. Don’t be stupid. This course that you are undergoing is essentially aim to making you fool-proof, do you understand this? Not being stupid, not being foolish, so fool-proof.
The only wrong is to be stupid and what does stupidity mean? Being distracted, not being attentive, not understanding, not exercising one’s own intelligence and just taking things as they come and we have only taken things. We have taken so many beliefs, we have taken our religion from outside, we have taken our sense of patriotism from outside, we have taken a sense of purpose in life from outside, our goals come from outside.
All our life is nothing but a garbage bin and everyone keeps on throwing his rubbish into it. Nothing is our own, nothing is our own.
That, what really is your own; your own intelligence, you are afraid of it, you are insecure about that, that how I dare me intelligent. That’s your right, you are intelligent, you must act intelligently. Don’t be afraid about that, right? There’s nothing wrong.
You know why you are asking this question that, sir, what is right, what is wrong? Because the moment you act intelligently for the first time, you are afraid because till date what is right has come from others and that makes you feel secure. “You know, I am happy and I am feeling safe that I am doing the right thing”, why? “Because so and so has told me this is the right thing to do and everybody does it so it must be the right thing to do.”
When you act on your own; like an individual, like an intelligent being then you are afraid. Face that fear, face that fear, don’t run away. The only wrong is to not be your own man, to not to be an individual, that is the only wrong and the only right is to act intelligently, nothing else is right.
When you act in your intelligence, let the society say that you are wrong, let them keep on saying, let them keep on declaring you a fool or a criminal. But still, you will know, you will know deeply within that you are right. You will know it so deeply that nobody will be able to convince you that you are wrong.
Are you getting it?
But that will require some guts and that will require great deal of understanding, which I am so sure that you are capable of, you are surely capable of that, yes? I know, it’s a little scary but don’t you want a life that’s totally your life not a dictated life? Yes, don’t you want that?
Sir, we want that but there is too heavy a price to pay. We’ll have to give up these luxuries and comforts and we have become so attached to them, what to do? Our foul sense of security, we have become too attached to it sir, what to do? Bada sankat hai.
This course threatens us. If truth threatens you then surely you are living in lies. And I repeat, you are capable of understanding, you surely are capable of understanding and you have come to a particular age when you must understand, you must act intelligently. You are no more six years old.
Doubts, suspicions, daal me kuch kaala hai.
Yes, next question please.