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If you love Krishna, why avoid/distort the Gita? || Acharya Prashant, with DU (2023)
Bharat
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1 year ago
Brahman
Truth Realization
Ego
Bhagavad Gita
Personification
Vedanta
Srimad Bhagvatam
Spirituality
Description

Acharya Prashant clarifies that Brahman is not synonymous with God, as the objective of spirituality is truth realization rather than God attainment. He explains that God attainment often requires a belief in the egoistic self, whereas truth realization involves the dissolution of the ego and seeing oneself as fictitious. He critiques the popular misconception that one must personify the ultimate to reach it, stating that such imagination is merely ego fodder. He points out that many contemporary cults promote a romanticized, pleasing imagination of God that drags the divine down to the level of the human mind rather than elevating the seeker. Addressing the questioner's reliance on the Puranas, Acharya Prashant emphasizes that if Shri Krishna is considered ultimate, then the Bhagavad Gita must be the central authority. He argues that reading stories about Shri Krishna without understanding the Gita leads to misinterpretation. He explains that the term 'person' is a technical myth in Vedanta; by personifying Shri Krishna, one turns the divine into a myth. He asserts that the ego seeks security by maintaining its personhood, but the entire purpose of the Gita is to help the individual emerge from the illusion of being a person. As long as one clings to personhood and suffering, Shri Krishna remains elusive. Acharya Prashant concludes by urging the seeker to go directly to the Bhagavad Gita to find the correct path. He notes that even the second chapter of the Gita is sufficient to settle debates regarding name, form, and divine play. He maintains that if Shri Krishna is truly the ultimate source, then his direct words in the Gita are sufficient for spiritual liberation. He challenges the seeker to move beyond superficial assumptions and social definitions of the self to realize that even the seeker is not a 'person' in the way they believe.