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To have knowledge is ignorance; to be free of knowledge is wisdom || Acharya Prashant, on Saint Rumi
Scriptures and Saints
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3 years ago
Liberation
Surrender
Free Will
Knowledge
Ego
Spontaneity
Wisdom
Conditioning
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that the liberated one is not a knower in the conventional sense but is actually free of knowledge and totally innocent. He clarifies that being a 'Gyani' means being free of 'gyan' (knowledge), as holding onto knowledge is a form of ignorance. The liberated person acts as a spontaneous instrument of the divine, much like a pen that does not know what it is writing. This state of liberation involves having no free will of the ego, but rather letting decisions happen through oneself without analysis or criticism. While the ego finds the idea of being an instrument horrifying, the liberated one lives in surrender and dissolution, finding joy in not belonging to themselves. He further discusses that what people commonly call 'free will' is actually a mirage, as most choices are conditioned by evolution, biology, society, and environment. True free will only exists when acting from the right center, which is the free will of the 'free' rather than the ego. Acharya Prashant emphasizes that surrender is not a decision but a realization of an immensity that deserves more respect than one's own limits. This realization leads to effortless action and relaxation, where one stops being responsible for the 'mess' of life and lets the divine run the show. Finally, the speaker critiques the serious and consumerist approach many people take toward spirituality. He describes how people often treat spiritual gatherings like a 'mega spiritual mall,' looking to collect and compare different teachings. He asserts that truth cannot be taken seriously in a heavy-handed way; if truth does not make one smile or laugh, it is not truth. He encourages an instantaneous 'yes' to truth, similar to a love affair, rather than a process of deliberation, and concludes that truth has no business selling itself to shoppers.