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Want more pleasure? || Acharya Prashant, with IIT Kharagpur (2022)
6.9K views
3 years ago
Pleasure
Purpose of Life
Quality vs. Quantity
Greed
Youth
Human Being
Reality Check
Success
Description

Acharya Prashant addresses the issue of being trapped in a cycle of greed for pleasure by advising the questioner to seek "real pleasure." He explains that real pleasure possesses a certain quality, and once this quality is experienced, the hunger for quantity diminishes. The speaker points out that the continuous search for more and more pleasure is a sign that one is not finding it anywhere. If one were to find genuine pleasure, the search would cease. Therefore, he suggests that the constant desire for pleasure everywhere stems from not finding it anywhere. The speaker advises looking for the right place where real pleasure can be had. This involves first testing whether the various places that promise pleasure are of any real value. He cautions that these sources often promise, attract, and extract a lot from a person but ultimately fail to deliver. He encourages maintaining faith that the "real thing" is not inaccessible and that one is born to achieve it. However, this is not possible if one remains attracted to and engaged with all the "little and false stuff," which will forever keep one away from the "real deal." Regarding the societal pressure on students to crack competitive exams like JEE or UPSC with the promise of a life of pleasure, Acharya Prashant dismisses this as a delusion. He argues that most who are motivated by such promises do not succeed, and even those who do soon discover that the promised power, privilege, and pleasure are not as they were imagined. He recommends conducting a "reality check" by speaking to seniors and alumni to understand the actual life that follows such achievements, emphasizing that most outcomes are quite ordinary. Ultimately, the speaker posits that the solution lies in having a purpose in life. He acknowledges that everyone has bodily, social, and mental likes and dislikes, but there must be a hierarchy of importance. When one finds something truly important, it naturally takes precedence over lesser desires, such as the craving for material possessions like cars. The key is to find the right reason and purpose for one's actions, which leads to the proper utilization of time without the need to count the hours. He concludes by urging the youth to remember they are "young human beings," not "young animals," and to discover the profound responsibility and privilege that this entails.