On YouTube
A basic Mantra - from my life || Acharya Prashant, at BITS Goa (2023)
35.5K views
2 years ago
Sincerity
Truth
Choice
Freedom
Commitment
Risk
Spirituality
Ambition
Description

Acharya Prashant responds to a question about his journey from being a socially successful person (an alumnus of IIT, IIM, and a civil services qualifier) to a spiritual revolutionary. He clarifies that he does not see himself as a "juggernaut" and did not operate from a place of confidence in his skillset. Instead, his path was guided by a basic sincerity: if he sees something as false, he cannot continue to be a part of it. This was the simple, full-stop principle. He explains that his journey was a process of moving towards things that appeared relatively truer and better. As he continued on this path, what seemed a little true would open up more gates to things that were progressively lovelier, truer, and higher. He asserts that his story is no different from anyone else's, as everyone knows of things in their lives that are false, distasteful, or abhorrent, such as corruption, tax evasion, or unhappy marriages. The issue is that people are risk-averse and do not definitively push these false things out of their lives, keeping them as options out of fear. Acharya Prashant advises to learn to run the risk and be a proper human being. If something is not right, one must discard it without worrying about the consequences. He encourages the audience to identify the things they know with "fierce certainty" to be unacceptable and strike them out. This is not about discarding everything, but about being honest with oneself. Once the unacceptable is discarded, one is left with relatively better options. From those, one should choose what they love the most and what they can begin with, paying the price it demands, as anything beautiful does not come for free. This process is a continuous commitment to Truth and Beauty, not to one particular thing. What is chosen today is for today; if something higher or better appears tomorrow, one must choose that. Freedom is the rule. He illustrates this by mentioning how he has forgotten the names of his former bosses because his commitment is only to the "real boss"—the Truth. The formula is simple: if something is not right, do not do it; if it is right, you must do it. There should be no helplessness or excuses.