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Ambition - the burning need to achieve || Acharya Prashant (2015)
Acharya Prashant
2.2K views
10 years ago
Ambition
Conditioning
Resistance
Truth
Change
Suffering
Kabir Saheb
Mind
Description

Acharya Prashant explores the nature of ambition, questioning whether it is a genuine desire for change or a mechanism to resist it. He observes that while human beings superficially claim to want progress and betterment, their fundamental nature remains unchanged despite centuries of revolutions, scientific advancements, and spiritual teachings. He argues that real ambition is not about material accumulation or corporate success, but about a total commitment to truth and fundamental inner transformation. He points out that while the rest of existence changes effortlessly and remains in order, humans are uniquely resistant to the natural nudges of life toward correction and alignment. The speaker highlights the hypocrisy in human behavior, where individuals claim to be afraid of the unknown yet remain deeply dissatisfied with the known. He suggests that our 'ambition' is often a pseudo-discussion used to avoid real change. We distract ourselves with superficial alterations—like changing clothes, cars, or partners—to placate the mind while guarding against any deep shift in our conditioning. He describes the mind as being in a state of 'broad daylight robbery,' where we are so busy thinking about and planning for change that we miss the reality of it occurring in the present moment. Acharya Prashant concludes that suffering is a result of human intervention and effort, whereas delight comes when one is less busy and allows life to happen on its own. He challenges the audience to stop trusting the 'diseased organ' of the mind that continuously leads them into patterns of lethargy and false victories. Real ambition, he explains, lies in being less desperate and more available to the truth that is already in close proximity. He encourages a life of simple, direct commitment to what is right, rather than a life of willful alignment with falseness and resistance.