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बताओ आज किस रेस्त्रां में खाना है? (नए अनुभव, गलती पुरानी) || आचार्य प्रशांत, वेदांत पर (2021)
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4 years ago
Experience
Repetition
Satsang
Nature (Prakriti)
Liberation
Delusion
Shankaracharya
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that all experiences are fundamentally of the same flow. If one can see how today's experience is interwoven with past experiences, one would not consider it 'new.' When an experience is not seen as new, the attraction towards it diminishes. The allure of a so-called new experience lies in the hope that it will yield a new result. However, if you clearly see that the new experience is just like the old ones, you will be liberated from it. There is nothing new to experience that you have not already experienced before. He quotes Shankaracharya, who said, "You are born again and again, you die again and again," to explain that we have experienced the same thing countless times. The object of experience merely comes with a different name and form, and we, being foolish, are deceived. He uses an analogy of a person allergic to wheat. This person first eats a chapati and has an allergic reaction. Then, thinking the allergy is specific to chapati, they try a sandwich, then a pizza, and then a naan, each time from a different place, even ordering home delivery. Despite the change in name, form, and source, the core element—wheat—remains the same, and so does the allergic reaction. This cycle represents our repeated suffering. The speaker clarifies that this tendency to repeat mistakes is due to our inherent nature (Prakriti). Instead of asking why this foolishness exists, which is beginningless, one should focus on how to end it. The end comes through a firm resolve. The way to see our own condition is through 'satsang' (the company of the wise). We only perceive things through comparison. When we are in the company of someone healthy and beautiful, we can see our own illness by comparison. Satsang first shows you your actual state and then provides the inspiration and the path to get out of it. Conversely, bad company (kusangati) deepens the delusion. Therefore, the only remedy is satsang.