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If everything is temporary, why do anything? || Acharya Prashant, at IIM-Nagpur (2022)
Breaking Free
4.2K views
2 years ago
Detachment
Compassion
Motiveless Action
Bhagavad Gita
Immortality
Desirelessness
Anityata
Self-gratification
Description

Acharya Prashant addresses the dilemma of feeling demotivated due to the realization that everything in life is temporary. He explains that true detachment must always be accompanied by compassion. While one may recognize that the world is in a state of flux and that seeking permanence in it leads to misery, this realization should not lead to inaction. Instead, it should inspire a person to work for the welfare of others who are still caught in the cycle of attachment and suffering. He emphasizes that when one stops working for personal gain and starts working for the common good, they are blessed with unlimited energy. Drawing from the Bhagavad Gita, Acharya Prashant cites Shri Krishna, who continues to work vigorously despite having nothing to gain personally. He distinguishes between a motivated mind, which is driven by petty and limited personal desires, and a state of motivelessness. Motiveless action is described as the highest state of energy because it is free from the fear of failure, frustration, or defeat. By dedicating oneself to an unending project of bringing light to others, one finds a purpose that transcends the self. This immersion in a cause that never ends is what the scriptures define as immortality.