On YouTube
Use your hurt as your resource || Acharya Prashant (2021)
7.6K views
4 years ago
Spiritual Warrior
Truth
Cunningness
Hurt
Resource Management
Shri Krishna
Mahabharata
Maya
Description

Acharya Prashant addresses the question of how to act against injustice without being overcome by anger or feeling like a coward for not acting. He explains that this experience is common, even for him when dealing with intimate people. He advises adopting the mindset of a "spiritual soldier" who, on one hand, must be vigorously energetic and enthusiastic about the cause, and on the other, must be skilled and thoughtful, preserving their energy for the right battles. A good soldier does not waste himself on every unnecessary battle but conserves his resources for the larger war. The speaker emphasizes the importance of resource management. If one has 100 units of energy, expending 30 units to stop one petty fellow from whipping a bull is an injustice to the larger cause of saving the billions of living beings slaughtered daily. While one must have a fierce fire within, it's crucial to remember that the soldiers of Truth are few and badly outnumbered, so they cannot afford to waste themselves on minor things or get caught in courtroom battles. The spiritual warrior must be extremely intelligent and even "cunning in the service of the Truth." This is different from those who have cunningness at their core; the warrior has Truth at their core and uses cunningness, or Maya, as a tool to serve that Truth. Citing the example of Shri Krishna in the Mahabharata, who used a lie about Ashwatthama's death to defeat Drona, Acharya Prashant states that one must first have Krishna (Truth) at their center and then use Maya liberally. He quotes Kabir Saheb, who salutes the one who can cheat the great cheater, Maya. The speaker refutes the misleading image of sages as simple, handicapped old men who only dispense moral counsel. He asserts that a man of Truth must be extremely sharp, using their intellect, reason, and all available resources, including their hurt, for the sake of Truth. He advises the questioner to acknowledge his hurt and use it as a resource to harden his resolve and become even more charged up to act in an intelligent and effective way.