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नीयत साफ़ रखो, जितना हो सके आगे बढ़ो || आचार्य प्रशांत, वेदांत महोत्सव (2022)
163.3K views
3 years ago
Right Action
Spiritual Expression
Responsibilities
Ego
Fear of Mistakes
Love
Spiritual Practice
Description

A questioner asks for guidance on how to apply spiritual knowledge to his professional life, given his worldly responsibilities. He feels he cannot immediately quit his job to pursue what he feels is right. Acharya Prashant responds with an analogy. He asks, if a drum has several holes and is filled with water, from which hole will the water come out first? The one at the bottom. The water will not wait for the drum to be completely full to overflow from the top; it will take the first available path of expression. He explains that this is how it is in spirituality and love. Whatever path is available for expression, one must use it. There is a pressure on the water, which is love, to express itself, and it will find any available path. He advises the questioner to make the most of the path that is currently available for expression. As one moves forward, other paths will open up. One must make their own path with the intention of creating it. The path begins right where one is at this moment; there is no need to wait. Acharya Prashant points out that people often make mistakes. However, when it comes to doing the right thing, they become overly cautious and hesitant, using the excuse of being careful. He highlights the hypocrisy in this, where wrong actions are done at supersonic speed, but right actions are taken at a snail's pace under the guise of wisdom. He says that while doing the right thing, mistakes will happen, but these mistakes are auspicious. The person making them is still the same, so errors are inevitable, but these are better than the mistakes made while living a wrong life. He uses the example of a sportsman whose performance might initially dip when a coach corrects a long-held wrong technique. This initial struggle and pain are part of the improvement process. The choice is between a dead, painless life and a living life that embraces the pain of growth and improvement. A living person is always ready for hardships and will bear any pain for the sake of improvement.