On YouTube
If life feels alright, how to be motivated for change? || Acharya Prashant, with IIT Delhi (2022)
7.4K views
3 years ago
Reality
Satisfaction
Human Condition
Purpose of Life
Inquiry
Bondage
Liberation
Ego
Description

Acharya Prashant addresses a question about what motivates a person who is already satisfied with their reality. He explains that the motivation should be a deeper appreciation of that same reality. Reality, he clarifies, is composed of two parts: the experienced world and the experiencer of that world. A true understanding of this reality would reveal that the human condition is one of being trapped. Therefore, genuine satisfaction with reality is impossible if one truly knows it. If one feels satisfied, it is a sign that their inquiry has stagnated, likely because the ego values security over knowledge and avoids truths that might be uncomfortable. The ego prefers to 'settle down' in a comfortable state rather than undertake the arduous and often unsettling journey towards the core of truth. The speaker elaborates that humans are born into a state of ignorance, fear, and greed, which is our natural (Prakritik) condition. Unlike animals, whose lives are largely predetermined, humans possess the unique capacity for self-reflection. This consciousness, when turned inward, reveals its own bondage and thus becomes obliged to work towards liberation, which is the fundamental purpose of human life. This potential, however, is a double-edged sword. The freedom to choose can either lead to transcendence or to a state worse than that of animals. Most people, lacking self-knowledge, misuse this freedom, believing life's purpose is merely to earn, marry, procreate, and consume, a philosophy that wreaks havoc on themselves and the planet. Ultimately, the spiritual journey is not about an actor reaching a destination to celebrate an achievement. Instead, it is a process of courageous and continuous inquiry where the actor, the ego, is itself dissolved. When enlightenment occurs, there is no 'I' left to experience it or its benefits. Therefore, rather than speculating about a final, divine state, one should focus on the practical, immediate steps. Spirituality is about doing the next right thing in the present context, which is the essence of Nishkam Karma (action without attachment to the outcome). This involves honestly assessing one's current state of bondage and taking determined steps towards relative liberation, moment by moment.