On YouTube
All love is conditional || Acharya Prashant (2016)
Acharya Prashant
2.2K views
9 years ago
Spirituality
Stability
Unconditional Love
Conditional Love
Truth
Fearlessness
Honesty
Instability
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that the inquiry into spirituality begins with the recognition of instability, pain, and fear in human existence. He asserts that man seeks something unconditional and reliable because the mental models and predictions he relies on constantly fail, leading to a sense of betrayal and discontentment. This search for stability is essentially a search for the unchangeable amidst a world that is inherently conditional and time-bound. He emphasizes that spirituality does not start with joy but with the realization that what we consider love or immortality is often conditional and subject to change. He clarifies that all human love is fundamentally conditional, as it is based on specific terms, boundaries, and personal attachments. Using the example of a mother's love, he points out that it is limited to her own child, which is a significant condition. Acharya Prashant argues that we should not feel inferior for having conditional love, as we ourselves are products of conditions like evolution, religion, and education. He warns against the hypocrisy of trying to cultivate 'unconditional love' as a spiritual goal, suggesting instead that we should honestly accept the conditional nature of our relationships and existence. True unconditionality, according to Acharya Prashant, is the honest recognition that everything in the world is conditional. He explains that knowing the changeable as changeable requires a connection to the changeless or the 'timeless' within. This inner honesty and fearlessness allow an individual to participate in the world's seasonal and temporary nature without being shattered by it. He concludes that while unconditional love does not exist as a relationship between people, it exists in the heart as an unwavering urge toward the truth, allowing one to celebrate the conditional world with joy and serenity.