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Why can't I make others understand? || Acharya Prashant (2014)
Acharya Prashant
750 views
6 years ago
Understanding
Ego
Validation
Arguments
Faith
Self-doubt
Fragrance
Knowledge
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that the desire to share one's understanding often stems from a temptation to show off, similar to displaying a new toy or clothes. This urge arises because validation from others makes one feel that they have acquired something substantial. However, when others resist or oppose this "understanding," it is because their own egos are at stake. The entire process is merely the ego displaying its wares. True understanding is not something to be talked about; it is lived and breathed in every movement. If it is genuine, it radiates naturally like a lighthouse or a flower's fragrance without deliberate effort or the need for advertisement. He further notes that if arguments can shake one's confidence, then what was possessed was merely a collection of arguments, not true understanding or faith. Arguments can only be defeated by other arguments, whereas true understanding is beyond such disputes. He warns against adopting a missionary or prophet-like role after hearing a few fascinating ideas. The ego seeks to enhance itself at the cost of others, but true understanding involves the dissolution of the person who claims to know. When the ego is gone, sharing happens on its own as a natural expression of being, rather than a deliberate act by a doer seeking appreciation. Using the analogy of the king's new clothes and the story of the ordinary bricks passed off as gold, Acharya Prashant illustrates how people rely on external validation to maintain a false sense of security. Just as the king felt clothed because others praised his garments, people feel they have understanding because they seek social approval. He emphasizes that if one's foundation is shaken by the questions of others, it proves that the "understanding" was just a shallow collection of words. True sharing is not a responsibility of the self; it is the nature of understanding itself to be shared once the individual doer has disappeared.