Acharya Prashant addresses the question of how to be content without being complacent. He begins by explaining that complacency can only exist when one has not bothered to inquire into the facts of their life. Otherwise, it is impossible to be smug and ultra-confident about one's state. He asserts that, factually, none of us are in a great state internally. It is an unfortunate fact, but a fact nonetheless, that there is sickness, incompleteness, dissatisfaction, psychosis, anxiety, and fear. He points to common experiences like being jittery during placement season or jealous of a colleague's higher pay package as evidence of this internal state. Knowing all these things, if one still certifies themselves as internally healthy, there is something very wrong with their compass of honesty, or they are too afraid to inquire within. He gives the example of trembling before an interview, a physical manifestation that cannot be denied. Regarding contentment, Acharya Prashant states that it is the very last thing to pursue. At a young stage in life, one should have a lot of dissatisfaction. Settling at the point you already are, inwardly or outwardly, would be settling at a very sub-optimal point, as your potential is far higher. He advises against talking about contentment at this stage, as we do not even know what it is and are bound to misinterpret it. Instead, he encourages young people to rebel and rise, to see what confines them and not accept it. He advises to fight it out and not bother too much about the result. After giving a good fight, one can be contented, not in the sense that the fight is over, but in the sense that one is ready for the next and bigger fight. Final contentment, he clarifies, is final deliverance or liberation, which is not to be talked of now. He urges young people to challenge, question, and not be easily satisfied, as much in the world needs to be demolished. In response to a follow-up about detachment from the outcome, Acharya Prashant reframes the concept. He suggests it is not about detachment but about being in love with your war, with your action. For this to happen, the work itself must be enormous and lovable. When one is intensely in action, the outcome becomes immaterial, not because of indifference or detachment, but because of intense love. One is left with very little time, space, or energy to bother about the result. He illustrates this with the analogy of a long, hard-fought tennis match. The player who loses after giving their all does not truly regret it; that match might be their most unforgettable one because it drained everything out of them and brought them to life. The one who can be affected by the outcome is left with nothing to be affected with, having held nothing back. The point is how you have played the game. Live life so intensely that in the end, you are left with no energy to be concerned with the result.
