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कृष्ण दूर बैठे हैं, या तुम कृष्ण से दूर भाग रहे हो? || आचार्य प्रशांत (2020)
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5 years ago
Shri Krishna
Uttar Gita
Intention
Ego
Liberation
Laziness
Helplessness
Description

Acharya Prashant addresses a questioner who finds the paths to liberation in the Uttar Gita impractical and impossible to follow, feeling as if someone on the hundredth step is speaking to him while he is not even on the first. The speaker reframes this, stating that the questioner is not merely expressing his helplessness but is levying a significant accusation against Shri Krishna. By presenting the situation in this manner, the questioner implies that a foolish person is sitting on the hundredth step to preach to someone on the first, which is an indictment of Shri Krishna himself. The speaker clarifies that the issue is not that Shri Krishna is sitting far away on a high step. If the seeker is on the first step, Shri Krishna is right there beside him, explaining things. The real problem is that the seeker has built a home on the first step and, to protect this home, finds it necessary to blame others. He has fired a bullet at Shri Krishna, claiming he speaks from the hundredth step. Shri Krishna would not have descended to this earth if he had to speak from such a distance; he could have just made a divine proclamation from the heavens. He is the Krishna who was born on this soil, ate, played, laughed, and cried here. He interacted with ordinary cowherds and never claimed to be on a higher step. He descended to be just like them. Acharya Prashant further explains that even in the Mahabharata, Shri Krishna sat right beside Arjun, explaining the eighteen chapters of the Gita. He wasn't preaching from the sky. The Uttar Gita was also spoken when Krishna and Arjun were together, and Arjun, much like the questioner, admitted to not understanding or forgetting much of what was taught. Krishna was speaking to people like that, so he would have used the simplest language possible. The speaker asserts that the issue is not that the teachings are distant or difficult, but that the seeker has become attached to his current state, his false nest on the first step. He is lazy, has developed bad habits, and has settled in a dirty place, making a pact with filth. Instead of honestly admitting his unwillingness to change, he blames the scriptures. The speaker concludes by stating that this is a common excuse, a popular fashion, to mock the scriptures by calling their teachings too lofty. He advises against this, pointing out that such people are not humble but hollow and highly egoistic. The saints and sages have used the simplest possible language and everyday examples—like a grinding stone, a rope, a wall, a pot, a road, a well, cloth, thread, a dog, or a cat—so that the common person can understand. The teachings are not difficult; the problem lies in the seeker's intention. He assures the questioner that if the intention to change is present, the path is not difficult and encourages him to try.