A questioner begins by noting that while we can choose our friends, we cannot choose our family. Due to our upbringing and socialization, there is an implicit trust in family members that we take for granted and never question. However, when challenges and problems arise, these relationships are truly tested, which can lead to betrayal and unfulfilled expectations on both sides. The questioner, having gone through such pain, asks about the concept of a "karmic account" and whether one can be liberated from it. Acharya Prashant responds by stating that the idea of a karmic account is merely "mind stuff." He explains that there is no external account; everything is contained within the mind. The mind is dictated by the ego, which he describes as the owner of the house that is the mind. If something remains in the mind, it is because the ego finds it profitable to keep it there. Even pain is retained because it provides a sense of security for one's identity. The mind selectively stores what the ego deems important for pleasure or identity and has an auto-delete process for what it considers useless. We don't remember everything from our past, only what the ego chooses to hold onto. The speaker further explains that we cling to the past because of an insufficiency in the present. When the present is hollow, the mind fills the vacuum by streaming in the past or projecting a future. The solution lies in forcing oneself to live a fulfilling life in the present. When the present is healthy, well-nourished, and filled with the right kind of challenges and occupations, there is no space left for the past or future. Those past things then become too small to be remembered. The purpose of life, he concludes, is to stop the crying we begin at birth. We are unfulfilled from the start, which is why we are always desiring. The purpose is to understand this constantly complaining, incomplete internal self. This understanding of the process withināour actions, relationships, thoughts, and feelingsāis what is truly liberating.
