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Concentration can be easy || Acharya Prashant, at BITS Pilani, Goa (2022)
42.1K views
3 years ago
Concentration
Values
Desire
Mind
Overthinking
Focus
Love
Description

A student asks Acharya Prashant how to overcome the constant chaos and overthinking in the mind, which prevents focus on goals. Acharya Prashant responds by questioning which particular task one is failing at. He explains that there is a stubborn, thirsty, and desirous one sitting within, which has one deep desire. If you involve yourself in fulfilling other desires or attempting other tasks, the one within will not cooperate, and you will fail. This is why people complain about not being able to concentrate. He asks, "On what are you trying to concentrate?" He uses the analogy of a thirsty child. If you take a thirsty child to a toy shop or a stationery shop, the child will not be able to concentrate on the toys or stationery, no matter how important they seem. The lack of concentration is an expression of the child's fundamental thirst. Similarly, if you are unable to concentrate, it is because you are not addressing your fundamental need. The problem is not a lack of concentration but a crisis of values; we do not know what is truly desirable or what to put value on. We have taken nonsensical things as important. Acharya Prashant explains that if you think studies are just a way to secure placements and earn money for entertainment, then your mind will naturally go towards entertainment, which you see as the ultimate value. He advises the students to question their values and what they deem important. Concentration is a problem because we live loveless lives. When you love something, you do not face concentration issues. The real problem is not concentration but having the right desire and the right values. Once you determine what is truly important in life, you will not need to practice concentration; it will come naturally. If you don't see what is truly important, you will get into all kinds of wrong things and will not be able to extract yourself from them.