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The joy of choosing a great suffering || Acharya Prashant, on Vedanta (2021)
Breaking Free
1.3K views
2 years ago
Vedanta
Upanishads
Identity
Suffering
Consciousness
Purpose
Freedom
Truth
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that the world's names and forms become appealing to an individual based on the size of the void within them. He compares the world to a marketplace filled with advertisements and shops, noting that one succumbs to these distractions when there is a significant internal lack. He advises that while this void exists from birth, one must not allow it to grow. Instead, one should live in a way that diminishes it by filling it with the right things. He emphasizes that the demand for worldly things comes from within, and the world simply acts as an infinite supplier to that demand. Therefore, rather than blaming the world, one must address the internal demand by plugging the void with a suitable and right purpose. He further asserts that humans are destined to be identified with something from the moment of birth. Since having no identity is not a real option for most, the best course is to adopt a high and sublime identity rather than a false or petty one. He warns against the spiritual pretense of purposelessness, stating that one must have an intense and great purpose in life to avoid being invaded by wrong purposes and foolish desires. He suggests that labor and suffering are unavoidable in life, so one should choose to labor for the right cause and endure 'right suffering.' Right suffering is characterized by the reduction of the sufferer, eventually making worldly concerns and adverse situations irrelevant. Acharya Prashant highlights that human consciousness naturally seeks elevation, clarity, and purity, which is why pettiness can never truly satisfy a person. He argues that choosing a higher problem or a 'higher suffering' is a matter of dignity, as the human nature is inherently large and infinite. He warns against the danger of becoming acclimatized to nonsensical or petty suffering, as it can take away one's ability to resist. In such cases, he recommends seeking good company and the wisdom of the Upanishads to be reminded that one is not born to suffer and should not make peace with the sources of their misery.