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Lightness and heaviness can be both misleading || Acharya Prashant (2018)
Acharya Prashant
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6 years ago
Conditioning
Spiritual Practice
Austerity
Righteousness
Self-Scrutiny
Choice
Delusion
Simplicity
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that the feeling of heaviness or lightness is not a value in itself; rather, the significance lies in who is experiencing it and in what context. He notes that if a person is conditioned to live in a certain way, any challenge to that conditioning will naturally feel heavy. Using the example of a drug addict, he illustrates that the heaviness experienced during de-addiction is necessary, while the lightness felt when consuming a substance is worthless. He emphasizes that terms like spiritual practice and austerity inherently imply a sense of difficulty because they challenge the deluded mind. The speaker argues that ease is only appreciable when it comes from simplicity, but humans often become accustomed to complexities and distortions, finding them easy. Therefore, one must prioritize being right over seeking ease. If moving toward the truth brings heaviness, one must continue; if a wrong lifestyle brings ease, that ease must be rejected. He concludes that instead of focusing on the choice itself, one must scrutinize the selector. Since a person is composed of multiple selves, one must decide which self to align with and promote. Only after determining what one truly wants to be can the question of right choice and benefit be settled.