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Why does one suffer in the world? || Acharya Prashant, on Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2017)
Scriptures and Saints
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3 years ago
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Yajnavalkya
Maitreyi
Katyayani
Immortality
Fear
Truth
Mind
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that the conflict faced by Arjun in the Bhagavad Gita is not merely a personal struggle but represents the universal situation of mankind. He emphasizes that Shri Krishna and Arjun are both within us, where Shri Krishna represents the heart or the inner truth. Using the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad as a reference, he discusses the dialogue between Sage Yajnavalkya and his consort Maitreyi. He interprets the sage's two wives, Maitreyi and Katyayani, as two dimensions of the human mind: Maitreyi represents the mind as a lover of truth and realization, while Katyayani represents the mind attached to worldly attributes and physical nature. The husband in this context symbolizes the heart or the ultimate truth, while the mind is the perpetual seeker. Acharya Prashant highlights the choice presented to the mind when faced with worldly riches versus spiritual essence. He compares this to Arjun and Duryodhana's choice between Shri Krishna himself and his vast army. Maitreyi, being a wise mind, rejects material wealth and instead asks for immortality, which the speaker defines as freedom from fear and time. He asserts that all religious scriptures aim for psychological healing by ridding the mind of fear through faith and wisdom. The speaker notes that seeking worldly means for ultimate contentment is futile because the limited can never contain the unlimited. He concludes that when a student reaches the same essence as the teacher, the physical presence of the teacher becomes secondary, as they have both become one with the truth.