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What is Remembrance? || Acharya Prashant, on Bhagvad Gita (2016)
Acharya Prashant
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7 years ago
Bhagavad Gita
Remembrance
Memory
Ego
Truth
Forgetfulness
Attachment
Liberation
Description

Acharya Prashant discusses the concept of remembrance as expressed by Shri Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. He explains that when Arjuna claims to have regained remembrance, it is not the acquisition of a new object or piece of knowledge. In the spiritual domain, remembrance is often misunderstood by the mind as a demand for an object, leading people to create images of God or Truth. However, the mind is limited to objects, and turning Truth into an object is a fundamental error. Acharya Prashant clarifies that while worldly remembrance means adding to memory, spiritual remembrance actually means getting rid of memory and going beyond the usual pattern-based functioning of the mind. True remembrance is described as a form of divine forgetfulness. Acharya Prashant emphasizes that God cannot be remembered as an object because the mind's remembrance is inherently limited and handicapped. Instead of trying to remember, one should focus on seeing the suffering contained in operating out of memory. Arjuna's state of 'Smriti labha' is characterized by the cessation of the past and the dropping of attachments and doubts. It is a state of being centered and stable, like a flame in a windless place, where the mind is no longer harassed by personal desires or familial bondages. Acharya Prashant further explains that Truth does not come as something additional to the old; it acts as a liberating force that reduces the ego. This reduction is the path to purification and total expansion. He notes that the ego often resists Truth because it fears the destruction of its false structures. To live in Truth, one must stop blocking it and surrender the personal will. Arjuna’s declaration to follow Shri Krishna's command signifies the discontinuation of the personal ego and the entry into the divine, where one is no longer the doer but allows the Truth to take over.