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Are you Crazy? || Acharya Prashant
10.6K views
2 years ago
True Love
Ego-Dissolution
Habituation
Spiritual Literature
Upanishads
Aham Brahmasmi
Kabir Saheb
Rumi
Description

Acharya Prashant begins by challenging the questioner's premise that "only a crazy person can understand true love." He suggests that it is important to first investigate the premise itself, rather than proceeding based on an assumption derived from personal experience and conclusions. He points out that one must first understand the lived meaning of concepts like "dissolution" and the bare facts of one's own life. He explains that words like "crazy," "dissolution," and "true love" are frequently recycled in spiritual literature, which can lead to a habituated but superficial understanding. He likens this to passing by a hospital or a funeral ground daily; this familiarity does not equate to true knowledge or curiosity about the object. Just because one is habituated to reading spiritual terms does not mean one knows them in a lived sense. He states that he is playing the devil's advocate because the question is at a certain level of thought, and it is better to attempt something higher. Acharya Prashant notes that while saints like Kabir Saheb and Rumi speak of "divine craziness" or "joy in inner death" with great simplicity and conviction, making it seem like an obvious fact, the matter itself is not simple. This is where one can be deceived. He gives the example of a Rishi from the Upanishads saying "Aham Brahmasmi" (I am Brahman). This statement arises spontaneously from the Rishi's life, for which he has paid the price. It is his prerogative to say it, not an objective fact that can be repeated by anyone. He clarifies that unlike an objective statement, spiritual truths like "Aham Brahmasmi" cannot be merely repeated. One must earn the right to use such words, which requires the ego to be at its minimum. If the ego remains as it is and simply adopts these words, it becomes a problem. Therefore, he is cautious about using the phrase "crazy in love," as even ordinary, egoistic love is often described with such terms, leading to misinterpretation and misclassification. He advises against merely trying to relate to the words of the saints; the more important and honest approach is to try to rise to their level of understanding.