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Cellphone addiction and loss of self-esteem || Acharya Prashant, at Cummins College, Nagpur (2022)
Acharya Prashant
16.9K views
2 years ago
Technology
Wisdom
Self-esteem
Vedanta
Spontaneity
Internal Liberation
Spiritual Growth
Knowledge
Description

Acharya Prashant addresses the concerns regarding digital addiction, low self-esteem, and the loss of spontaneity caused by excessive reliance on technology. He explains that while communication through text may appear safer, it lacks the warmth, liveliness, and authenticity of face-to-face interaction. He warns that hiding behind text or external knowledge like Google is a sign of fear and can lead to a loss of real-time responsiveness. Technology should be used to augment human ability, like a car, rather than becoming a crutch that debilitates our natural faculties. He emphasizes that knowledge is only true knowledge when it is lived and integrated into one's being. The speaker highlights that the fundamental issue is not technology itself, but the internal state of the user. He uses the analogy of a monkey with a sword to illustrate that if we remain primitive and unwise within, we will use advanced technology to our own detriment and destruction. Drawing from Vedantic principles, he asserts that one must first be 'right' within to use power and knowledge correctly. He cites historical figures like Ravan and Duryodhana as examples of individuals who possessed great power and knowledge but used them destructively because they operated from a false internal center. Finally, Acharya Prashant points out the dangerous disparity between the rapid growth of technology and the slow growth of human wisdom. He argues that the world's current crises, such as climate change and mass extinction, are results of this imbalance. He concludes that without devoting resources to internal development and spiritual growth, humanity risks catastrophic consequences. He urges the audience to prioritize wisdom and internal liberation to ensure that technology serves a creative rather than a destructive purpose.