India Just Stopped Being Original || Acharya Prashant, with IIT Ropar (2023)

Acharya Prashant

Full Video: Do Indians respect excellence? An inside story || Acharya Prashant, with IIT-Ropar (2023) Link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y3f77y07qQ&t=0s  Video Information: 25.01.2023, IIT-Ropar, Greater Noida   Context: ~ Why don't Indians go after excellence? ~ Why are Indians so eager to settle? ~ Is ambition childish?  ~ How important is philosophy or thought?  ~ Why are Indians so emotional? ~ What happens when a commoner emulates a sage?   Music Credits: Milind Date

Transcript

00:00 India just stopped thinking. India stopped being original.

00:06 We bypassed the mind. The thing is, please appreciate the cardinal mistake.

00:16 Even to go beyond the mind, you have to first of all use the mind to the fullest.

00:22 There is no other way. You cannot just arbitrarily drop the mind.

00:28 To go beyond life, first of all you have to go fully through life.

00:36 As they say, the way through is the way out.

00:46 We don't think. We believe. We are one of the most superstitious people.

00:52 Look at the number of gurus and babas proliferating and prospering.

01:02 Think of India's share in intellectual property generation.

01:09 How much original work is happening here? But we love to copy.

01:14 When it comes to plagiarism, we are second to none.

01:24 Think of your car models. Visit Europe or US and you will be surprised.

01:31 This one looks so much like the one I see on Indian roads.

01:36 But the logo is different. How did that happen?

01:43 Even think of the weapons that Indian army is using.

01:49 How many of them are there? Even to manufacture weapons, you require thought.

01:57 Where is thought? Where is logic? Where is rationality? Where is reason?

02:01 Where is critical thinking?

02:06 Think of how we worship our political leaders.

02:12 If you want to critically analyze a particular leader,

02:15 especially if he happens to be a darling of the masses,

02:18 they won't listen because they don't want to think. They just believe.

02:38 Our education must prepare the kid to question everything,

02:44 to dare to inquire into everything. There should be no holy cows.

02:50 There should be nothing so sacred that it cannot be questioned.

03:03 People who hide their ignorance behind shallow questions irritate me.

03:12 But there is another category of people who irritate me even more.

03:16 Those who ask no questions at all.

03:27 Those who just take life as it is hot, it is cold.

03:37 Who are you? Do you exist? Are you alive? Are you an alien? A zombie?

03:43 Who are you? There is no individuality. You don't have a mind.

03:49 You can't think. You can't question. You can't analyze.

03:55 You can't reason. You can't compare.

04:02 No, no, no. Dead.

04:11 So two bits of literature from the Hindi world are occurring to me at this moment.

04:22 One is Chaubey ji went to become Chhabbey and was left as Dubey.

04:30 So the fellow wanted to be bigger. You see this is a progression.

04:35 We talked of three levels, two, four and six. Two is Dubey, four is Chaubey and six is Chhabbey.

04:44 So we were at the middle level, the level of the simpleton, the level of the commoner.

04:50 We wanted to be the sage Chhabbey ji and what did we instead become? The savage Dubey ji.

04:57 Now I'm not offending all the Dubeys. Apologies in advance. It's just a metaphor.

05:08 And the other one is a popular song from one of the movies.

05:20 Bhaadi can never be far behind you.

05:24 Zindagi ki talaash mein hum maut ke kitne paas aagaye.

05:32 India's greatest fortune became its misfortune.

05:39 Our philosophers, our sages, our gems and jewels, we turned them into our misfortune.

05:57 That's what ails India.

06:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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