Cellphone addiction and loss of self-esteem || Acharya Prashant, at Cummins College, Nagpur (2022)

Acharya Prashant

‍♂️ Want to meet Acharya Prashant? Be a part of the Live Sessions: https://acharyaprashant.org/hi/enquir...   Want to read Acharya Prashant's Books? Get Free Delivery: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/books?...   Read 3 handpicked wisdom articles, just for you: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/articl... ➖➖➖➖➖➖  Video Information:  11.11.22, Cummins College, Nagpur  Context:  ~ Does cell-phone addiction lead to self-esteem? ~ How to deal with cell-phone addiction? ~ Are the current generation heavily dependent on cell-phones? ~ How to build real and long-lasting relationship with people? ~ Is face-to-face conversation better than texting? ~ Can technology replace humans?  Music Credits: Milind Date  ~~~~~

Transcript

00:00One's work should expose the roots of fear and give the tools to move beyond that insidious

00:13universal feeling of not being good enough, resulting in unstoppable confidence and a

00:19world of unlimited possibilities.

00:22A very warm and pleasant afternoon to one, our chief guest, Acharya Prashanthji.

00:28Our valued principal, Dr. Bharat Bhushan Joshi, sir, dignified officials of the company, Prashanth

00:35Advait Foundation officials, management members, faculty, dignitaries and my fellow students.

00:44Questions drive the peace in one's soul.

00:46Many questions arise in the minds of the youth, which remains unanswered.

00:51We shall get the answers of many such questions today.

00:55It is an immense privilege that we have been given this opportunity to interact with such

01:01a renowned personality.

01:03It's an honor, sir.

01:05Limits do not define our diverse potential.

01:08It's we who make our limits to push boundaries and succeed as an individual.

01:14So what less pivotal than being fearless?

01:18Today's interaction shall be all about the insights of leading a life of faith and evolving

01:24the rate of fear as an individual.

01:27I would like to thank you, sir, and the members of the foundation for paying such heat to

01:33a crucial topic, which is mostly overlooked.

01:36Now, I would request Mr. Sameer Pintre, Chief Operations Officer at Persistence, who is

01:43responsible for the environmental, social and governance, ESG and risk management, both

01:50of which are a core to their strategy and values.

01:54He is also responsible for the Enterprise Information System, EIS, administration and

02:00internal audit functions.

02:02I request you, sir, to kindly greet the audience.

02:06The eminent speaker for today, Acharya Prashant, my dear friend and the principal of the Cummins

02:14Women's College at Nagpur, Dr. Bharatmohan Joshi, other professors, teachers and what

02:22I call my future colleagues, because I hope to see some of all of you as certainly part

02:28of my industry, but certainly part of also hopefully part of organizations like Persistence.

02:36For Persistence, it's been very important and an important focus about women, women

02:42education, women empowerment and women development.

02:46And that is where when Dr. Joshi came to me that we want to do this program for women,

02:52which talks about fearless living.

02:54And this is something which is required for today on how the women of today really evolves

03:01from and how the whole the challenges which we see in the society today really evolve.

03:05I think this was a good program for us to get associated and do it together.

03:10I'm sure we'll hear more about this from Acharya Prashant.

03:14But what I can really say to all the young girls here whom we call in our this thing

03:20as in fact, we run a program called Kiran Scholarship.

03:23I don't know if some of the girls here are participants to that.

03:26But we run a program where we say these are the Kirans for us.

03:30These are the girls which will take this country forward.

03:33I look forward to all of you learning from this, taking all these inputs and growing

03:39both as individuals and contributing to this and not only just this country, because that's

03:44what we all look up to, but also making a difference to society.

03:48So wish you all the best and enjoy this program, take the learnings, try to implement them.

03:55Thank you so much, sir.

04:01I now request our Dean Academics, Dr. Shandini Shastri to give us the introduction about

04:06Acharya Prashant.

04:09Good afternoon to one and all present here.

04:11I feel proud and privileged to introduce you about today's speaker, Acharya Prashant.

04:17Acharya Prashant is a powerful voice of socio-spiritual awakening in today's world.

04:24He is an acclaimed Vedanta exegete and author of over 100 books, including the national

04:30bestseller, Karma, Why Everything You Know About It Is Wrong.

04:36An alumnus of IIT Delhi, I am Ahmedabad and a former civil services officer.

04:43He has an exponent of pure Vedantic wisdom, a vocal warrior against superstition and inner

04:50weaknesses, a promulgator of pure spiritual veganism and an exploder of essential human

04:58freedom.

04:59We are really fortunate to get a chance of direct interaction with such a great personality.

05:05Thank you, thank you so much.

05:12I now request Acharyaji, Principal Sir and Mr. Sameer Bendre to come up on stage for

05:18the lamp lighting.

05:39Moving on to the most awaited session and interaction of today's afternoon.

05:44Good afternoon, sir.

05:46Sir, I am Kiran Mehta.

05:48Sir, because of the lockdown from past two years, we have been rigorously using cell

05:53phones or smartphones and laptops way too much from 2020.

05:58So, sir, we are addicted to it.

06:01Now, addiction is one problem, but other is like we have low self-esteem due to it.

06:07And we have lost our patience, anger issues.

06:10So, sir, how to overcome all of them?

06:14What is the relation that you see?

06:17How is self-esteem lowered because of use of cell phone or laptop?

06:21Sir, like if you want to talk to people, we text them, we message them on social media.

06:26But when we in person meet them, we are very introverted or like we fear to talk to them

06:31like even to ask, how are you?

06:34Like even if teacher ask some what is XYZ, we want to search the question and we want

06:39to answer.

06:40We don't know it.

06:41That is a habit of why we have been using laptops.

06:45And now we've used to search and answer now that's all gone.

06:49So you mean, there is a loss of spontaneity, internet or Google come as a handy support

07:03or backup.

07:04If you do not know what to do or how to respond, you can rely on them.

07:09But in real life, real time situations, that doesn't happen.

07:14You cannot depend on Google to respond to someone who is standing right in front of

07:19you.

07:20All right, right.

07:23So this is something you must be cautious of.

07:28It's a phenomena widely experienced.

07:37Technology cannot be a substitute for real life interaction.

07:45And planned statements or responses can never carry the authenticity of something that is

07:54spontaneous.

08:01Communication through text appears safer, but is also duller.

08:12It does not carry the warmth and liveliness of a face to face thing.

08:20And it can become a habit to hide behind text.

08:26Do not let that become a habit.

08:32That habit simply means fear.

08:36Do not protect fear.

08:41If there is something that cannot be said face to face, ask yourself, does it deserve

08:47to be said in writing?

08:55The same phone that you use to text people can also be used to talk.

09:05And it's not as if texting necessarily saves time.

09:09You can get into an endless exchange of text messages and that can go on for two hours.

09:16Does that not happen?

09:18Text, text, text, text, text, text.

09:22And when you are not texting, you are waiting for the other's text.

09:32And WhatsApp is showing Rajiv is typing.

09:37And you are waiting.

09:38What is he typing?

09:39What is he typing?

09:40What is he typing?

09:45Even before he has pressed the send button, you are already shadow boxing.

09:53You have already come up with five possible options.

09:57This is what he might be writing.

09:58And if he writes this, I'll reply this way.

10:04How is that saving time?

10:05Please tell me.

10:06There can be instances when text can save time.

10:10Yes, obviously.

10:11So, you don't want to go through the entire process of ringing someone up and it's not

10:17worth it.

10:18So, simply write two words and get done with it.

10:20So, that is all okay.

10:25But if a matter can be finished off in two minutes, five minutes, directly by conversing

10:33that with that person, either face to face or on call.

10:39What is the need to hide behind text?

10:42Similarly, what is the need to hide behind knowledge?

10:50External knowledge, I mean, Google knowledge.

10:55Those who have known have said that you know only when you live.

11:04Your knowledge is your knowledge only if you are living that knowledge.

11:10If knowing does not become being, then there is no knowing.

11:20Knowing must turn into being.

11:25Can Google knowledge turn into your being?

11:29You can quickly Google something and spit out the fact or the information and be done

11:36with it.

11:38It will not become your life.

11:39It will not get into the depth of your mind, won't help much.

11:49Use technology to your advantage.

11:52Do not use it to handicap yourself.

12:00Technology must be used to do what you cannot do.

12:06Technology must not become a substitute for what you already can healthily do.

12:19If I have the benefit of technology, what should I develop for myself?

12:27A car or a crutch?

12:34Crutch you understand?

12:36What is crutch?

12:39The things that you use to assist yourself in walking, mesakhi.

12:46Now you have these two feet already, but they cannot take you at 60 kmph.

12:54So let technology give you a car.

12:59The car is furthering your power now.

13:03It is furthering your ability.

13:05These two legs cannot take you beyond the speed.

13:12Instead if you use technology to develop very advanced crutches with AI and feel proud

13:19of it, what have you done to yourself?

13:25Instead of augmenting the capacity of the legs, you have debilitated the legs.

13:34Maybe with your legs you were able to go at least at 10 kmph.

13:39Now with the assistance of technology you are going at 2 kmph.

13:46Now that brings us back to the fundamental question of who is the user of technology

13:51and that is where internal liberation lies.

13:56No technology will be of use if you are internally not free, not luminous.

14:04Whatsoever is given to you, you will use it to your own disadvantage.

14:10You have heard the old story of the monkey with the sword, right?

14:18Those were bygone times.

14:23So all that the monkey could have was a sword.

14:27But these are times of advanced technology.

14:31The monkey can have an ICBM tipped with a nuclear weapon.

14:42What will the monkey do?

14:44The monkey has been given great technology.

14:48What will the monkey use it for?

14:54The same thing that his ancestral monkey used it for, what was the sword used for?

15:03The monkey was given the sword.

15:05Actually he picked it up.

15:10Did he use it for any creative purpose?

15:18If we remain monkeys within, whatsoever comes to us, powers, rights, knowledge, technology,

15:27we will use it to our own detriment, our own destruction.

15:31But we don't understand this.

15:34We think just because we have something, it is for the better.

15:38No, not necessarily.

15:43It all depends on who you are and that's the central Vedantic question.

15:49Who are you?

15:50If you are not right, whatsoever you have will be just wrong for you.

15:59First of all, you have to be right within and then whatever you have can be used rightly.

16:11You go back to the epics, you think of all the classical villains, Ravan, Kansa, Duryodhana,

16:23Hiranyakashipu, they had a lot, no?

16:30Ravan was the superpower of his times, Lanka of gold, so much weaponry as well and he had

16:42a lot of knowledge too, no?

16:46Hiranyakashipu too had a lot.

16:50He had been gifted with blessings.

17:00Duryodhana was so powerful.

17:03The question is, what were these people using their power and knowledge and money for?

17:10Were they villains because they didn't have anything?

17:16Why are they still remembered as the topmost baddies, why?

17:27Because they didn't have much, no?

17:30They had a lot but were operating whatever they had from a bad center.

17:38So it's the center within that means everything.

17:44If the center is false, then all technological progress will simply mean climate change,

17:54extinction of species, actually the sixth mass extinction phase in which we have already

18:00entered.

18:01Now this kind of mass extinction could not have happened to the caveman, to the ancient

18:10man.

18:11Why?

18:12Because he didn't have technology.

18:13Internally we have remained that same old caveman but additionally today that caveman

18:22has a lot of technology and power.

18:27So he has used that technology, that power just to finish himself off.

18:37As you grow up, move through life, you will find technology taking even bigger strides.

18:48Be very careful.

18:51The user of the technology must be placed very rightly.

18:58Technology by itself is simply power and those who have great power must first of all be

19:10great within.

19:13If you are not great within but have great power, the results will be very catastrophic.

19:20Are you getting it?

19:26Some wise man said that the world is in such a bad shape today because the growth of knowledge,

19:37the rate of growth of knowledge is many times more than the rate of growth of wisdom.

19:49You could replace knowledge with technology in this saying.

19:54Technology is growing at a scorching rate.

20:01You have newer versions of popular softwares being released every passing year, newer kinds

20:10of more powerful gadgets you are seeing every day in the market.

20:18Technology is growing at that rate.

20:20Is our wisdom growing at that rate?

20:23And if not, then how will we use that technology?

20:26What will we use that technology for?

20:30Is this a difficult question to answer?

20:33Don't you see that this is an obvious thing that we should be thinking about?

20:39Instead we do not find this question being taken up.

20:45We sing peons to technology, to knowledge, to our growth without devoting even 1% of

20:54our resources to our internal development, to the growth of wisdom.

21:00You could call that as spiritual growth.

21:02Not even 1% of our resources are devoted to that.

21:08So the mad monkey we say is being now handed over a nuclear tipped missile.

21:17Let's wait for the consequences.

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