- 5/3/2025
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Interest of the social media company lies in maximizing your screen time so that you can be shown the maximum number of advertisements.
00:09That's how they make their money.
00:11You'll have to fight the algorithm.
00:13The algorithm is designed to maximize, spread, popularize the lowest kind of influence.
00:21Great content in fact has come to suffer.
00:24It has been crowded out.
00:26I am big on social media at the cost of going bankrupt.
00:32What do you think? The algos took me there.
00:35No, they didn't.
00:36The algorithms did whatever they could to stop me and they are doing that to this date.
00:41But one has to fight where the battle is.
00:45Mind you, it was extremely difficult.
00:47That's why I said you'll have to fight the algo.
00:49We fought the algo.
00:51We are still fighting it daily.
00:53There is great joy in fighting a real and tough battle.
00:56And as a young person, you should be up for it.
01:00I want to backtrack to one of the talks that you had where you sort of were referring to social media and just the impact that it has on the youth.
01:11So and how it sort of offers us limited window into reality.
01:16And also paints us just a glimpse and not the entire picture.
01:21You know, in fact, sometimes I myself find myself in the clutches of sort of this narrow digital sphere where every sort of post and update seems to shape my perception of the world.
01:32Even though consciously I am aware that it's curated to serve someone else's interests.
01:37So as I navigate my own path and strive for authenticity, according to you, how can I learn to distinguish the genuinely uplifting influences of social media from those that are merely conditioned to restrict me or manipulate the way I see life?
01:53Just as you choose right company for yourself in the physical world, similarly you choose who to associate with or follow in the virtual world.
02:09The rules are much the same.
02:12What is this fellow after?
02:18What does he want to bring to me and why?
02:25You see, social media algorithms are written to give you more of what you already are.
02:36They are designed to appease you.
02:39They are designed to reinforce what you already believe in.
02:44And in this way they destroy you.
02:48So just as in choosing the right company, you do not want to choose someone who will keep giving you more of yourself.
02:59You need to have a taste for bitter facts or the truth even if it hurts.
03:07Similarly, on social media, you choose who to be with.
03:12In fact, if we were a more conscious society, we would probably want to have some kind of regulation on the algorithms.
03:28Because it is not a virtual reality anymore.
03:32People are spending more time with the screens than with human beings.
03:38It is an entire society in itself.
03:43It is like being in a nation populated with virtual figures.
03:49So, we need to figure out what is being served to a particular person and how.
04:03The interest of the social media company lies in maximizing your screen time.
04:12So that you can be shown the maximum number of advertisements.
04:17That's how they make their money.
04:20But in maximizing your screen time, is your weakness being maximized?
04:33And that will have a great bearing on what becomes of our species.
04:40Because unlike other species, we are not just our bodies.
04:45We are conscious people.
04:47We are more mental than physical beings.
04:52If the mind itself gets influenced and corrupted, then it's as if the entire species has been changed for the worse.
05:05So, you have to ask, if this were a real-life person sitting in front of me,
05:14how would I relate to him?
05:16What questions would I ask her?
05:19How would I try to decode his agenda and penetrate and see what he or she wants from me?
05:32Does this person have any underlying principle?
05:38And there would always be a principle.
05:41And if you are attentive enough, you would decipher that principle.
05:46If you find the principle sublime enough, then be with that person.
05:54Otherwise, simply block or even report.
06:01Just that the algorithms are not trained to take these reports too seriously.
06:07That too is a thing.
06:11If the most popular content is blocked just because people report it, then what would happen to the screen time?
06:26But anyway, our job is to, first of all, protect ourselves.
06:33Because these algorithms are so skewed to what we personally want, social media has been such a great thing for globalization and spreading information across so many different people.
06:48But how can we make sure that we're engaging with ideas that aren't just the ones that our algorithm are suggesting to us?
06:54Or is there really no way to work around the algorithm?
06:57No, please, please, first of all, understand.
06:59You'll have to fight the algorithm.
07:02You said spreading information globally.
07:06No.
07:07The algorithm is designed to maximize, spread, popularize the lowest kind of influence.
07:21The lowest common denominator.
07:24That's what the algorithm is designed to propagate.
07:30In fact, when you said, why is there such a terrible rise in conflict all over the world?
07:36One could enumerate even these algorithms as one of the reasons.
07:42The average thinking capacity of this planet actually seems to have gone down.
07:57I think it's called the Flynn's effect or something.
08:01The IQ levels themselves are declining.
08:05But please, do check the facts.
08:07I'm not very sure of that.
08:10Because we say, you know, now I get global exposure because I have an account on Instagram or something.
08:20No, sir, not everybody who has an account there gets global exposure.
08:24You need to have a particular kind of content to get global exposure.
08:31And that is the lowest common denominator that gets propagated.
08:40Great content, in fact, has come to suffer.
08:45It has been crowded out.
08:47If you have really good content, then you might actually need to pay huge amounts to Instagram to popularize it.
09:02But if you come up with something that takes cringe to another level of meaning,
09:12then you might find you are an international star overnight.
09:17Yes, social media does popularize, does globalize.
09:25The question is what?
09:27What?
09:29Not the things that would elevate human consciousness,
09:35but the things that would debase you.
09:39Why?
09:41Because biologically, in the evolutionary sense, we are animals.
09:48And the first instinct is towards very primitive kind of pleasures.
09:59Even the greatest of intellectuals, you might find them struggling to manage their diabetes.
10:08Why?
10:09I have a sweet tooth, a weakness, a fondness for sugar.
10:12You see, he is a great intellectual.
10:15Yet, the jungle within, the animal within, is still very powerful.
10:22He cannot contain his carnal instincts.
10:25Carnal instinct is not just about trying for unlimited sex.
10:31If you know you are diabetic and still cannot resist consuming sugar and carb, you are still an animal.
10:41That's not a judgment in the moral sense.
10:44That's a reflection to bring out a particular fact.
10:48So, that's who we are.
10:53You see how difficult it is to send a child to school.
10:57And how much effort it takes to keep a child engaged in school.
11:01Whereas, how easy it is to make a child bunk school.
11:08Play truant.
11:09No?
11:10So, anything that raises you is difficult.
11:16Anything that debases you is very easy.
11:21That's what these algorithms work on.
11:24You'll have to fight the algo.
11:33I mean, you're very big on social media yourself.
11:36And as a spiritual, you know, and motivational speaker.
11:40How do you think, like, having spiritual and motivational speakers on social media have shaped the trajectory of, you know, just general education of the public?
11:50And do you think it's the right way to be teaching spiritual education?
11:54I am sure I am big on social media at the cost of going bankrupt.
12:02What do you think?
12:03The algos took me there.
12:05No, they didn't.
12:06The algorithms did whatever they could to stop me.
12:09And they are doing that to this date.
12:11But one has to fight where the battle is.
12:19If the battle is being, the battle for minds, the battle for spirits, if that is being fought on social media, that's where I have to be.
12:31I cannot keep on wielding my sword somewhere by the side of a tranquil river, when a battle is being fought somewhere else.
12:42Mind you, it was extremely difficult.
12:45That's why I said you will have to fight the algo.
12:47We fought the algo.
12:48We are still fighting it daily.
12:50There is just no way any of these apps give us any kind of traction.
12:58At least in a relative sense.
13:03We fight for every single view.
13:09We pay for every single view.
13:13The algorithm, even if you happen to be a subscriber, the algorithm won't bring my content to you.
13:23Now, there is AI, right?
13:26The algorithm very well knows that this content is meant to take people off these apps.
13:36If you watch me sufficiently long on Instagram, it's possible.
13:45You might delete Instagram itself.
13:48So, why would Instagram want you to watch me?
13:52So, we bribe our way to your senses.
14:02You will have to fight.
14:06But there is great fun in it.
14:11And it's not as if you'll really go bankrupt and starve.
14:16I'm in fact overweight.
14:18So, it's not that you'll really starve.
14:23So, there is great joy in fighting a real and tough battle.
14:28And as a young person, you should be up for it.
14:31Thank you so much for that.
14:34Yeah, definitely.
14:35I think that's something that people would keep in mind as well.
14:38Particularly because so much of us are in social media for so long.
14:42But I also wanted to ask more about, you know, as an individual close during their lifespan.
14:48As you said that now life expectancy has risen up.
14:52We should take more time to educate ourselves.
14:55So that we can make more informed decisions.
14:57Which is more ideal for the world as well.
15:00I was wondering, you know, when we grow up.
15:02Especially in countries such as India.
15:06Where I am originally from as well.
15:08A lot of us take preachings from our surroundings from our parents.
15:13And we are perhaps, as you said, the truths that they tell us comes from their centers.
15:20And their personal interests as well.
15:22Not that they are wishing ill on us or anything of that sort.
15:25But what I'm trying to really get to is that when you grow to a particular age.
15:29How do you grow your own personal sense of truth.
15:34That, you know, kind of aligns with the universal truth.
15:37And get off the surrounding and the atmosphere that you've been put in.
15:42Since you've grown for so long.
15:44You need to read a lot.
15:46There have been real well-wishers.
15:51Who have loved you much more than any relatives including parents ever can.
16:04Just that, since we are not related to them by flesh and blood.
16:11We don't honour them enough.
16:14You need to read a lot.
16:17And that would totally liberate your perspective.
16:21We are fortunate to be at a point in human history.
16:25Where there is enough.
16:28And so beautiful, accumulated literature.
16:32And you don't have to read everything.
16:35If you are attentive and smart.
16:38A few books here, a few books there.
16:44Selected, curated reading.
16:46Obviously continuous reading.
16:48It's not a course that you can get over within six months.
16:50It's a thing that you carry on with your entire lifetime.
16:55And if that remains with you, you won't be misled.
17:03This is one of the fallacies.
17:05Just give me a minute.
17:07You said, you know, our parents are there.
17:09And then you are very careful to add the caveat.
17:12Not that they wish us ill.
17:14You see, intentions don't matter.
17:16Intentions don't matter.
17:18Awareness does.
17:22I might wish someone well.
17:25But if I do not know the very definition of wellness.
17:30I will end up inflicting harm.
17:33And that's what most parents do.
17:36Face it, please.
17:39You see, as young people, we will be parents one day, maybe soon.
17:44So, let's know this very well.
17:46That just by the dint of becoming a father or a mother, you don't get qualified to render advice.
17:54And it's not even advice often.
17:59It becomes, in India especially, in the global south actually, it takes the shape of compulsory directions.
18:13That too, with a strong emotional undertone.
18:19If you don't do what you are wanted to do, then there is emotional disruption.
18:26No, no.
18:28You must know first of all.
18:30You must learn from all your well-wishers.
18:33Yes, parents might be well-wishers.
18:35But there have been several, several others.
18:39Let there be an affinity beyond blood with the giants of mankind.
18:48It was not for nothing that they left behind their love, their advice for you.
18:54These are precious gifts. Accept them.
19:02Yeah, this is also very relatable.
19:05I don't know if you noticed, but I brought up my dad a lot.
19:08Because my dad and I have these conversations all the time.
19:11And it's very easy to disagree with him.
19:14And I was wondering, because earlier you were talking about finding those close-knits of people that you influence.
19:20But sometimes family is not always.
19:23And then you were saying, you know, if there's someone you can't influence, move on.
19:26But family is not always someone you can move on from influencing.
19:29Because that's someone you are very closely associated with.
19:32So how do you balance, you know, not necessarily convincing, but having discussions and agreeing to disagree.
19:39But also, you know, putting facts first.
19:42Like, how do you do all that in a family situation with people you necessarily can't really let go of?
19:46I'd like to add to this where I feel like a lot of times, especially when you're brought up in like a South Asian household, you are brought up in a way that you need to respect parents.
19:56Like, it's a byproduct of that upbringing that it is understood and expected of you to respect them in a way that, or revert them in a way that, or like, it's an outside expectation.
20:10So how do we manage that while also bringing this point home?
20:15If I don't have anything of much value to give to you, here, sitting here, as somebody who is consuming your time, as somebody who is positioning himself at least as a bit of an authority.
20:31If I know I don't have anything of much value to give to you, and yet I desire to command your respect, who am I to you?
20:44A well-wisher or an exploiter?
20:46But with parents, the thing is that you are very emotionally attached to them. The idea of them being at a position to exploit you never really strikes because you're almost certain that they would never be in a position.
21:09It's not about a person. It's about a principle. It's not that your particular parents or her parents or my parents are to be faulted. It's a principle.
21:23It's not about those persons. You know, we start visualizing faces, particular faces, and then it becomes difficult.
21:30It's a principle. It's a principle that governs each one of us.
21:34Someone who has not bothered to deliberately, consciously, effortfully cultivate her consciousness will be in no position to offer any good, meaningful, useful advice to anybody.
21:53And respect is not something cheap. It has to be earned. It is not something that you get just because you produced a baby.
22:03And then you want the baby to… It's a very South Asian thing, by the way.
22:08You have to respect me. Why? Why? You had carnal interaction with a man or a woman and out of that I was born.
22:21Where is the question of respect in this? Not that I want to disrespect you. But I want to respect you for the right reasons.
22:29Just because I owe my DNA to you. That's not a good enough reason for me to respect you.
22:38Let me owe the purity of my consciousness to you. And then I will definitely respect you.
22:44Let child bearing and child raising be a challenge. Otherwise, it's very animalistic. Even animals, all kinds of mammals, they bear kids the same process humans do.
23:01Just that they spare their kids the burden of respect. You don't find a cow demanding respect from the calf. Whereas the process is much the same. Please see that.
23:19What is this respect? Respect is a social construct. Respect is a power tool. Respect is a thing of authority. Respect is hierarchical.
23:31The real spiritual thing is not respect but love. I seriously dislike it when people offer respects. There is this thing called Shachshatnaman which in my vocabulary is an insult.
23:47They don't understand what I am saying. Why is he so averse to respect? Because I want you to learn love rather than respect.
23:59Usually, respect is used just as a substitute and a very poor one for respect, for love. When there is no love then you want to have respect. Please respect me.
24:16The real person does not want somebody else to respect him. Yes, if you want to offer something to the other, then in her own interest you might want them to understand you.
24:31To want to be understood is one thing. To want to be respected is a totally different thing. As a parent, you are fully entitled to want to be understood.
24:46As a parent, probably you are offering something valuable to your kid. That's fine. You want your kid to understand what you are giving or saying. That's alright.
24:59Bow down, touch feet, surrender even without understanding. No. No. Why do you need to respect me? I would be very happy if when we conclude you say you could connect with me, you could relate with me.
25:26There was a certain understanding. That would be so joyful. Instead of that, if you say, you know, salutations, obeisance. That happens in India. We roll at your feet, sir. What kind of perversity is that?
25:43Atarji, we move on to the next question, and this will be the last question for the session. I was hearing your talk with Untriggered, the podcast channel, the YouTube podcast channel, and there you described fear and the idea of fear as almost a central disease,
26:10is a force that stems from dependency on things beyond our control, almost shattering our sense of self when those things fall.
26:19As someone who is still navigating these uncertainties of life and striving for growth in all aspects, I sometimes wonder, should our goal be to eradicate fear completely?
26:30Or is there a way to harness it constructively that it helps us or proves to be a catalyst of growth?
26:37In my experience, a certain amount of fear, I mean, the terminology could be changed, but a certain amount of fear pushes me to take calculated risks and innovate, yet it also holds me back at times if unchecked.
26:52So, in your opinion, how do you suggest we strike the balance between cultivating fearlessness and also using our natural inclination of a sense of fear as a tool for improvement and forming deeper understanding of us and the world around us?
27:08You see, fear and caution are different things, very different centres. Fear is always unconscious. It just arises without you ever knowing where it is arising from. In fact, you know of it after it has arisen.
27:35The entire process of its initiation and development remains unknown to you. You only experience its result and the result is quite physical. When there is fear, sometimes you start trembling or sweating. Fear is an unconscious thing. If it is unconscious, how will you harness it?
28:01To harness something, you have to be conscious enough to harness it. By harnessing, you mean utilizing, commanding. There is something that I want to leverage, to put good use to.
28:19If I want to leverage something, if I want to leverage something constructively, then I have to be in a conscious state. When I am in a conscious state, then I can use something. Let's say this is fear. Let's say this is fear.
28:31Let's say this is fear. The model you are coming from is, this is fear and can I not utilize fear for a good purpose? The problem is, if this is fear, then you will be necessarily unconscious.
28:45And if you are unconscious, how will you utilize this or this or anything? So, fear is not objective. Fear is subjective in the sense that it comes from a particular state of the subject, the experiencer.
28:59So, caution is a different thing. Caution is a different thing. To be cautious is to know the probabilities, very simply put. To be cautious is to have a nice degree, a nice faculty for risk assessment.
29:16What is risk? A measure of unpredictability, right? So, when you know what you are getting into, it is not very probable. Then you know that the need for caution is to the extent of 70% or some derivative of it.
29:35That's another thing. You are not afraid. You are just in knowledge of the fact. That's caution. I know if I do this, then there is 70% chance of hurt or loss or whatever. That's caution.
29:56And when you are cautious, then you may still consciously decide to proceed with an action where the odds are against you. That's alright.
30:07Because you are conscious. You are doing it deliberately, consciously, willingly. Fear deprives you of these things. Fear will not allow you to work deliberately consciously. Fear will make you impulsive.
30:21Fear will make you impulsive. Fear will make you impulsive. Fear will make you impulsive. Fear will make you work from a centre that you have no idea of. It's a very primitive centre. It's coming from the jungle. It's coming from our evolutionary past.
30:32You will not even know what you have done. Therefore, there is this old Sufi saying that says that be afraid of the person who is afraid. Why? Because that person can do anything without even willing to do that thing.
30:49The one who is afraid is unconscious. Therefore, you should stay away. If you find someone who is very afraid, then that person is dangerous. Because that person is out of his mind or her mind. Now that person can do anything. The fellow will not even know what he is getting into.
31:07Therefore, therefore, when there is fear, ask yourself, where is it coming from? We are not being judgmental about it. We are not talking about suppressing it. We are not saying, oh, fear is a bad thing. Or fear is an ailment. Fear is a disease. We are saying, fear is a very natural condition.
31:27It's endemic in our species. It's endemic in our species. We all experience fear. Just that when it comes, we must know what is happening. Doesn't it feel good to be in the know? Doesn't it feel good?
31:43You might be in a bad situation. You might be in a bad situation. But if you know your situation, it doesn't feel all that bad. Have you experienced that?
31:55Have you experienced that? Yeah? Whereas you might be in a very ordinary situation, something very commonplace.
32:03But if you do not know what is happening, you might feel very odd. Have you ever experienced? You fall asleep during a car journey.
32:19When you wake up, it takes you 30 seconds or a minute to gather where you are. And those 30 seconds are not pleasant.
32:28Not that something atrocious is happening to you. You are just on your seat in the car.
32:33But you don't know what's happening. You look at the surroundings. You have never seen that place. Obviously, it's a journey.
32:38You look around. You don't know what's going on.
32:41And you have been sleeping with your mouth open and you wake up with a bit of pain in the neck.
32:49And it takes a few seconds to realize where you are and what's the whole deal.
32:54Whereas it's a very ordinary situation. But it feels bad because you do not know what's happening.
33:02Equally, it could be a very bad situation. But if you know what it's really about, you will be alright within.
33:11It's not the complexity or the adversity inherent in the situation that affects us or hurts us.
33:24What really hurts us is that we don't know what's going on.
33:27And if you do not know what's going on outside, that might still be tolerable.
33:34It's much worse when you do not know what's going on inside.
33:39Sometimes, have you seen you are afraid and you don't even know why?
33:43Sometimes, have you found your mood dipping for no reason at all?
33:46Those are great opportunities to reflect.
33:52What's happening? This cannot be without a reason. I need to figure out.
33:57And sometimes, it might be for something as trivial as the dinner last night.
34:03You ate something that's having a bearing on the brain. Or it might be something hormonal.
34:11Or it might be about the weather. Or it might be about a dream you had last night.
34:18But it's important to get into your mind and figure out what's really going on.
34:24It's very adventurous. It's very thrilling to see that within you lives someone you do not know at all.
34:37Unvealing your insides. It's an extremely interesting thing to do.
34:44What's more, it's something that never comes to an end.
34:47Inner exploration, self-observation is a lifelong activity.
34:50Because the one within is changing continuously. Therefore, you have to know that one continuously.
34:56If you know, for example, yourself, this moment.
35:01The one you have known within will not be the same tomorrow.
35:05The one who is within tomorrow will have to be known tomorrow.
35:10And it's really, because it always beats your expectations.
35:15We think of ourselves as somebody. We are never who we think we are.
35:24And who you really are, that can be known only by the process of watching your thoughts, emotions, moods, fears, anxieties, ambitions, hopes, desires.
35:34These are great things to look at and wonder.
35:38And wonder.
35:43Okay, so this brings us to the end of the session today.
35:47Thank you so much, Achalji, for joining us and being part of this enlightening conversation and sharing your profound insights with the UC Berkeley campus.
35:58We would also like to thank our audience members who joined us today.
36:01We hope this discussion has inspired you to reflect deeply on the questions surrounding spirituality, rationality and the challenges we face in the modern world.
36:09On behalf of Speaker Series India at Berkeley, we thank you for your participation.
36:15Have a wonderful day and we look forward to seeing you at our future events.
36:19Thank you. I'm glad being with you. Thank you.
36:22Thanks.
36:24Thank you so much, Achalji.
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