- 5/31/2025
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00:00:00So trying to do something about desire is absolutely useless and religions have
00:00:06focused so much on desire do not want this do not do this they say desireless
00:00:10action so they look at desirelessness from the point of view of action do not
00:00:16hurt do not steal do not argue do not lie and all that has been very wasteful
00:00:24that cannot help what's the point of attempting change at the level of
00:00:30action when the actor is not being even challenged let alone changed spirituality
00:00:36is not about changing your actions it is about looking at yourself honestly
00:00:42ruthlessly and that's all
00:00:48Bhagavad Gita
00:00:51chapter 2 verse 47
00:01:00your authority
00:01:03is over your actions only
00:01:09and not over the result of your actions
00:01:14so do not act with the hope of fruit of your actions and also do not become
00:01:26actionless this is inactive akarmanya
00:01:32authority over actions
00:01:44what is this authority
00:01:47and we are being told that this is the only authority that we have
00:01:51and we are being told that this is the only authority that we have
00:01:58we should place no demands
00:02:01on the
00:02:03fruits of the action
00:02:06the authority
00:02:11that the ego has
00:02:13and all these words
00:02:16are being addressed to the ego
00:02:20is to
00:02:25not become
00:02:30a barrier in the path of realization
00:02:36that is the adhikar
00:02:43that is the adhikar
00:02:48it is not that the
00:02:53ego must
00:02:55act rightly
00:02:57while it has a tendency to act wrongly
00:03:04the ego
00:03:07must look at itself
00:03:09and dissuade from acting at all
00:03:12neither rightly nor wrongly
00:03:16nobody
00:03:26acts
00:03:29wrongly
00:03:31deliberately
00:03:33there you go
00:03:37from its
00:03:39own vantage point
00:03:40always acts rightly
00:03:42I am doing the right thing
00:03:49so there is no point in advising the ego to act rightly
00:03:56in its own
00:04:00frame of reference
00:04:02the ego is anyway always acting rightly
00:04:05does not help
00:04:11to say
00:04:12no
00:04:13stop your wrong actions
00:04:15and
00:04:16begin the right actions
00:04:18the ego has to just stop
00:04:23with the right or wrong
00:04:27right and wrong
00:04:29like
00:04:32or dislike
00:04:34left or right
00:04:36that is the only authority
00:04:43the ego really has
00:04:45to stop itself
00:04:50to stop believing in itself
00:04:54to stop investing in itself
00:04:59the ego does not have to come up with the right action
00:05:04the right action
00:05:05the right action
00:05:06is spontaneous
00:05:11the ego is fundamentally incapable
00:05:15of any rightness
00:05:18all rightness that the ego has
00:05:22is
00:05:23with reference to itself
00:05:25and that makes all rights wrong
00:05:29that
00:05:32that which is actually right
00:05:34absolutely right
00:05:35is
00:05:37unavailable to the ego
00:05:38as long as
00:05:39the ego remains
00:05:41because the absolutely right
00:05:44is obfuscated by the ego itself
00:05:47the very definition of the ego is
00:05:50that
00:05:51which arises
00:05:53at the cost of
00:05:55by obfuscating
00:05:57that
00:05:58which is right
00:06:00what is meant by right here
00:06:01true
00:06:03reliable
00:06:05not deceptive
00:06:06so you are
00:06:13not
00:06:14to
00:06:15get into action coming from your center at all
00:06:22not that you have to suppress
00:06:27one kind of actions
00:06:29and promote
00:06:30the other kind
00:06:31not that you have to discipline or train yourself
00:06:36to come up with
00:06:39more
00:06:40acceptable deeds
00:06:42actions that are more
00:06:46morally
00:06:48possible
00:06:50none of that
00:06:53if
00:06:58the
00:06:59ego acts
00:07:00there will be
00:07:03the desire of fruit
00:07:06because the ego by definition is incomplete
00:07:09when you are
00:07:11acting
00:07:12from a point of incompletion
00:07:14then the obvious
00:07:18motive
00:07:20purpose
00:07:21of action
00:07:22is to fetch
00:07:23some kind of completion
00:07:25you cannot have motiveless
00:07:28or purposeless
00:07:29or nishkam action
00:07:30acting from the ego
00:07:31the ego acts
00:07:34wrongly
00:07:35it will still desire
00:07:37a particular fruit
00:07:38the ego acts rightly
00:07:42it will again desire
00:07:44another kind of fruit
00:07:45nishkam karma is not possible
00:07:49as long as one is acting from the center
00:07:52so what is the authority
00:07:57that the ego has
00:07:59it is not to
00:08:00act rightly
00:08:01that authority is not available to the ego
00:08:04the right
00:08:08the power
00:08:09the choice
00:08:10that the ego really has
00:08:12is to
00:08:16check itself
00:08:17stop
00:08:19halt
00:08:20you are needless
00:08:24you are superfluous
00:08:28you are redundant
00:08:30you are just
00:08:37extra and additional
00:08:39stop
00:08:44go
00:08:47that's the authority
00:08:50that's the choice that one has to exercise
00:08:53exercise
00:08:54we are being warned today
00:09:00that
00:09:01if
00:09:06you
00:09:07act
00:09:08with
00:09:11greed
00:09:12or desire
00:09:13that is much the same
00:09:19as not acting
00:09:24if
00:09:26you still have
00:09:27greed
00:09:28and desire
00:09:29the center is the same
00:09:32sometimes
00:09:36the ego
00:09:37blocks the truth
00:09:39by acting
00:09:40at
00:09:41other times
00:09:42the ego blocks the truth
00:09:44by not acting
00:09:46desire
00:09:48acting
00:09:53desireously
00:09:54is something that is visible
00:09:59so we say
00:10:00look at this person
00:10:01he is so full of desire
00:10:02reprehensible
00:10:05we condemn this fellow
00:10:08he is not spiritual
00:10:09why
00:10:12because
00:10:13here
00:10:14there is
00:10:15desirous action
00:10:17and that is visible
00:10:20you can see action happening
00:10:23you can see desire dripping from the action
00:10:26so you are
00:10:28able to condemn
00:10:30but
00:10:34we are not able to
00:10:37detect desire
00:10:38and ego
00:10:39so easily
00:10:41so smoothly
00:10:42in people
00:10:44who block
00:10:46the
00:10:47sahaj
00:10:49free action
00:10:51from happening
00:10:53there
00:10:54nothing can be detected
00:10:58because there is no gross action to detect
00:11:02a fellow
00:11:12is running
00:11:16after
00:11:17something
00:11:19and you will be
00:11:21able to
00:11:22easily
00:11:23spot
00:11:24desire there
00:11:25see this fellow is running after something
00:11:28he is so desirous
00:11:29and there is
00:11:36another fellow
00:11:42who is
00:11:43sitting quietly in the
00:11:45middle
00:11:49of
00:11:50a
00:11:51carnage
00:11:55in the middle of mass suffering
00:11:57in the middle of exploitation
00:12:02and he is not acting
00:12:07and it will not be
00:12:10very easy to spot
00:12:12desire here
00:12:14because he is not acting
00:12:15after all he is just sitting
00:12:17and he might appear
00:12:19very quiet
00:12:20still and patient
00:12:22there is no difference
00:12:28between
00:12:29action
00:12:30and the absence of action
00:12:33if the actor is the ego
00:12:39often
00:12:40the desirous ones
00:12:42seek spiritual improvement
00:12:45by not acting desirously
00:12:49they remove the action
00:12:52not
00:12:53the center
00:12:54of action
00:12:55they do away
00:12:57with the action
00:12:58they do not do away
00:13:00with themselves
00:13:01remaining themselves
00:13:04they cease to act
00:13:06and they think
00:13:08that
00:13:09they have improved
00:13:10inwardly one remains the same
00:13:16externally
00:13:17one
00:13:20stops
00:13:21what
00:13:23were very
00:13:24visible
00:13:26actions
00:13:27of desire
00:13:29because one has become spiritual
00:13:34right
00:13:35I remain the same
00:13:36but now
00:13:37I am not letting
00:13:39my ego manifest itself
00:13:46in an external
00:13:48visible
00:13:49gross way
00:13:50the action has been stopped
00:13:53but the ego remains
00:13:55so the action will just
00:13:59change
00:14:00form
00:14:01level
00:14:02from being externally visible
00:14:06it will
00:14:07turn itself
00:14:09into internal
00:14:11subtle
00:14:12action
00:14:13and that you will not be able to detect
00:14:16so you will feel that this person has become a non-doer
00:14:19no it is not that he has become a non-doer
00:14:21he is still a doer
00:14:25because his center is
00:14:27still that of the ego
00:14:29and as long as there is ego at the center
00:14:32there will be doership
00:14:35the ego is the doer
00:14:37you cannot have a situation where there is ego
00:14:41and no doership
00:14:43not possible
00:14:44why is the ego condemned to
00:14:48be the doer
00:14:50because the ego is a restlessness
00:14:53when you are restless
00:14:56you will do something
00:14:58because the ego is an incompletion
00:15:01when you feel incomplete
00:15:03obviously you will run hither dither
00:15:05you will want to act
00:15:09with the intention
00:15:11to reach somewhere
00:15:13to somehow
00:15:15take care
00:15:16of
00:15:17your
00:15:19incompleteness
00:15:21uneasiness
00:15:22the ego therefore
00:15:28is bound to be a doer
00:15:30we do not
00:15:34look at the ego
00:15:35more correctly
00:15:37the ego does not look at itself
00:15:40rather
00:15:44it just wants to
00:15:47extinguish
00:15:49the external signs
00:15:52of its mischief
00:15:55and that
00:15:59too
00:16:01it extinguishes
00:16:03just
00:16:05so that some desire can be fulfilled
00:16:09so I will not exhibit desire
00:16:13desire
00:16:14so that I can
00:16:15fulfill desire
00:16:17if I exhibit desire
00:16:19then it becomes
00:16:22difficult
00:16:23for desire to be fulfilled
00:16:24let me give an example
00:16:26if I exhibit my
00:16:28desire
00:16:29for money
00:16:30it will become difficult
00:16:32to fulfill my desire
00:16:34for respect
00:16:38so
00:16:39I will ostensibly
00:16:41quell my desire
00:16:43for money
00:16:44and I will not display
00:16:46any signs
00:16:47that I am money minded
00:16:49right
00:16:52I may in fact
00:16:53stop running after money
00:16:54in some limited way
00:16:59so that
00:17:02another
00:17:04probably a bigger desire
00:17:05is fulfilled
00:17:06what is that bigger desire?
00:17:07to have
00:17:09respect
00:17:10respect
00:17:11so as long as
00:17:12there is
00:17:13ego at the center
00:17:14it is impossible
00:17:15to be desireless
00:17:22and
00:17:23once the ego
00:17:24has looked at
00:17:25its
00:17:26own
00:17:27reality
00:17:30its
00:17:31own
00:17:32suffering
00:17:35its own
00:17:36culpability
00:17:37in its suffering
00:17:38needlessly
00:17:40its
00:17:41stupidity
00:17:42in suffering
00:17:43needlessly
00:17:44then
00:17:46the ego
00:17:47makes a choice
00:17:48to retreat
00:17:55to retreat
00:17:56is really
00:17:57the only choice
00:17:58that the ego has
00:17:59any other choice
00:18:03any other choice
00:18:04that the ego
00:18:05makes
00:18:06is just an expression
00:18:07of the ego
00:18:08the ego expressing itself
00:18:20is not really a choice
00:18:21it is
00:18:26it is an unavoidable
00:18:27phenomenon
00:18:28its like
00:18:29eyes
00:18:30feeling cold
00:18:31that is not a choice
00:18:33that eyes
00:18:34makes
00:18:39its like a
00:18:40madman
00:18:41uttering nonsense
00:18:42that is not a choice
00:18:43that the madman
00:18:44makes
00:18:51hmm
00:18:54like iron being
00:18:55pulled to magnet
00:18:56that is not a choice
00:18:57that
00:18:58iron makes
00:19:03its an
00:19:04inevitability
00:19:05so
00:19:07desire
00:19:08is an
00:19:09inevitability
00:19:11with
00:19:12the
00:19:13ego
00:19:14the ego
00:19:15cannot be
00:19:16and not be
00:19:17desirous
00:19:21so
00:19:22trying to do something
00:19:23about desire
00:19:24is absolutely
00:19:25useless
00:19:29and religions
00:19:30have focused so much
00:19:31on desire
00:19:32do not want this
00:19:33do not do this
00:19:36they say desireless action
00:19:38so they
00:19:40look at desirelessness
00:19:41from the point of view
00:19:42of action
00:19:45do not hurt
00:19:46do not steal
00:19:47do not argue
00:19:51do not lie
00:19:56and all that has
00:19:58been
00:20:00very
00:20:02wasteful
00:20:03that cannot help
00:20:04what's the point
00:20:09of attempting
00:20:10change
00:20:11at the level of action
00:20:12when the actor
00:20:14is not being
00:20:15even challenged
00:20:17let alone changed
00:20:19right
00:20:31the right action
00:20:32the real action
00:20:34happens on its own
00:20:40you cannot be the cause
00:20:42of the right action
00:20:44you
00:20:47meaning the
00:20:48ego
00:20:49you cannot cause it
00:20:52it is
00:20:53uncaused
00:20:57it does not
00:20:58come from
00:20:59a place
00:21:00that the ego
00:21:01can command
00:21:08however there is
00:21:09something that the ego
00:21:10can do and it continues
00:21:11doing it because we said
00:21:12that that is how the ego
00:21:14expresses itself
00:21:19sometimes the ego blocks the right action
00:21:22and comes up with
00:21:24an alternate action
00:21:27and sometimes the alternate action
00:21:29is the blockage of the right action itself
00:21:32both of these are actions
00:21:35the right action
00:21:36the right action
00:21:38is about to happen
00:21:40it is always ready to happen
00:21:41any time
00:21:43truth is never distant
00:21:47the right action is about to happen
00:21:51and now the ego
00:21:54if
00:21:56it is not yet very
00:21:58desirous of fame etc.
00:21:59the ego will either come up with some other
00:22:04action
00:22:06which is steeped in desire
00:22:09and that way
00:22:10it will
00:22:11block the right action
00:22:12or
00:22:13if it wants to act respectable
00:22:15it will not come up with an alternate action
00:22:18but just block the right action
00:22:20and just blocking the right action
00:22:22too is
00:22:23an action
00:22:25so all actions of the ego
00:22:29are just with
00:22:32one solo purpose
00:22:34and the purpose
00:22:35is to not let the right action happen
00:22:41the ego can go left
00:22:43there is just
00:22:45one intention
00:22:47the right action must not happen
00:22:48the ego
00:22:49can also go right
00:22:52forward or backward
00:22:55the intention is just the same
00:22:59so there is also
00:23:01there is not much
00:23:03in changing the direction of your actions
00:23:08are you getting it?
00:23:12you can be an exploiter
00:23:14towards the right
00:23:15you can be an exploiter towards the left
00:23:17your job is to let it happen
00:23:26and that's real choice
00:23:28the only choice
00:23:30all other choices are just fake
00:23:34and this choice
00:23:36this authority
00:23:37this adhikar that we have
00:23:38is rarely exercised
00:23:40the ego looks at
00:23:42this one as a fatal choice
00:23:44it feels mortally threatened
00:23:47it feels mortally threatened
00:23:51if I exercise this choice
00:23:52then I am gone
00:23:53finished
00:23:55therefore this authority is there
00:23:57but it remains unused
00:23:59and this is the only
00:24:02only
00:24:04real power
00:24:06that the ego has
00:24:08what is this power?
00:24:10to disappear
00:24:11what is this power?
00:24:12to step back
00:24:13what is this power?
00:24:15to resign
00:24:17what is this power?
00:24:18to let go
00:24:19to drop
00:24:22to flow
00:24:23what is this power?
00:24:24what is this power?
00:24:25what is this power?
00:24:26what is this power?
00:24:27what is this power?
00:24:29but you know
00:24:30the ego
00:24:35is made of desire
00:24:37that's the stuff of ego
00:24:39and desire is future
00:24:41so even if there is
00:24:44the chance to retreat
00:24:46the ego will first ask
00:24:48what after this?
00:24:49if I retreat
00:24:53what after me?
00:24:54who is there?
00:24:56unfortunately
00:24:58that which is there
00:25:00once the ego is gone
00:25:02can never be visible
00:25:04or detectable to the ego
00:25:06the ego can detect
00:25:10only
00:25:12the stuff that lies
00:25:13in its own dimension
00:25:15truth is beyond the ego
00:25:21therefore undetectable
00:25:26the ego asks
00:25:28well
00:25:30lets
00:25:32assume
00:25:34I am not there
00:25:36who is in charge after me?
00:25:38and gets no answer
00:25:40since it gets no answer
00:25:42it gets
00:25:45more reasons to believe
00:25:47that there is nobody else
00:25:48to be in charge
00:25:51and the ego says
00:25:52since there is nobody else
00:25:53to shoulder the responsibility
00:25:55of the organism
00:25:57this jiva
00:25:59therefore I have to
00:26:03be at the saddle
00:26:05therefore I have to
00:26:08hem the
00:26:10action
00:26:12are you kidding it?
00:26:18are you kidding it?
00:26:22love
00:26:23mysticism
00:26:24faith
00:26:27they are about
00:26:28retreating
00:26:31without bothering
00:26:33for what will happen next
00:26:36they are about letting
00:26:38the real thing happen
00:26:42without
00:26:45without
00:26:48without asking
00:26:49what does it have for me
00:26:51and you
00:26:53forget to ask that
00:26:55only when you
00:26:57allow yourself
00:26:59to be
00:27:01to be drenched in
00:27:03to be marinated in
00:27:05the beauty
00:27:07of the real thing
00:27:09you cannot
00:27:11stop asking
00:27:13questions
00:27:15about future
00:27:16and security
00:27:18you can only forget
00:27:19asking those questions
00:27:21and that forgetfulness
00:27:23happens only when
00:27:25you are lost in beauty
00:27:27only when you have allowed
00:27:29yourself to be charmed
00:27:31only when you have allowed
00:27:33yourself
00:27:35to really fall in love
00:27:36in love
00:27:39then those questions are forgotten
00:27:41remember those questions can never be answered
00:27:44never
00:27:46what will happen to me
00:27:48who will take care of my security
00:27:50who will provide for my future
00:27:52nobody can answer those questions
00:27:55impossible
00:27:57but yes
00:27:59you can be
00:28:02mesmerized
00:28:04you can be in a spell
00:28:06you can be charmed
00:28:11so deeply
00:28:15that you just
00:28:17forget those questions
00:28:19and that's
00:28:21what a real life is like
00:28:23a life
00:28:24of charm
00:28:29a life of beauty
00:28:34a life of freedom
00:28:36from normal consciousness
00:28:45a life of being
00:28:49drunk with love
00:28:51you are so drunk
00:28:56you are so drunk
00:28:58you cannot remember petty things
00:29:02oh I am so drunk
00:29:09a divine forgetfulness
00:29:14forgetfulness
00:29:17all the nonsense
00:29:19even if I try to remember I can't
00:29:22I am so drunk
00:29:27something so enticing has captivated me
00:29:33that I am no more in control of myself
00:29:39control of myself
00:29:43and that's surrender
00:29:47that's another name for the only choice that the ego has
00:29:51all other choices that you keep making are just
00:29:54various expressions of the same rottenness therefore they are not choices at all
00:29:59you think you are making a choice when you decide whether to buy a black shirt or a white shirt or a crimson one or a violet one
00:30:06there is no choice there because irrespective of the color you choose the desire is to impress someone
00:30:12or the desire is to get some comfort or the desire is to somehow extract a discount or something
00:30:19they are not choices at all
00:30:23since they are coming from the same center therefore it would be a mistake to call them choices
00:30:27choices
00:30:30choices exists only when
00:30:33the options
00:30:35are different from each other
00:30:38if all options
00:30:40are nothing but
00:30:42echoes of each other
00:30:44copies of each other
00:30:46then
00:30:48we are wrongly using the word choice
00:30:49real choice
00:30:56real choice is only one
00:30:58I will not be
00:31:02I decide to proceed without myself
00:31:07I can be joyful without myself
00:31:17I can be joyful without myself
00:31:20I can be joyful without myself
00:31:32that's the only choice
00:31:33the only choice
00:31:39altering
00:31:41action
00:31:42starting a new kind of action
00:31:45stopping action
00:31:48these are not choices
00:31:50because the actor
00:31:52is sitting pretty
00:31:54at his old comfortable position
00:31:56he is sometimes exhibiting himself towards the left
00:32:05sometimes towards the right
00:32:07there is no fundamental distinction
00:32:12between these various choices that he is making
00:32:15people often ask what to do
00:32:20my answer is not to do
00:32:22what to do
00:32:30you are not asking who is the doer
00:32:32you are asking what to do
00:32:34you are saying
00:32:36the doer
00:32:38will not even be
00:32:40brought
00:32:41to scrutiny
00:32:43sir you just advise us about the deed
00:32:47not the doer
00:32:49we are not
00:32:52including
00:32:54the doer
00:32:56in the
00:32:59purview of the question
00:33:02so they will come and say
00:33:06what to do
00:33:08what should I do in this situation
00:33:09this is my situation
00:33:11very smartly people hide
00:33:14the doer
00:33:18what to do
00:33:23is a very unnecessary
00:33:25very superfluous question
00:33:27you have to retreat
00:33:30the right thing will happen
00:33:32and when the right thing is happening
00:33:33don't block it
00:33:34the power to block is a very very unfortunate power that is always available to the ego
00:33:47don't exercise that power
00:33:49the ego cannot do anything great
00:33:52but it has the unfortunate authority
00:33:55to stop greatness from happening
00:33:58it does not have any creative or constructive value
00:34:08but it has a lot of nuisance value
00:34:10I cannot do anything wonderful
00:34:13but I can always throw a spanner in the wheels
00:34:19I can
00:34:22stop the machine from running
00:34:25I cannot make the machine run
00:34:26but I can stop it from running
00:34:29which machine are we talking?
00:34:35the machine of innocent prakrati within yourself
00:34:43the ego can
00:34:45either stop it
00:34:47or make it run
00:34:49in a sub optimal way
00:34:51towards
00:34:53a regrettable direction
00:34:54that is karta bhav
00:34:58that is karta bhav
00:35:02doership
00:35:06it is a bit of a task
00:35:08and it feels
00:35:10it feels quite heavy
00:35:16to let things happen
00:35:18yes
00:35:19your job
00:35:21your job
00:35:22is to understand yourself
00:35:24that is your only job
00:35:26that is the only authority
00:35:27only choice you have
00:35:29and as a result of that understanding
00:35:31you find yourself thinning out
00:35:34you find yourself dissolving
00:35:37vaporizing
00:35:39whichever way you want to put it
00:35:41the more you look at yourself
00:35:43the more you understand yourself
00:35:45the more you find yourself gone
00:35:47you find yourself gone
00:35:50that is your only job
00:35:53and the more you disappear
00:35:55the more beautifully the stream of spontaneous action flows
00:36:01the ego is the block
00:36:05otherwise
00:36:12the stream knows its way
00:36:15the ego is not needed to make the flow happen
00:36:25the ego is not needed to assist the flow
00:36:28the ego is just needed to get out
00:36:31of the way of the flow
00:36:33therefore I advise you
00:36:36get out of your own way
00:36:39you are wonderful
00:36:41you are great
00:36:46but you are your own blockage
00:36:52hmmm
00:36:54you are beautiful
00:36:56but you are determined to
00:37:00you are determined to
00:37:03live and act ugly
00:37:10ugly? am I not beautiful?
00:37:11you just said yes
00:37:12you are beautiful
00:37:13in spite of yourself
00:37:14you are beautiful
00:37:15let the beauty
00:37:19let the beauty
00:37:22radiate itself
00:37:26inwardly yes
00:37:30all of us are magnificent
00:37:33but what is the point in
00:37:36letting that magnificence remain just a potentiality
00:37:42let that magnificence
00:37:48become your life breath
00:37:50not just a latent sleeping thing in your heart
00:37:55and no you don't have to feed your greatness
00:38:04no you don't have to nurture it
00:38:06the greatness knows its way just as the stream knows its way
00:38:11you don't have to do anything positive or constructive
00:38:15rather you have to do something negative and destructive
00:38:18you have to remove yourself
00:38:22that's the reason Vedanta talks the language of removal
00:38:28of rejection
00:38:29of negation
00:38:30neti neti
00:38:32no
00:38:33don't be there
00:38:34get out
00:38:35leave it
00:38:36drop it
00:38:38have faith
00:38:42what is right will happen
00:38:45just that
00:38:49it may not happen as per your plans
00:38:52it may not happen as per your desires
00:38:55but your plans and your desires are
00:38:58no good for you anyway
00:39:02let the smooth flow of life
00:39:05take over
00:39:15getting it
00:39:18action can at best be
00:39:30some kind of faint
00:39:34and partially reliable indicator of inner change
00:39:38that's all
00:39:39that's all
00:39:45but because it is action that is outwards
00:39:49manifested
00:39:50visible
00:39:52therefore we
00:39:55forget about
00:39:57inner change
00:39:59and focus on changing the action
00:40:04I have started doing this I have stopped doing that
00:40:06action has changed
00:40:08and therefore you see progress is happening
00:40:11no
00:40:13there is no guarantee that just because your deeds have changed
00:40:15so the doer has changed
00:40:18no
00:40:20in fact even when you change your deeds
00:40:22you change them in
00:40:24very
00:40:26pre scripted ways
00:40:29you very well know what it means to commit a bad deed
00:40:33you also know what is a good deed like
00:40:35so from bad deed you switch to good deed
00:40:38it's all fake
00:40:41change of action
00:40:43I was doing this I am not doing this anymore
00:40:45now I am feeding dogs
00:40:49now I have stopped drinking milk
00:40:53no guarantee that it is coming from any inner place
00:40:55self knowledge wisdom spirituality is not about changing your actions
00:41:09it is about looking at yourself honestly
00:41:15ruthlessly
00:41:17and that's all
00:41:19the entire field of spirituality is just one
00:41:26honest glance
00:41:30can I look at myself honestly
00:41:33that's
00:41:37the sum total of the entire spiritual process
00:41:40look at yourself honestly
00:41:42and if you are looking at yourself honestly
00:41:44that sets the ball rolling
00:41:45that starts a chain reaction
00:41:49you look at yourself and
00:41:51that which you are looking at
00:41:53dissolves just
00:41:56by the virtue
00:41:58of being seen
00:42:03I can see
00:42:05I can see I am afraid
00:42:07I can see I am avaricious
00:42:09that which is seen for what it is
00:42:15starts losing its validity
00:42:20because it has been exposed
00:42:23it has been seen
00:42:25now it cannot pretend to be virtuous
00:42:28it has been seen
00:42:32it loses its
00:42:33its
00:42:34validity
00:42:36its sanctity
00:42:39its very reason
00:42:44to exist
00:42:46and it starts dissolving
00:42:49now the process you see
00:42:51is in motion
00:42:53you look at something
00:42:56that which you look at
00:42:58starts falling
00:43:00starts falling
00:43:02that is the power of your glance
00:43:04you look at something
00:43:05it starts falling
00:43:09it starts falling
00:43:11then that which it was obstructing
00:43:14starts flowing
00:43:18a thick wall was obstructing the flow of the water
00:43:23the wall starts falling
00:43:25the water starts flowing
00:43:26that water is your nature
00:43:29that flow is your nature
00:43:32please flow
00:43:33please allow yourself to flow
00:43:36don't worry
00:43:38what the flow is about
00:43:39don't worry where the flow will take you
00:43:41you anyway
00:43:43do not exist downstream
00:43:45you exist right now
00:43:47what will happen in the future
00:43:49the future one will take care of that
00:43:52you exist only for this moment
00:43:54in this moment
00:43:56beauty lies
00:43:58in letting the flow happen
00:44:00in going with the flow
00:44:02we are not talking
00:44:05of emotional and hormonal flows here
00:44:08you are talking of
00:44:13something
00:44:15far more sublime and sacred
00:44:17a flow that comes only by virtue of understanding
00:44:22emotional and hormonal flows do not require any understanding at all
00:44:27even if you are
00:44:29perfectly mad you will still have hormonal flows
00:44:34we are talking of the flow
00:44:38that is possible only when the ego looks at itself in understanding
00:44:44it is a flow
00:44:47it is a flow
00:44:50catalyzed by understanding
00:44:52it is a flow that cannot happen in absence of understanding
00:44:56what is to be understood?
00:44:59not the truth
00:45:05it is sufficient for the ego
00:45:08to understand itself
00:45:10so
00:45:24you have choice
00:45:26power authority
00:45:28only over your actions
00:45:30that does not mean that you are the master of your actions and you can act any way you like
00:45:35that means your only authority
00:45:41lies in letting the real action happen
00:45:46it happens
00:45:48it is not
00:45:50done
00:45:52you look at the passivity here
00:45:55this is not
00:45:56something that you actively can do
00:46:01this happens when you lie passive
00:46:06real action in that way is passive action
00:46:15you stand by the side
00:46:18and let it flow
00:46:21so your contribution is there
00:46:23is there
00:46:24but yours is a passive contribution
00:46:26you are not causing the flow
00:46:28you are just allowing the flow
00:46:32what is the relationship with the action?
00:46:34I am not the
00:46:36causing entity
00:46:38yet I had the unfortunate authority to
00:46:41stop the flow
00:46:43my contribution here is
00:46:45that I didn't stop the flow
00:46:47that is my passive contribution
00:46:49my contribution does not lie in doing something
00:46:51my contribution here lies in not doing something
00:46:55that I could have potentially done
00:46:56what would I have done?
00:46:58I could have blocked
00:46:59I didn't block
00:47:01that is my contribution
00:47:02so my contribution is passive
00:47:04not active
00:47:10if I am not active who is?
00:47:12you don't have to worry
00:47:14the entire universe is active
00:47:15you don't need to shoulder the burden of activity
00:47:23activity will happen
00:47:25you just
00:47:27limit yourself to understanding
00:47:29what is it that blocks action
00:47:34which is self knowledge
00:47:37you just have to limit yourself to knowing yourself
00:47:40that suffices
00:47:41that suffices
00:47:47be a good spectator
00:47:53stand
00:47:57beyond the ropes
00:48:00watch
00:48:02cheer, applaud
00:48:04but don't try to intrude into the arena
00:48:07the arena belongs to the
00:48:11player
00:48:13you
00:48:15are best being a spectator
00:48:22let the play happen
00:48:26have you seen in
00:48:28tennis, in cricket
00:48:30in football also
00:48:31sometimes
00:48:34spectators
00:48:36streakers and all
00:48:37they intrude
00:48:39what happens when they intrude into the field?
00:48:42the play
00:48:43stops
00:48:44that is the ego
00:48:46the play
00:48:48can happen beautifully only when the ego remains at the margins
00:48:53just a spectator ego
00:48:54a watching ego
00:48:56a witnessing ego
00:48:59not a playing ego
00:49:00a playing ego
00:49:02the moment the ego enters the playground
00:49:05the play stops
00:49:06the play has been defiled
00:49:07corrupted
00:49:11seen how ugly it looks
00:49:13two or three of them have entered
00:49:17the playground
00:49:19and now they are being chased away by the police
00:49:27that's the ego
00:49:30it enters places where it should not be
00:49:38it assumes responsibilities that it should not
00:49:45it assumes its own existence
00:49:50that's the ego
00:49:55what to do?
00:49:56disappear
00:49:58go away
00:49:59retreat
00:50:01but you cannot just retreat
00:50:04like that
00:50:06to retreat you will have to
00:50:08know yourself
00:50:10knowing is retreating
00:50:12knowing is dissolving
00:50:17knowing therefore
00:50:19is purification
00:50:26the right action will happen in my absence
00:50:36I just have to be a passive observer
00:50:39and the right thing will happen
00:50:41so you need to ask
00:50:44why there is need for such an assurance
00:50:47assurance
00:50:49once you understand who is the one
00:50:51seeking
00:50:53assurance on this count
00:50:55the question will drop
00:51:00hmmm
00:51:02sir
00:51:07sir
00:51:08you said your only job is to understand yourself
00:51:11but I always feel like doing something
00:51:14planning or thinking
00:51:16so it becomes difficult for me to stop doing
00:51:18and then give myself time to understand myself
00:51:20so how do I move from this state to understanding myself
00:51:23that is my fundamental question
00:51:26you see
00:51:28you don't have to
00:51:30forcibly stop
00:51:32your actions
00:51:34to understand yourself
00:51:36if you stop everything
00:51:37it will in fact
00:51:39become more difficult to see
00:51:41where actions are coming from
00:51:45this thief
00:51:47is so
00:51:48so
00:51:49well
00:51:51groomed and masked
00:51:55that he can be caught only red handed
00:51:58so you have to
00:52:00be in the middle of
00:52:01action
00:52:02whatever it is
00:52:03planning, thinking, doing
00:52:05speaking
00:52:09and then
00:52:10see in the moment
00:52:11in the middle of the action
00:52:13parallel to the action
00:52:15what you are doing
00:52:16and it is possible
00:52:21to
00:52:23be the actor
00:52:26and also find yourself
00:52:29the witness of the action
00:52:32it is possible for these two to happen simultaneously
00:52:38you are
00:52:40you are haggling
00:52:42with the vendor
00:52:43negotiating for some petty amount
00:52:49then that is the action that is there
00:52:52it is possible
00:52:54to be witnessing this action
00:52:57even as it is happening in real time
00:53:00it is possible
00:53:03it is happening
00:53:06and right as it is happening
00:53:09in the moment itself
00:53:10to be able to watch it
00:53:12I am not watching
00:53:14some memory of it
00:53:16I am not recalling or recollecting it
00:53:18even as it is happening
00:53:20I can see it happening
00:53:24here right now
00:53:27so
00:53:29watching is not about
00:53:31sitting still in some corner
00:53:33doing nothing
00:53:35and trying to watch
00:53:36what will you watch?
00:53:38watching will become difficult
00:53:40because if you are not outwardly doing anything
00:53:43if your limbs are not in motion
00:53:47then all that remains to be watched is thoughts
00:53:51and thoughts are subtle
00:53:54watching this external outward
00:53:58sensual motion
00:54:00is relatively easier
00:54:04you are hitting someone
00:54:05you can see you are hitting someone
00:54:08and that can be
00:54:10or you are abusing someone
00:54:12or whatever you are expressing love to someone
00:54:14that can be experienced with the senses
00:54:20so that is easier to watch
00:54:22ok
00:54:24I just said
00:54:26this to that person
00:54:28such and such words
00:54:30I can see where all this is coming from
00:54:32I can see the reality of these things
00:54:35whereas if you sit still and say
00:54:37you know this is my time to witness myself
00:54:41then all that you will have
00:54:44at most
00:54:46is some thoughts, some feelings
00:54:48they too can be watched
00:54:50but it is relatively difficult
00:54:52so develop this
00:54:55this practice
00:54:57of
00:55:00watching yourself
00:55:03in the normal run
00:55:05of daily events
00:55:07I am doing and I am watching
00:55:11I am doing and I am watching
00:55:13just as we said
00:55:15it is unfortunate that the ego has the capacity
00:55:18to block
00:55:20the real flow
00:55:21the real flow
00:55:23fortunately for ego
00:55:25it has the capacity to observe itself
00:55:28in motion
00:55:30so the ego can do these two things potentially
00:55:33at once
00:55:34together
00:55:35concurrently
00:55:37it can act and it can also be the
00:55:41watcher of the action
00:55:43so practice doing these two things simultaneously
00:55:46like
00:55:48one of
00:55:50those performers
00:55:52who juggled two balls
00:55:56doing this and doing this
00:55:58and doing both of them concurrently
00:56:01Namaste Acharya Ji
00:56:04My name is Nidhi Pandey
00:56:06and I am a housewife
00:56:08presently I am living in UAE
00:56:10my question is about
00:56:12emotional vulnerability
00:56:14and our problem-oriented approach
00:56:16recently on community
00:56:18someone posted about
00:56:20India's very bad position
00:56:22in world's happiness index
00:56:25and there are so much posts on social media
00:56:27there are so much posts on social media
00:56:30regarding people hyping their very small problems
00:56:33while I have seen my mother doing household course
00:56:37even in very bad health without any stress
00:56:40while in today's youth
00:56:42we focus more on problems
00:56:44and play victimization card
00:56:46rather than finding solutions
00:56:48is there something youth is missing out
00:56:51and learn from our older generation
00:56:52you are asking about
00:56:57why people are
00:56:59seemingly more stressed out these days
00:57:02yeah on very small problems
00:57:05like even a power cut is a very big problem to them
00:57:08see that
00:57:18comes with the intensity of desire no?
00:57:22you want something
00:57:24very strongly
00:57:26in a very expansive way
00:57:28in a very detailed way
00:57:31the number of details
00:57:33runs into hundreds
00:57:35so now there are hundred ways
00:57:36your desire can be frustrated
00:57:42because that which you wanted
00:57:46had hundred different kinds of desired details
00:57:50this should be like this
00:57:51that should be like this
00:57:52that should be like this
00:57:53that should be like this
00:57:54that should be like this
00:57:55and only then I can say I have
00:57:57a good life
00:57:59if any of these things
00:58:01or a few of these things
00:58:03are not the way you desire them
00:58:05then you feel you have reason
00:58:09to feel disappointed
00:58:10that is what is happening
00:58:12the number of objects at our disposal
00:58:16has dramatically increased
00:58:19over the last
00:58:21hundred years or so
00:58:23in India over the last 30-40 years
00:58:28globally over the last 150 years
00:58:32and the increase is exponential
00:58:38if you don't get something in your local store
00:58:44or even the local shopping mall
00:58:47there is Amazon
00:58:49to order from
00:58:51anything is available
00:58:53something is not sold in India
00:58:56you can still order it online
00:58:57anything is available
00:58:58the entire world is available to you
00:59:00and you feel empowered
00:59:04you feel you have much more choice today
00:59:08right
00:59:10and when there are so many objects
00:59:12vying for your attention
00:59:14then your desire also gets attached to
00:59:18so many points
00:59:20therefore you have
00:59:23so many points
00:59:25to be disappointed from
00:59:26now you have so many avenues
00:59:31to get a heartbreak from
00:59:35no?
00:59:37that's what is happening
00:59:39see
00:59:44we are
00:59:47we are
00:59:51we are
00:59:53restless people
00:59:55right
00:59:57and
00:59:59to take care of that restlessness
01:00:02we have
01:00:04exploited the earth
01:00:06and
01:00:08produced an unimaginable
01:00:11diversity
01:00:13and abundance
01:00:14of
01:00:15of
01:00:16of
01:00:17goods and services
01:00:19hmm
01:00:20because we want to feel good about ourselves
01:00:22we think
01:00:23if we have that
01:00:24if we can have more of this
01:00:26even more of that
01:00:28then we will feel nicer
01:00:32hmm
01:00:34and
01:00:35producing even more
01:00:37consuming even more
01:00:40asking for
01:00:41asking for even more
01:00:43diversity and details
01:00:45will
01:00:47will continue to remain an imperative
01:00:50as long as you are unfulfilled
01:00:55you have thousands of objects today
01:00:58and they don't fulfill you
01:01:00so tomorrow you will
01:01:02ask for millions of objects
01:01:04and you will feel that
01:01:06since you do not have a few out of those million
01:01:10that is the reason
01:01:12why you are frustrated
01:01:14so you will say
01:01:15fine I will
01:01:17increase the number at my disposal to a billion
01:01:21hmm
01:01:22but it's never going to suffice
01:01:24it's not that we are disappointed
01:01:27over petty things
01:01:28over minor issues
01:01:30it's not
01:01:31it's not about that
01:01:33even if there are no petty things
01:01:34even if there are no minor issues
01:01:37we will still be disappointed
01:01:39it's not that the man wanted 100 things
01:01:41and he got only 90
01:01:43that's why he is disappointed
01:01:45hmm
01:01:46your question is
01:01:47why are people today so disappointed
01:01:49on losing just 10% of what they want
01:01:53like uninterrupted power supply
01:01:59and my grandparents
01:02:01they didn't have much of what we have today
01:02:04and yet I found them relatively satisfied with themselves
01:02:08that's how you are putting your question
01:02:11the question is slightly misplaced
01:02:14even if you give a person all that he desires
01:02:20all the thousands and millions of things that he can enlist
01:02:24you will find he is still frustrated
01:02:27some pretext will emerge
01:02:31some reason
01:02:34will come
01:02:37from somewhere
01:02:38and he will still not be ok
01:02:40because it's not about
01:02:43getting the best quality of electricity supply
01:02:46uninterrupted and such thing
01:02:48it's not about having this, having that
01:02:49having relationships, having money
01:02:51having furniture, having cars, having houses
01:02:53having houses
01:02:55enjoying
01:02:57foreign travel, having the best holidays
01:03:00hmm
01:03:02you are not condemning them
01:03:04you are just saying that's not the real deal
01:03:07you are saying if you are internally
01:03:12a flame
01:03:15a blaze
01:03:16burning
01:03:18it will not help you
01:03:20to go to
01:03:25to Maldives
01:03:27and
01:03:29drench yourself
01:03:31in the sea
01:03:32and
01:03:33be carried away by the waves
01:03:36that's not going to help you
01:03:37the fire is within
01:03:39no amount of water on the outside is going
01:03:43to provide any relief
01:03:44self knowledge, spirituality, wisdom
01:03:52that's what is missing
01:03:55and that's what is the only solution
01:04:00without that any kind of material growth
01:04:03will only
01:04:05deepen your frustration
01:04:07and only strengthen your resolve
01:04:09to destroy the planet
01:04:10and destroy your fellow human beings
01:04:15and destroy all the species
01:04:18so that you can somehow get some kind of peace
01:04:22but the peace would still remain fleeting
01:04:24and fleeting
01:04:31hmm
01:04:33thank you Ajay
01:04:34yes
01:04:36my name is Mamta
01:04:38and I've been
01:04:40attending sessions from
01:04:42almost one and a half years now
01:04:44and
01:04:45I started with
01:04:46confusion
01:04:48because the classes were in Hindi
01:04:50and I didn't know Hindi
01:04:52but then I joined
01:04:53and I'm glad I did
01:04:55because I was carrying a lot of baggages
01:04:58as far as my beliefs
01:05:00are concerned
01:05:02so now after this amount of journey
01:05:05so life really looks brighter
01:05:08and then in today's class
01:05:11I learnt something new
01:05:12because every time
01:05:15I live in Switzerland
01:05:17every time I talk about India
01:05:19I would always say
01:05:20it's unity in diversity
01:05:23which meant actually the physical part of it
01:05:26it's like we have so many different race
01:05:29people looking influenced by different race
01:05:32and the different languages
01:05:34different food
01:05:36but then I never saw the underlying thing
01:05:38that it is our innate thing to know
01:05:40that which makes us Indian
01:05:43that was wonderful
01:05:44thank you
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