Video Information: Shastra Kaumudi, 20.12.2021, Rishikesh, India
Context:
~ Why an IITian loses focus - and what's the purpose of life?
~ Why there is so much suffering in life?
~ Do we suffer by our own choice?
~ How to avoid pain and suffering?
Music Credits: Milind Date
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#acharyaprashant #IIT-KGP
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00 Namaskar Acharyaji. Namaste. My name is Rashi Goyal. I am a second year undergraduate student
00:08 of the Department of Geology and Geophysics at IIT Kharagpur. So my question to you is
00:15 when we as an IITian, we had to pass through a phase where we have to be away from being
00:22 socializing to in order to succeed in order to clear our JEE advance, we need to be more
00:29 focused towards our studies. But as soon as we enter college, we had a scenario in which
00:35 we need to be a social person, we need friends, we need people to communicate or express our
00:40 thoughts. But due to being a learner from a long time, it puts a lot of stress to adapt
00:47 that habit of being a social person again. So that affects our mental health. So how
00:54 to overcome this habit of not expressing oneself. So Rashi, what you're saying is when you were
01:01 preparing for the JEE, at that time, you didn't really socialize, you kept studying. And now
01:10 when you have entered, yes, like when during the JEE times, what actually happens is we
01:19 avoid attending marriage and parties. We avoid talking like we spend most of the time studying.
01:27 Like when we wake up, we study, we go to coaching class, we do have some exams or tests. And
01:35 then we came home, we study again, then we sleep. This is what our schedule is. But as
01:40 soon as we enter college, we tend to have other things to do. Like we need to make friends,
01:49 we need to have someone to listen to our problems.
01:52 Now, didn't you have problems when you were preparing for the JEE? What happened then?
01:58 Who did you go to speak to?
02:00 Like generally, we used to go to our teachers. We don't, we, because it was a competitive
02:08 environment. So we used to feel like to talk to a teacher is the best thing. But right
02:14 now, we talk mostly to first towards with our friends and then we go to a teacher if
02:20 it's a major issue.
02:22 Let me ask you something. How driven and focused did you feel at the time of JEE preparation?
02:30 Now that you have cleared the JEE, you are in a good position to say how driven were
02:36 you?
02:37 Like I mentioned, I was like completely into studies.
02:43 Completely into studies, right?
02:45 Yeah.
02:46 And now after entering IIT?
02:50 Like I am now bit relaxed that I had at least.
02:53 Which semester, which semester are you from, Rashmi?
02:56 Right now, I am in my second year. I will be having my fourth semester from January.
03:03 If it's not very personal, may I ask your CGPA?
03:07 Yeah, it's right now it's near about 8.5.
03:12 And 8.5 means what? DR 5, 10, 15?
03:19 Sir, I am not sure about that.
03:27 You would have been very sure of your percentile and rank when you were preparing for the JEE,
03:32 right?
03:33 What do they call it in IIT Kharagpur?
03:34 They do not call it DR, departmental rank.
03:36 What is it called there?
03:37 We call it DR.
03:38 You call it DR, right.
03:39 So, the tradition continues.
03:42 See, the thing is you had a purpose then.
03:46 So, you did not need to socialize.
03:51 And that purpose is bigger than the company of any of these friends and all.
03:59 Now you are in IIT and there are so many other things to do, we all know of them.
04:04 So, you are saying, oh my God, I just kept studying, I did not develop my so-called soft
04:09 skills.
04:10 I am not very good at communication.
04:15 I must talk a lot.
04:17 I must be attractive to others.
04:19 I must get the best company possible.
04:23 And by best, what we mean is the most glamorous.
04:29 What do you mean by social skills?
04:30 You are a human being, right?
04:31 You are a human being.
04:37 If somebody is worth it, there would be a relationship.
04:43 What do you mean by social skills?
04:45 What do you, it is just the absence of a purpose now.
04:54 Give yourself a purpose.
04:57 You do not need to be great at socializing.
05:00 Let the purpose decide the kind of company you are to get.
05:06 And if you have a great purpose, you will get just the right company.
05:11 What happens is once you enter IIT, placement is almost guaranteed.
05:20 So, that bogie is off your mind.
05:25 You do not have to clear the JEE once again.
05:32 And because everybody gets into a relaxed mode once you enter the campus, therefore,
05:43 even with very modest kind of effort, you can have a decent CGPA and a decent rank.
05:53 That has been happening since ages, that has been happening across all IITs.
05:57 So, you will have to agree to what I am saying.
06:04 What you lack now is the same fire that you had at the time of JEE preparation.
06:12 At that time, it was like, I have to get in and if I do not get in, I am losing on something
06:17 very, very important.
06:19 In contrast, right now your statement is I already have what is important.
06:24 Therefore, let me get into other things that offer pleasure and fun and excitement and
06:31 the rest of it.
06:34 No, you have not attained anything yet.
06:38 Let that be very clear to you.
06:40 Clearing the JEE is nothing.
06:43 Clearing the JEE at best guarantees you bread and butter and an upper middle class kind
06:49 of life.
06:50 Does not mean much.
06:52 There is a long distance to cover and especially as a woman in Indian conditions, you have
07:00 to keep sprinting.
07:03 You cannot reduce your pace, you cannot let your guard down.
07:07 You cannot start seeking company and socialization and relationships.
07:14 Because all of this ultimately leads to that one thing that we can call as the final bondage.
07:24 Why do you want to go towards that?
07:28 Be a scholar rather than the sensation on the campus.
07:34 But that is what we want to be called, right?
07:38 Mr. campus or Miss campus rather than the best scholar out there.
07:44 And if you have to do something apart from your studies, there are so many co-curriculars
07:51 to choose from.
07:54 I am sure KGP campus offers at least 10 different kinds of sports and great infrastructure,
08:05 debating dramatics.
08:08 That is one good thing about being in an IIT campus.
08:12 You get exposure to so many things that are usually not available to the common student.
08:21 Excel in them.
08:24 Socialization etc. carry next to zero value.
08:28 And as I said, if what you are doing carries value and importance, socialization, the right
08:34 kind of socialization will happen on its own.
08:38 You will get the right kind of company, be totally devoted to your work and to your purpose.
08:45 And some person or a group of persons cannot be the purpose in your life.
08:52 I say that to everybody.
08:54 And when I am addressing a girl, I say that with heightened emphasis.
09:00 Forget all this, please.
09:07 I have seen what now an entire generation of IITians pass through in front of my eyes.
09:22 Do not get into that same old kind of trap.
09:26 It firstly leads to mediocrity and then it leads to bondages.
09:31 Learn to excel, keep the fire burning.
09:37 If you are in IIT, I am pretty sure your rank would have been in the top 1 percentile.
09:42 Obviously, it has to be top 1 percentile or 1.5 or 0.5, whatever.
09:50 So that benchmark has to be maintained.
09:54 Tell me, since the last 2 years, what is it that you belong to the top 1 percentile of?
10:07 JEE was the last thing you excelled at, right?
10:10 Tell me what is it that you have added to your kitty post the JEE?
10:17 Are you 1 percent, top 1 percent in swimming, 1 percent in debating, in dramatics, in tennis,
10:29 in what?
10:33 And that which you are seeking now will push you, I said deeper into mediocrity.
10:43 Do you want to be among those students of your class who used to obtain 50, 60, 70 percent
10:51 or 75, 80 percent and were satisfied with that?
10:56 Do you want to be counted among them, please?
10:59 No, sir.
11:01 Yes.
11:02 So maintain the JEE like spirit throughout your life.
11:07 You have to excel.
11:12 Mediocrity types and such thing, let the mediocre ones count them as their priority.
11:20 Read, read a lot.
11:24 You would have poured into the books and burned the midnight oil and since entering the campus,
11:39 how much have you really read?
11:40 And even if you have read, I am sure it mostly belongs to the technical genre, right?
11:47 Yes, sir.
11:49 And the entire world's literature is waiting for you.
11:53 When will you read that?
11:55 When will you read that?
11:59 And if you do not read that, do not you see you will be missing out on so much?
12:07 What can the company of a common second or third year student give you?
12:15 Do not you want to learn from the great philosophers, the great writers?
12:20 Do not you want to be with them?
12:26 But you see it is the body, we want a living being, the warmth of another living body,
12:32 that is what this body craves for.
12:36 So even if you must have that, then let that be secondary to your purpose, goal and work.
12:50 Choose the company of those who assist in your work.
12:55 Choose the company of those who are aligned with your work.
13:03 Decisions must be way down in your priority.
13:10 Remember who you are.
13:14 You are someone who must excel.
13:18 You are someone who must know, learn, realize and ultimately be liberated.
13:25 And this fact of central identity of yours must govern all your life decisions.
13:33 [Music]