Can India Lead the Renaissance? || Acharya Prashant, with O.P. Jindal University (2022)

Acharya Prashant

Full Video: India is too religious to be spiritual || Acharya Prashant, with O.P. Jindal University (2022) Link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHZYrf6ASCA&t=0s  Video Information: 24.05.2022, Greater Noida  Context:  ~ Can India Lead the Renaissance? ~ India has given core spirituality to the entire world. ~ Can we have powerful movements of Awakening starting from within India?  Music Credits: Milind Date  ~~~~~

Transcript

00:00 (bell chimes)

00:03 Can India lead a new renaissance in the world,

00:07 building on its lofty philosophy,

00:12 essentially, I'd write of it,

00:14 and lead us to a new way of doing economics,

00:19 a new way of politics, a new way of public policy,

00:23 to a world that will be the world so many of us hope for.

00:29 And if not us, at this generation, our children hope for.

00:33 You know, a world with more equity,

00:35 sustainability, prosperity,

00:38 less conflict, and so on, that world.

00:43 My hope is that the answer to that question might be yes,

00:48 but I might be completely wrong.

00:50 I'd like your thoughts.

00:52 - India is just too big,

00:57 and therefore, I'm afraid when we say,

00:59 can India lead a revolution,

01:01 it becomes a bit hazy,

01:07 because India will contain just so many diverse,

01:13 even opposing elements and streams at all times.

01:18 We are talking of 1.4 billion people.

01:21 Maybe there would be awakenings within India,

01:27 forces from within, streams from within

01:32 that can show the way to the entire world.

01:38 But as a patriot, if I imagine a situation

01:45 where the entire Indian political country has awakened,

01:52 I find it difficult.

01:57 Still, we can have powerful movements of awakenings

02:02 starting from within India.

02:10 And I hope that first of all, they get success within India.

02:14 But what I realistically see is that even if such a movement

02:19 starts from within India,

02:21 it has a greater chance of succeeding abroad,

02:27 because as you said, India is just too religious.

02:30 I really share your hope,

02:35 but realistically, I do not see the first successes

02:41 coming from within India.

02:43 So as far as the initiation of such a movement

02:47 or such an awakening is concerned,

02:49 chances are very high that something can happen

02:53 from within our nation.

02:54 Chances are very high.

02:57 But what I also see is that more success

03:01 in terms of its expansion and acceptance

03:05 will come from abroad.

03:09 And what would rather happen is that

03:11 once there is success abroad,

03:13 then Indians will probably queue up to follow.

03:16 So my heart really wants to agree with you

03:25 and that's the reason I have continued

03:27 to work in this country.

03:29 I could have taken the decision to shift my base

03:34 to other places where conditions are much more supportive.

03:38 And I too want things to happen here in the first place.

03:44 But because I have been trying since over a decade now,

03:49 so I know how difficult it is to deal with a mindset

03:54 that's frozen in time,

03:56 that has become a hotbed of all kinds of confused notions.

04:02 And not that abroad it is going to be much better,

04:07 but at least the renaissance destroyed

04:12 some of the most stupid beliefs there.

04:19 India never had a renaissance of that kind.

04:21 So even the worst kinds of beliefs

04:26 continue to prosper in the mind here.

04:29 And fighting those beliefs is not only tiring,

04:35 also feels humiliating.

04:37 You feel all right and you feel encouraged

04:41 when you fight a worthy enemy.

04:43 How do you feel while fighting a belief

04:48 that says that there are seven ghosts

04:50 that live on this particular tree?

04:54 And if you do not please them,

04:55 then your kid will die.

05:00 Now this unfortunately is not a joke.

05:05 This unfortunately is a very solid belief

05:08 that let's say millions in this country share.

05:13 And if you want to question this belief,

05:19 not even attack it, then there is great resistance.

05:22 So the first successes will probably not come from within,

05:29 but I really, really want that this nation

05:36 that has given core spirituality to the entire world

05:47 does not remain or end up deprived of its own fruit.

05:52 Diya tale andhera.

05:55 I don't want that to happen, but it's an uphill task.

06:00 (gentle music)

06:03 (music)

06:05 [music]

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