How to change the Inner Climate   Acharya Prashant, with Bard College (2022) - video Dailymotion

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?...   ~~~~~   Video Information: 27.07.22, 'East-West Dialogue on Climate and Justice', organized by Bard College, USA.   Context:  ~ What is Climate Change?  ~ How to stop climate change?  ~ What is the solution to global warming?  ~ How can we control the increasing population?  ~ How can spirituality solve the problem of global warming?  ~ What is the most effective way of dealing with climate change?  ~ How can population control help in dealing with climate change?  ~ What is the solution to climate change?  ~ How spirituality can stop climate change?  ~ Climate change has no scientific solution   Music Credits: Milind Date  ~~~~~

Transcript

00:00Hello, I am Emily from Texas A&M University, and my question is more of an economics question

00:06as we've been talking about before.

00:09How can we encourage factories and companies in poor areas to prioritize the health of

00:13the local environment when the nature of business is to prioritize lowest cost and a margin

00:19of a net zero profit margin?

00:23This is topped with the natural tendencies of human nature to prioritize greed above

00:27all else, profit over regulation.

00:31I didn't get the part about the local stuff.

00:37You may please need to repeat the question.

00:39My apologies.

00:42How can we encourage factories and companies in poorer areas to prioritize the health of

00:48the local environment when the nature of the business is to prioritize the lowest cost

00:53and maintain a net zero profit margin?

00:56Okay, I got it.

01:03You see, I don't think, again, continuing in the same vein, I don't think you can tackle

01:11this in isolation, though you could bring about suitable legislation.

01:18You could treat, for example, the climate as a person, and the climate could have its

01:24own rights, just as there are fundamental rights given to persons.

01:34Similarly, treat the climate as a person and give it rights, and if those rights are violated,

01:42there would be penalties.

01:44So that's a route you could take, and that's an effective route that should be taken, but

01:48I don't think even this is going to be very effective.

01:55It must be done, but even if done, it will have limited effectiveness, though it's one

02:02of the things that we should begin with.

02:06Recently, a South American country brought about changes in its constitution.

02:19They actually overhauled their entire constitution, and the constitution is now almost founded

02:26on giving great rights to the climate, to the various animal and bird species, and it's

02:42a document worth emulating.

02:48I think a lot of countries in the coming years will take inspiration from it and actually

02:54need to take inspiration from it.

02:58So that could be done, but profit is profit, greed is greed, and when we do not respect

03:12the rights of sentient beings, people in flesh and blood we can see and talk to, how will

03:23we respect the rights of something a little abstract as the climate?

03:34The climate is not going to come and talk to you and plead to you as a person, and the

03:43climate is not going to sue you on its own.

03:45Somebody needs to act on behest of the climate as a proxy.

03:54So I don't think we are going to be very respectful towards the climate on our own, even though

04:00the right legislations are important and must be there.

04:05So what to do then?

04:08You need to tell people, there has to be the right kind of knowledge.

04:19What is happening is, we are in the middle of an information revolution, right?

04:27We all know we are.

04:31But this information revolution has not increased knowledge.

04:40It has not increased knowledge and for sure it has decreased wisdom, why?

04:48Because there is so much information available to us, this part we see, what we do not see

04:55is that the opportunity to disseminate misinformation is now greatly available to the miscreants.

05:08So you get a lot of information today, several hundred times more than what you used to get

05:1530 years back.

05:18But most of what we are getting now is misinformation or disinformation or false information or

05:27misleading information or distracting information.

05:32So the result is that the quality of our knowledge has greatly fallen.

05:41And knowledge is what forms our insides.

05:46On the outside we are made of food, air, water, flesh, bones.

05:55On the inside we are made of knowledge and the knowledge that constitutes our insides

06:02has become all corrupted.

06:05So what will happen is that there is this factory and this factory is harming the health

06:11of the local environment as you said, right?

06:16But people have been taught that comfort and greed are more important, more important

06:26than the health of the environment.

06:31That needs to change.

06:32Is it okay if I add on?

06:36What about the nature of human nature to survive?

06:40It also prompts us to prioritize ourselves more and also adds on to that greed because

06:47naturally we want to survive.

06:50You see, we need to appreciate the nature of the beast within more clearly.

07:06There was this COVID pandemic and people knew that if they would behave in certain

07:13ways they may even die.

07:16Did they still behave rationally?

07:20The climate crisis does not even threaten you that much.

07:26Nobody will say that if the climate keeps worsening then by next year 35% of the world's

07:31population will be wiped out.

07:34So when it comes to having a good time, when it comes to having pleasure, the beast within

07:41is prepared to trade long term wellness for instant gratification.

07:53Long term wellness can wait.

07:55After all we do not know whether we would be around in the long term.

08:00Then somebody said in the long term we are all dead.

08:04So why not have a good time as long as it lasts?

08:14You have also mentioned that with the skin condition if it doesn't affect us directly

08:21we more than likely won't see it.

08:23I'm thinking that this is also what you're trying to infer with the climate crisis.

08:30We can't really see it directly.

08:31So therefore it's easier for us to ignore it and push it aside.

08:36So let me ask you what is it that we can see directly?

08:41You cannot for example see at this moment the carbon dioxide concentration in the air

08:49increasing.

08:50We cannot see that.

08:51We don't even actually have instruments to measure that.

08:53The common man does not have that.

08:54But what is it that we can see worsening on a daily basis and we are also concerned

09:02about what is that?

09:04The rising temperatures with this current heat wave that's going on right now and then

09:09also in the past we've also had a snowstorm in this area.

09:13So it's also we could see the issues going on too.

09:17You see the opposite is also sometimes evident.

09:22There are places on the planet that are having harsher winters and I have seen people when

09:28the winters are harsher they would say oh and then there are people who are talking

09:32of global warming.

09:33Where is the warming?

09:34All I'm experiencing is the cold.

09:36So you see these temperature fluctuations are not so wild or so apparent that they become

09:45indeniable.

09:47When we want to stay in the false, when we want to deceive ourselves, we get enough evidence

09:57to stay in that deception.

09:59The proof of global warming or climate change is still not irrefutable for those who are

10:08hell-bent on denying them.

10:11We very well know there is a huge community of climate deniers that exists and who keep

10:19saying that all this anthropological global warming thing is a hoax.

10:24It does not exist at all.

10:25So what does that mean?

10:26I mean that means that the common man still has a lot of places to take refuge in.

10:37The truth is still not very bluntly out in the open.

10:44Those who want to refuse it are still refusing it and will probably be able to refuse it

10:48for another I think five or eight years at least.

10:52So my question, let me take that.

10:57I asked you what is it however that no person in his senses can refuse?

11:05Can he can neither refuse it nor can he pretend disinterest from it.

11:13What is it?

11:16The fact that our lives are in a mess.

11:21There is nobody who does not want to improve the quality of his life.

11:24Do we agree on that?

11:27Every single person on this planet wants change in his or her life.

11:32And what is that change all about?

11:33That change is about improvement.

11:34We want to have a better life.

11:35What does that prove?

11:37We accept, we acknowledge that our lives as they stand have problems in them.

11:43Otherwise why would we want to change or improve?

11:46We are all looking for change.

11:47We get up each morning and we say can we have something better?

11:51Can we reach a better place?

11:52Can we do something better?

11:53Whatever, whatever.

11:54Can we eat something better?

11:56So, if we can show this to the person and impress on him that you need to be better,

12:04your life needs to change, then I think the climate crisis can also be addressed.

12:10With the common man example, how they would, you give the term global warming and then

12:17others would be like how is it warming whenever it's freezing cold?

12:21They fail to take into account the destruction of the ozone layer which protects us from

12:26extreme heat.

12:27It protects us from freezing winters.

12:29It protects us from these extremes and they fail to recognize these issues that's going

12:34on due to the breakdown of the ozone layer.

12:38You know, I'm a part of certain WhatsApp groups of intellectuals, people coming from

12:50technological backgrounds, working in tech companies, having good tech knowledge and

12:58good numerical skills and decently well-informed people.

13:04And there is a sizable lobby there that presents very, very logical proofs backed by data and

13:14stats to prove that, first of all, climate change is not happening.

13:24Secondly, if it is happening, it is not happening due to human activity.

13:29It is just something in the cycle of natural events.

13:33It keeps happening all the time.

13:35Thirdly, even if it is happening due to human activity, it is actually beneficial for the

13:42planet because more carbon dioxide means more greenery.

13:51And these are not arguments coming from illiterate or mindless people.

13:58These are arguments coming from seasoned tech professionals.

14:02So, if you want to rationally convince people about the climate emergency,

14:11I am afraid you might not see much success.

14:16I'm aware that there isn't much success because we know humans, we're stubborn people.

14:21We like to stay within our box.

14:24But think of like the technological perspective, for example, like within algorithms, which

14:29is trained to give, feed people what they want.

14:34Do you think that would also, that is also part of the problem too, of keeping people locked in?

14:39I'm sorry, but I lost that word you used in between.

14:44Algorithms?

14:45Algorithms, right.

14:46Yeah.

14:47So, what about the algorithms?

14:49So, for example, with algorithms like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, it's trained to keep the

14:58user engaged, which...

14:59Yes, very, very definitely.

15:02Right, right, right, right, right, right.

15:04So, you can see, you know, you are using AI in the worst way possible.

15:11You, and would you contest it if I say that,

15:19I don't know how you would appreciate it, but if it clicks, it clicks.

15:23The ones you can, Instagram, for example, is a lot of climate change.

15:28Instagram is a lot of climate change.

15:32All the emotionality that you see in the general public discourse, be it politics or economics

15:41or social welfare, all that is a lot of carbon.

15:48I once said, all our emotions are carbon intensive.

15:52All the natural, prakritic, animalistic emotions that we have, they are nothing but a lot of

15:58carbon.

16:00See what you do when you get emotional, and the moment you see that, it becomes amply clear.

16:06In your moment of emotional high, whatever you do, you would find that very surprisingly,

16:13all of that is very carbon intensive.

16:15So, definitely, I mean, greed, if you let it have its way, it would consume everything,

16:24this entire planet.

16:26And, you know, that's what I said, this might be called as the information age.

16:32But the level of wisdom is the lowest we have had in centuries.

16:39First of all, information is there, no doubt, a lot of information is there, but not much

16:44knowledge is there.

16:45Otherwise, it's not possible that supposedly very knowledgeable people talk of the climate

16:53crisis as a hoax.

16:55So, even knowledge is not there, and what to say of wisdom?

16:59It has completely plummeted.

17:01You give information to the wrong entity, and he will use it in the worst possible way.

17:14The algorithms you talked of are a very good example.

17:17That's what I am constantly asserting.

17:20I'm not saying that you have to use it in the worst possible way.

17:24The algorithms you talked of are a very good example.

17:28That's what I'm constantly asserting, that we need to address the very center of the

17:35human being.

17:36If we do not address that center, then whatever else we say or do or try won't see much success.

17:48I believe that should be everything from me for right now.

17:51But I did enjoy this conversation.

17:55I too enjoyed it, and there's a lot more we need to discuss on this.

18:01But to begin with, I think this is a good start.

18:07Hi again.

18:09My next question was regarding the human nature of greed and the human heart need to want

18:18to be the best and have the best.

18:21How do you personally believe that we can shift that mindset to minimize the globe's

18:26impact on climate change and essentially change the heart of human nature and want to have

18:34greed and be greedy?

18:39We have to begin with observing the facts of life, and we have already made so many

18:46attempts at being the best and being at the highest place possible and achieving the best

18:54kinds of objects.

18:55And we have been attempting that since long, right?

18:59And today we are attempting that with more knowledge in our hands, more prosperity in

19:06our hands, mightier technical tools in our hands.

19:10We have been trying all that.

19:12Having tried all that, what have we achieved?

19:16Where do we stand?

19:18Is the common man more satisfied today?

19:24Are we, yeah, we are living longer, definitely.

19:29Are we living deeper as well?

19:32And if we are not living deeper, is longer life not just a curse?

19:38Not just a curse?

19:41How about being mentally unwell and continuing to live for 95 years?

19:49I don't think that sounds very attractive, but that's how we are living.

19:57So that's true.

20:00We are born desirous and we want all those things that you mentioned, best places, best

20:07people, best positions, best rewards, best designations, best packages.

20:16We want all those things because there is something inside that refuses to be satisfied.

20:24What is it looking for?

20:26Is that not a question worth considering?

20:29If we sit down and very objectively, in a detached way, look at our condition and we

20:38have a lot of data to process and rationally base our conclusions upon, we need not speculate

20:49about who we are and what are we doing.

20:51We have already done a lot and all that data is available by way of experience and memories.

20:56So we look at all that, we process the data and won't we see that the way we are proceeding

21:04is simply not taking us anywhere.

21:09The way is much the same as it was 10 centuries back.

21:15We are doing what our grand grand grand forefathers were doing, just in an amplified way.

21:27They didn't have so much resources at their disposal, we have a lot.

21:32So we are attempting the same thing in a much bigger way.

21:37They never got anything out of that.

21:40How will we get anything as if something has fundamentally changed?

21:47But yes, technical and material progress would happen and material progress does have a value

21:56of its own.

21:58So to the extent that can satisfy us, we'll do well.

22:06But beyond that, it's all zero, zero.

22:12In fact, when you have a lot of material success and you are still empty within,

22:19I fear the situation is worse compared to that of the person who is even materially insufficient.

22:31Because the materially insufficient person at least has a false hope that the day he

22:36will get money, he will be satisfied.

22:40But once you have a lot of money, and we just said in this very conversation, I thought

22:45I read that the US now has some 22 million millionaires.

22:52And other countries are not to lag behind in a big way.

22:58Even India, when it comes to millionaires and billionaires, is trying to keep pace with

23:05the richest countries of the world, even as the average household income is almost stagnant.

23:14But the number of very rich people is exploding, even in India.

23:22Now, where is that taking us?

23:27Are we going somewhere?

23:28Are we reaching somewhere?

23:29Or do we just want to blindly believe that our faith in material prosperity will be rewarded?

23:41Has it been rewarded till now?

23:43The answer cannot be in binary, material prosperity has helped, but where, in which dimension?

23:54We must carefully investigate.

23:56Yes, today we have fewer diseases, we don't die of polio, we don't die of being killed

24:10by predators, people are not dying so much having been bitten by snakes or chased by

24:19lions, those things are not happening, right?

24:24But are we okay the way we are?

24:29So, when you question that thing, then change descends on its own.

24:39Then there is a silence, then the insane flow of energy towards blind destinations, that flow

24:50just tempers down a little.

24:54We do not remain very excited towards all those places we usually are.

25:04And in that mellowing down of excitement, we find a concentration of energy,

25:18because that excitement is nothing but dissipation of our life energy at 40 useless places.

25:26When excitement and energy are withdrawn from those places,

25:30because those places are seen as useless, then there is a concentration of energy.

25:37And that concentration then helps us overcome the real obstacles towards right living.

25:47That concentration then gives a meaning and power to life.

25:52And then you are not very insistent on making consumption the bedrock of your existence.

26:05Then there are other things, then you find that there are subtler pleasures life has to offer.

26:13You don't necessarily have to have a million dollars to burn on a yacht or in a

26:21shopping mall or at a jewelry shop or wherever.

26:29See, none of this that I am saying is idealistic.

26:36It is not spiritual in the conventional sense, it is also not idealistic.

26:42I am talking practical common sense.

26:46I am talking of something that is very very applicable.

26:53It can be executed, it must be executed and it's not an idea.

27:05It's a blueprint for action.

How to change the Inner Climate Acharya Prashant, with Bard College (2022)

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