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Video Information: 08.12.2022, Sir J.J. College, Mumbai

Context:
~ How do I stop overthinking?
~ How to deal with anxiety and fear?
~ Why do we keep thinking of little things?
~ How to stay away from trivia in life?
~ What is important to do in life?
~ How to not be bothered by every little thing?
~ What is worth doing?
~ How to not waste my life?

Music Credits: Milind Date
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Category

📚
Learning
Transcript
00:00Good afternoon, sir. I am Tohina Chatterjee and I am in first year. So, I usually tend
00:08to overthink everyday things like everyday situations. Like even if it's just my bus
00:14not reaching the destination and things like that. So, how do I not let this fear take
00:20over myself?
00:22Think of better things. Think of more important things.
00:26I fall into this loop of thoughts where I just think about it instead of actually doing
00:32it.
00:33Have something in life that overpowers all the random thoughts. I am talking to you,
00:41right?
00:42Yes, sir.
00:43I happen to be a busy person. There are so many things that I can alternately think of
00:51at this moment. What makes me forget all those things?
00:59And frankly, to me, right now you are a stranger. All I know of is your name, to some extent
01:07your age, the institutions you are affiliated to. That's all that I know about you.
01:15Compared to this, there is so much else that I am involved in. There is my mission, there
01:20is my work and this is a working day and so many people are dependent on me for what they
01:27are doing.
01:28Why am I not thinking of them at this moment?
01:37Because this is important. That's all.
01:41When you do not have that in your life, which is important.
01:46When you do not have a sense of the worthy, the result will be that a lot of little things
01:55will invade the mind.
02:00There is no way to keep those little things away.
02:05They are like germs.
02:11They constantly keep attacking you.
02:15You cannot keep them away.
02:16You can only have a strong inner immunity.
02:21Is there a way to keep germs away, virus or bacteria or other kinds of pathogens?
02:27Is it possible?
02:28No, they are everywhere.
02:30I keep my hand here, they are here.
02:34This air that I breathe in, they are in the air.
02:38How do I ensure I am 100% shielded against them?
02:42Not possible.
02:43However, there is one thing that is possible which is my inner immunity and that inner
02:52immunity is called importance.
02:56Know what is important and then random things will cease to matter.
03:04If you find yourself thinking about unimportant matters too much, it just means that there
03:10is a huge inner vacancy for something important and that vacancy has not been filled.
03:20The mind cannot tolerate a vacuum, a vacancy.
03:29The mind needs something to chew.
03:34You cannot just abruptly bring the mind to a thoughtless state.
03:38Not possible.
03:42So what to do?
03:45As students, as beginners, what to do?
03:53Determine what is important, honestly give it due credit and I like to say fall in love
04:02with it, make it your life.
04:05Then there will be no space to think of random things and is that not beautiful?
04:13Life is pestering you with all the normal trivia and yet you are not bothered.
04:21Why?
04:22Because there is a mighty inner thing you have embraced and you simply don't have the
04:31time, the space to look towards anything else.
04:41Is it hot?
04:42Yes it is.
04:45Is it cold?
04:46Might be.
04:47Are you hungry?
04:48Probably yes.
04:49Do you need a little more money?
04:55Of course I do.
04:58Care for better clothes?
05:00Why not?
05:02But so sorry, in spite of all these things that I might potentially care for, I am occupied.
05:15Nobody will ever have enough money.
05:19Nobody will ever be able to say I do not need more clothes or better clothes.
05:25Nobody will ever say all my desires are now satisfied.
05:29That's not going to happen.
05:33Nobody will ever say the situations are all perfect.
05:42Those things will continuously remain just like the pathogens we talked of.
05:52But along with them, taking precedence over them, an inner sense of importance can remain
06:06and that has to be developed.
06:08It won't just come.
06:10As a young person you need to figure out very clearly what is worth doing.
06:19What is important in life?
06:22Else you are traveling to the college and you are looking out of the bus window and
06:31you see something happening, something by chance, the usual trivia and it will capture
06:39you and you will find yourself thinking about it 30 minutes.
06:4530 minutes of life gone on nothing.
06:52And that's how most of us simply waste away our entire life on nothing in particular.
07:04So what did you do your entire life?
07:08Nothing in particular.
07:09Though I was always occupied.
07:12I was always occupied.
07:14But what did you do?
07:17Nothing in particular.
07:18Okay, let's say you get a one week break, a Diwali break, 10 days break and somebody
07:28asks you what did you do actually?
07:31Is that not an honest answer?
07:36Nothing in particular.
07:39And that's what happens when you have nothing really important to do.
07:43You do nothing.
07:45At least nothing in particular.
07:50And it's unimaginable the lengths of time that you can simply squander doing nothing
08:00in particular.
08:01Two months summer holidays spent doing nothing in particular, nothing in particular.
08:12My driver, I make it a point, he drives slowly so that sitting on the rear seat, I do not
08:25get disturbed.
08:26Why?
08:27Because commutes take long, one hour, two hour and I want to read.
08:36That's the dedicated time I get to complete my reading list.
08:43Else it's very possible to simply say I was traveling, so I was doing nothing in particular.
08:52And it's not that you are doing nothing at all when you are traveling, you are doing
08:56something.
08:57What are you doing?
08:58Staring out of the window, looking at something random.
09:04In between you just scroll through the feed, Facebook or something, type something random
09:13on Instagram, ogle at some nice faces passing by, you don't know their name.
09:25The fellow will be in visual range for 2.2 seconds and yet the fellow becomes so important.
09:37Two seconds you stare and then for two minutes you think.
09:45By the time the next pretty face comes, you have already forgotten the previous one.
09:56And the world can be an unending succession of pretty faces, two hours will fly away.
10:10You did your entire journey doing nothing in particular.
10:18The name of the journey is life.
10:24Now death has arrived and death asks, so tell me, how was it?
10:38What did you do?
10:41Nothing in particular.
10:49Though I was always busy, always busy.
10:57You will never find anyone saying, so much time, kindly assign me some task.
11:05Have you found somebody begging for work?
11:11Everybody is running behind on schedule, right?
11:15If you happen to have a to-do list at all of any kind, you are always behind the list.
11:24Are you not?
11:27So everybody is occupied doing nothing in particular.
11:34You have one thing worth living for.
11:38You will forget when you board the bus.
11:42You will forget when the destination has arrived.
11:46Somebody will have to prod you to get down.
11:55You will be so immersed.
11:56That's a beautiful word, no?
12:00Immersion.
12:01How do you like it?
12:02Immersion.
12:03How about that?
12:04Does the word appeal to you?
12:09Immersion?
12:10Have you experienced that sometimes?
12:16Immersion?
12:19That alone is the way to live.
12:21If you are not immersed, you are scattered.
12:29How does it feel to be scattered?
12:31Have you experienced that?
12:33A state of being scattered inwardly?
12:36Have you?
12:42Isn't immersion beautiful?
12:45Have you seen how time stops when you are immersed?
12:50And if you can have immersion in your everyday life, that alone is the best meditation.
13:02Are you getting it?
13:06And if you can have that immersion, that is an antidote to all kinds of mental troubles.
13:17Otherwise, there is the menace of depression, anxiety and all kinds of mental things especially
13:24among the young.
13:34The one who has something to live for will never be mentally sick.
13:47And mental illness is a pointer that life is devoid of essence.
14:02I have no time to be anxious.
14:04How about that?
14:07Are you suffering from anxiety?
14:10What's the answer?
14:12I have no time to be anxious.
14:15Then anxiety requires time.
14:18I don't have time.
14:19How can I be anxious?
14:20Are you afraid?
14:21I have no space for fear.
14:25When fear comes, I say, sorry, no vacancy.
14:29Not that you aren't great.
14:32Obviously, you are great and powerful.
14:34The entire world kneels to you.
14:37You are wonderful.
14:38But as far as I am concerned, no vacancy.
14:45Give all your inner space to something that is beautiful for you.
14:53Let there be no vacancy.
15:00Get a headband.
15:01No vacancy.
15:02Or have a t-shirt straight on your heart here.
15:10No vacancy.
15:17Occupied.
15:21Engaged.
15:27The knowers in the spiritual domain, they have said, we are wedded already.
15:40And not only in the spiritual domain, obviously, you know of Bhagat Singh.
15:48So he was just 22 or 23 when he laid down his life.
15:55His mother had approached him once, you'll have to marry, you'll have to marry.
16:05He said, but I already am.
16:10And she was shocked.
16:11How can my son do that?
16:13What's her name?
16:15And what did he say?
16:17What did he say?
16:18Azadi.
16:19So, no vacancy.
16:20The girls are all beautiful, but sorry, no vacancy.
16:31Teri dulhan ka naam kya hai?
16:36Azadi.
16:37Already married, no vacancy.
16:44And that's why you remember him today.
16:48And that's why all others have become the dust of time.
16:54And Bhagat Singh is immortal.
16:56Even though he left his body at 23, yet he is immortal.
17:01And there were those who lived long lives for 90, 100 years.
17:07And yet, as we say, are just the dust of time.
17:10Who cares for them?
17:16That's the difference.
17:24Have an early wedding, as early as possible.
17:32Not the kind of wedding that requires social, religious and legal sanction and ceremonies.
17:42An internal wedding.
17:45Let nobody know of it.
17:54Azadi.
17:55Azadi.
17:56Azadi.
17:57Azadi.
17:58What do you think?
17:59Bhagat Singh had time to think of miscellaneous things?
18:08How occupied he was, you know of it, even on the eve of his hanging, he was still reading
18:21the Bhagavad Gita.
18:27A copy of that, in fact, that particular copy is still preserved.
18:32Or was he thinking, tomorrow I will die, what will happen then?
18:38Was he thinking?
18:40No.
18:41He said, but I still have a few, I still have a few hours.
18:46Let me spend these hours with the beloved.
18:50I have something very important to do.
18:53Or was he doing nothing in particular?
19:00Was he doing nothing in particular even in his last hours?
19:04No.
19:05He said, let me spend this time in reading.
19:07And he was a voracious reader.
19:12At your age, he was so well read.
19:21Never had any time to waste.
19:30I don't know, this one is from Bhagat Singh or one of the other great revolutionaries.
19:39Did they actually mark the last page they read in their favourite book?
19:46And somebody out of curiosity asked them and said, tomorrow you are going to be hanged.
19:50You will be no more.
19:51Why are you marking this page?
19:57And very mystically he said, because I have to continue from there.
20:06No time for self-pity, inner misery, sad thoughts.
20:17No time.
20:19I am busy with the right thing, even in my last moment.
20:35How about such a life?
20:39Does it not excite you?
20:44It does not, it seems.
20:46Or does it?
20:49It does be extremely occupied.
21:04Don't be like these wanton flies or insects.
21:10Seen how a mosquito behaves, sitting here, sitting there or a fly, hopping from here
21:16to there.
21:17Doing?
21:18Don't be like that.
21:19Please.
21:20Yes, sir.

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