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Video Information: 11.11.22, Cummins College, Nagpur
Context:
~ Does cell-phone addiction lead to self-esteem?
~ How to deal with cell-phone addiction?
~ Are the current generation heavily dependent on cell-phones?
~ How to build real and long-lasting relationship with people?
~ Is face-to-face conversation better than texting?
~ Can technology replace humans?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
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?...
Read 3 handpicked wisdom articles, just for you: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/articl...
➖➖➖➖➖➖
Video Information: 11.11.22, Cummins College, Nagpur
Context:
~ Does cell-phone addiction lead to self-esteem?
~ How to deal with cell-phone addiction?
~ Are the current generation heavily dependent on cell-phones?
~ How to build real and long-lasting relationship with people?
~ Is face-to-face conversation better than texting?
~ Can technology replace humans?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00One's work should expose the roots of fear and give the tools to move beyond that insidious
00:13universal feeling of not being good enough, resulting in unstoppable confidence and a
00:19world of unlimited possibilities.
00:22A very warm and pleasant afternoon to one, our chief guest, Acharya Prashanthji.
00:28Our valued principal, Dr. Bharat Bhushan Joshi, sir, dignified officials of the company, Prashanth
00:35Advait Foundation officials, management members, faculty, dignitaries and my fellow students.
00:44Questions drive the peace in one's soul.
00:46Many questions arise in the minds of the youth, which remains unanswered.
00:51We shall get the answers of many such questions today.
00:55It is an immense privilege that we have been given this opportunity to interact with such
01:01a renowned personality.
01:03It's an honor, sir.
01:05Limits do not define our diverse potential.
01:08It's we who make our limits to push boundaries and succeed as an individual.
01:14So what less pivotal than being fearless?
01:18Today's interaction shall be all about the insights of leading a life of faith and evolving
01:24the rate of fear as an individual.
01:27I would like to thank you, sir, and the members of the foundation for paying such heat to
01:33a crucial topic, which is mostly overlooked.
01:36Now, I would request Mr. Sameer Pintre, Chief Operations Officer at Persistence, who is
01:43responsible for the environmental, social and governance, ESG and risk management, both
01:50of which are a core to their strategy and values.
01:54He is also responsible for the Enterprise Information System, EIS, administration and
02:00internal audit functions.
02:02I request you, sir, to kindly greet the audience.
02:06The eminent speaker for today, Acharya Prashant, my dear friend and the principal of the Cummins
02:14Women's College at Nagpur, Dr. Bharatmohan Joshi, other professors, teachers and what
02:22I call my future colleagues, because I hope to see some of all of you as certainly part
02:28of my industry, but certainly part of also hopefully part of organizations like Persistence.
02:36For Persistence, it's been very important and an important focus about women, women
02:42education, women empowerment and women development.
02:46And that is where when Dr. Joshi came to me that we want to do this program for women,
02:52which talks about fearless living.
02:54And this is something which is required for today on how the women of today really evolves
03:01from and how the whole the challenges which we see in the society today really evolve.
03:05I think this was a good program for us to get associated and do it together.
03:10I'm sure we'll hear more about this from Acharya Prashant.
03:14But what I can really say to all the young girls here whom we call in our this thing
03:20as in fact, we run a program called Kiran Scholarship.
03:23I don't know if some of the girls here are participants to that.
03:26But we run a program where we say these are the Kirans for us.
03:30These are the girls which will take this country forward.
03:33I look forward to all of you learning from this, taking all these inputs and growing
03:39both as individuals and contributing to this and not only just this country, because that's
03:44what we all look up to, but also making a difference to society.
03:48So wish you all the best and enjoy this program, take the learnings, try to implement them.
03:55Thank you so much, sir.
04:01I now request our Dean Academics, Dr. Shandini Shastri to give us the introduction about
04:06Acharya Prashant.
04:09Good afternoon to one and all present here.
04:11I feel proud and privileged to introduce you about today's speaker, Acharya Prashant.
04:17Acharya Prashant is a powerful voice of socio-spiritual awakening in today's world.
04:24He is an acclaimed Vedanta exegete and author of over 100 books, including the national
04:30bestseller, Karma, Why Everything You Know About It Is Wrong.
04:36An alumnus of IIT Delhi, I am Ahmedabad and a former civil services officer.
04:43He has an exponent of pure Vedantic wisdom, a vocal warrior against superstition and inner
04:50weaknesses, a promulgator of pure spiritual veganism and an exploder of essential human
04:58freedom.
04:59We are really fortunate to get a chance of direct interaction with such a great personality.
05:05Thank you, thank you so much.
05:12I now request Acharyaji, Principal Sir and Mr. Sameer Bendre to come up on stage for
05:18the lamp lighting.
05:39Moving on to the most awaited session and interaction of today's afternoon.
05:44Good afternoon, sir.
05:46Sir, I am Kiran Mehta.
05:48Sir, because of the lockdown from past two years, we have been rigorously using cell
05:53phones or smartphones and laptops way too much from 2020.
05:58So, sir, we are addicted to it.
06:01Now, addiction is one problem, but other is like we have low self-esteem due to it.
06:07And we have lost our patience, anger issues.
06:10So, sir, how to overcome all of them?
06:14What is the relation that you see?
06:17How is self-esteem lowered because of use of cell phone or laptop?
06:21Sir, like if you want to talk to people, we text them, we message them on social media.
06:26But when we in person meet them, we are very introverted or like we fear to talk to them
06:31like even to ask, how are you?
06:34Like even if teacher ask some what is XYZ, we want to search the question and we want
06:39to answer.
06:40We don't know it.
06:41That is a habit of why we have been using laptops.
06:45And now we've used to search and answer now that's all gone.
06:49So you mean, there is a loss of spontaneity, internet or Google come as a handy support
07:03or backup.
07:04If you do not know what to do or how to respond, you can rely on them.
07:09But in real life, real time situations, that doesn't happen.
07:14You cannot depend on Google to respond to someone who is standing right in front of
07:19you.
07:20All right, right.
07:23So this is something you must be cautious of.
07:28It's a phenomena widely experienced.
07:37Technology cannot be a substitute for real life interaction.
07:45And planned statements or responses can never carry the authenticity of something that is
07:54spontaneous.
08:01Communication through text appears safer, but is also duller.
08:12It does not carry the warmth and liveliness of a face to face thing.
08:20And it can become a habit to hide behind text.
08:26Do not let that become a habit.
08:32That habit simply means fear.
08:36Do not protect fear.
08:41If there is something that cannot be said face to face, ask yourself, does it deserve
08:47to be said in writing?
08:55The same phone that you use to text people can also be used to talk.
09:05And it's not as if texting necessarily saves time.
09:09You can get into an endless exchange of text messages and that can go on for two hours.
09:16Does that not happen?
09:18Text, text, text, text, text, text.
09:22And when you are not texting, you are waiting for the other's text.
09:32And WhatsApp is showing Rajiv is typing.
09:37And you are waiting.
09:38What is he typing?
09:39What is he typing?
09:40What is he typing?
09:45Even before he has pressed the send button, you are already shadow boxing.
09:53You have already come up with five possible options.
09:57This is what he might be writing.
09:58And if he writes this, I'll reply this way.
10:04How is that saving time?
10:05Please tell me.
10:06There can be instances when text can save time.
10:10Yes, obviously.
10:11So, you don't want to go through the entire process of ringing someone up and it's not
10:17worth it.
10:18So, simply write two words and get done with it.
10:20So, that is all okay.
10:25But if a matter can be finished off in two minutes, five minutes, directly by conversing
10:33that with that person, either face to face or on call.
10:39What is the need to hide behind text?
10:42Similarly, what is the need to hide behind knowledge?
10:50External knowledge, I mean, Google knowledge.
10:55Those who have known have said that you know only when you live.
11:04Your knowledge is your knowledge only if you are living that knowledge.
11:10If knowing does not become being, then there is no knowing.
11:20Knowing must turn into being.
11:25Can Google knowledge turn into your being?
11:29You can quickly Google something and spit out the fact or the information and be done
11:36with it.
11:38It will not become your life.
11:39It will not get into the depth of your mind, won't help much.
11:49Use technology to your advantage.
11:52Do not use it to handicap yourself.
12:00Technology must be used to do what you cannot do.
12:06Technology must not become a substitute for what you already can healthily do.
12:19If I have the benefit of technology, what should I develop for myself?
12:27A car or a crutch?
12:34Crutch you understand?
12:36What is crutch?
12:39The things that you use to assist yourself in walking, mesakhi.
12:46Now you have these two feet already, but they cannot take you at 60 kmph.
12:54So let technology give you a car.
12:59The car is furthering your power now.
13:03It is furthering your ability.
13:05These two legs cannot take you beyond the speed.
13:12Instead if you use technology to develop very advanced crutches with AI and feel proud
13:19of it, what have you done to yourself?
13:25Instead of augmenting the capacity of the legs, you have debilitated the legs.
13:34Maybe with your legs you were able to go at least at 10 kmph.
13:39Now with the assistance of technology you are going at 2 kmph.
13:46Now that brings us back to the fundamental question of who is the user of technology
13:51and that is where internal liberation lies.
13:56No technology will be of use if you are internally not free, not luminous.
14:04Whatsoever is given to you, you will use it to your own disadvantage.
14:10You have heard the old story of the monkey with the sword, right?
14:18Those were bygone times.
14:23So all that the monkey could have was a sword.
14:27But these are times of advanced technology.
14:31The monkey can have an ICBM tipped with a nuclear weapon.
14:42What will the monkey do?
14:44The monkey has been given great technology.
14:48What will the monkey use it for?
14:54The same thing that his ancestral monkey used it for, what was the sword used for?
15:03The monkey was given the sword.
15:05Actually he picked it up.
15:10Did he use it for any creative purpose?
15:18If we remain monkeys within, whatsoever comes to us, powers, rights, knowledge, technology,
15:27we will use it to our own detriment, our own destruction.
15:31But we don't understand this.
15:34We think just because we have something, it is for the better.
15:38No, not necessarily.
15:43It all depends on who you are and that's the central Vedantic question.
15:49Who are you?
15:50If you are not right, whatsoever you have will be just wrong for you.
15:59First of all, you have to be right within and then whatever you have can be used rightly.
16:11You go back to the epics, you think of all the classical villains, Ravan, Kansa, Duryodhana,
16:23Hiranyakashipu, they had a lot, no?
16:30Ravan was the superpower of his times, Lanka of gold, so much weaponry as well and he had
16:42a lot of knowledge too, no?
16:46Hiranyakashipu too had a lot.
16:50He had been gifted with blessings.
17:00Duryodhana was so powerful.
17:03The question is, what were these people using their power and knowledge and money for?
17:10Were they villains because they didn't have anything?
17:16Why are they still remembered as the topmost baddies, why?
17:27Because they didn't have much, no?
17:30They had a lot but were operating whatever they had from a bad center.
17:38So it's the center within that means everything.
17:44If the center is false, then all technological progress will simply mean climate change,
17:54extinction of species, actually the sixth mass extinction phase in which we have already
18:00entered.
18:01Now this kind of mass extinction could not have happened to the caveman, to the ancient
18:10man.
18:11Why?
18:12Because he didn't have technology.
18:13Internally we have remained that same old caveman but additionally today that caveman
18:22has a lot of technology and power.
18:27So he has used that technology, that power just to finish himself off.
18:37As you grow up, move through life, you will find technology taking even bigger strides.
18:48Be very careful.
18:51The user of the technology must be placed very rightly.
18:58Technology by itself is simply power and those who have great power must first of all be
19:10great within.
19:13If you are not great within but have great power, the results will be very catastrophic.
19:20Are you getting it?
19:26Some wise man said that the world is in such a bad shape today because the growth of knowledge,
19:37the rate of growth of knowledge is many times more than the rate of growth of wisdom.
19:49You could replace knowledge with technology in this saying.
19:54Technology is growing at a scorching rate.
20:01You have newer versions of popular softwares being released every passing year, newer kinds
20:10of more powerful gadgets you are seeing every day in the market.
20:18Technology is growing at that rate.
20:20Is our wisdom growing at that rate?
20:23And if not, then how will we use that technology?
20:26What will we use that technology for?
20:30Is this a difficult question to answer?
20:33Don't you see that this is an obvious thing that we should be thinking about?
20:39Instead we do not find this question being taken up.
20:45We sing peons to technology, to knowledge, to our growth without devoting even 1% of
20:54our resources to our internal development, to the growth of wisdom.
21:00You could call that as spiritual growth.
21:02Not even 1% of our resources are devoted to that.
21:08So the mad monkey we say is being now handed over a nuclear tipped missile.
21:17Let's wait for the consequences.