Video Information: 18.07.2022, BITS Pilani, Goa
Context:
~ What is concentration?
~ How to concentrate?
~ How to be free?
~ Why is our attention spam decreasing day by day?
~ Why is our youth not focused and distracted?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
#acharyaprashant #concentration #distraction
Context:
~ What is concentration?
~ How to concentrate?
~ How to be free?
~ Why is our attention spam decreasing day by day?
~ Why is our youth not focused and distracted?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
#acharyaprashant #concentration #distraction
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Pranam Acharya ji. Sir, my question is the one which is constantly going on in our mind.
00:17We students of age 18 to 22, we have certain goals fixed in our life. We have made by themselves
00:24or by our parents and we need to achieve them. We think like this. But sir, then there is
00:31emotional breakdown, there is constant chaos in our mind, in particularly I am talking
00:36about myself. There are so much things that are going inside mind that we can't really
00:42focus on a single task at a particular time. Sir, how to overcome that overthinking? And
00:50I know that we have to do, I have to do certain things, but that the perception of time fades
00:56away. There is so much of overthinking all the time, sir.
00:59You fail at accomplishing a particular task in a given time. Which particular task? Which
01:07particular task? Remember, the one sitting within is very stubborn, that one is thirsty
01:20and desirous and there is one deep desire. If you involve yourself in fulfilling other
01:29desires or doing other things, attempting other tasks, the one within will not cooperate.
01:35You will fail and that's when people say, oh, I can't concentrate, I can't concentrate.
01:39I ask them, on what? First of all, are you concentrating on the right thing?
01:45Are you concentrating on the right thing? Imagine a kid you have with you, little kid.
01:53The kid is thirsty, the kid is thirsty and you take the kid to a toy shop and you think
02:04that the toy is quite important, at least for the kid. Will the kid be able to concentrate?
02:14Even in a toy shop, will the kid be able to concentrate? No concentration.
02:19The kid is thirsty, you are not taking him to a stationary shop.
02:24You are saying, you will get the best kind of pencil and eraser and tell me the fanciest
02:29notebook I'll give to you and it's important to buy these things because the teacher has
02:34asked for them.
02:35Will the kid be able to concentrate?
02:39The kid is thirsty and you are so ignorant, you do not realize the one fundamental thing
02:47you first of all need to give to the kid.
02:51It's neither toys nor sweets, nor stationary, not clothes, not entertainment, nothing.
03:00The kid is sitting inside you, the kid is thirsty, do you realize it's thirst?
03:08It is that thirst that expresses itself in lack of concentration.
03:18See what you really want and then there will be no need to practice concentration, otherwise
03:24concentration will remain a lifelong problem.
03:29The ones who are into real things never need to concentrate.
03:35Concentration just comes to them, running, a begging.
03:40The ones who are into unreal things keep trying to concentrate and still fail.
03:46The mind is distracted and running in 40 other directions.
03:53You need to value the right desire, you need to put your time where your real value is.
04:05On one hand you think, for example, that studies are just a way to secure placements.
04:15Then what is it that you are putting value on?
04:17Placements.
04:19Placements.
04:20Now how will you concentrate on studies?
04:23Tell me.
04:25You have already taught yourself to value money, how will you value academics now?
04:35Your mind will go where your values are and what do you want to do with money?
04:45You want to entertain yourself, right?
04:48I'll roam the world, I'll visit all kinds of scenic places and next to you is your mobile phone.
04:58And scenes from those places are being flashed on the mobile screen.
05:03Now would you ever want to concentrate on your studies?
05:10If the ultimate value lies in entertainment and that's what you are studying for, so that
05:16you may get placed and then earn money and then entertain yourself.
05:22Then the mind says if entertainment is the final and highest value, why not have entertainment
05:28right now?
05:30So close the book and jump into entertainment and that's what we experience all the time.
05:37Do we even know what to desire?
05:39That's the question, that's the question and that's called the crisis of values.
05:44We do not really know what is desirable.
05:47We do not know what to put value on.
05:51You put value on one thing and you try to give your time to something else, obviously
05:58you'll be bored, distracted, energy-less.
06:06In business parlance they say put your money where your mouth is, right?
06:14Invest where you believe in, do what you profess.
06:25Tell me honestly, if today you are told that you can have great placements even without
06:31studying and you can have your degree with 9.5 CGPA without studying, honestly please
06:44tell me who would not agree, who would not agree and that's the reason why in the hinterlands
06:53such shops actually do exist.
06:57You enroll, you pay money and you then don't need to be in the campus, they'll courier
07:03you your degree, you don't even need to come for the convocation, they are happy.
07:14That's also now you would understand the thing behind cheating and examinations because the
07:21whole process, the value that you put on is not learning.
07:27The process is not about learning, the process is about securing marks.
07:31So if marks can be secured by copying rather than learning, pretty fine, no?
07:44Concentration is a problem because we live loveless lives.
07:49When you love something, I'm asking you, do you face concentration issues?
08:00Whatever you value, you find yourself concentrated there and if you cannot concentrate at the
08:07right places, then you have to question your values.
08:12Ever faced a problem of concentration sitting in the cinema hall?
08:17Who has faced such a problem?
08:20Nobody, nobody comes and says, but sir, you know, I cannot concentrate on this song and
08:27dance sequence, then you are, you have a laser-like focus, you'll burn the screen with your sight.
08:46Is concentration a problem then?
08:49Having the right desire is the problem.
08:52Having the right values is the problem.
08:55Concentration is not a problem.
09:00I keep a huge bundle of currency notes here, who will face problems in concentrating?
09:10Not on me, on that.
09:13Immediately you will concentrate.
09:20I put up a collage of very exciting pics for youngsters over here, who will not concentrate?
09:28Who will not concentrate?
09:31Immediately you will concentrate.
09:32You will concentrate so much, you will forget everything else and then you say you have
09:36concentration problems, no?
09:41The crisis is of values.
09:44We do not know what is important, when we do not know what is important, rather we have
09:54taken all kinds of nonsensical things as important.
10:01Things that have zero value, we have imbibed them as valuable.
10:09Concentration your values, write down all the things that you take as important and
10:15then objectively with all your brain power, ask yourself, are these things really important?
10:22That's something that you need to do right now in your life.
10:27Once you are 25, you might find it's too late.
10:32There are so many things that you get irretrievably into.
10:36The process is one way, irreversible reaction.
10:43Right now is the opportunity when you should decide what really is important in life and
10:52if you can see that, you won't need to ever concentrate again.
10:56If you don't see that, you will bear the consequences all your life because you will
11:03get into all kinds of wrong stuff and many of those things you will never be able to
11:09extract yourself from.
11:11Once you have gone in, you will remain in, won't be possible to change tracks.
11:24You know what I am talking of, right?