Cracking the Focus Code: Challenges Faced by IITians || Acharya Prashant

Acharya Prashant

Video Information: Shastra Kaumudi, 20.12.2021, Rishikesh, India  Context: ~ Why an IITian loses focus - and what's the purpose of life? ~ Why there is so much suffering in life? ~ Do we suffer by our own choice? ~ How to avoid pain and suffering?   Music Credits: Milind Date  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~  #acharyaprashant #IIT-KGP

Transcript

00:00 Namaskar Acharyaji. Namaste. My name is Rashi Goyal. I am a second year undergraduate student

00:08 of the Department of Geology and Geophysics at IIT Kharagpur. So my question to you is

00:15 when we as an IITian, we had to pass through a phase where we have to be away from being

00:22 socializing to in order to succeed in order to clear our JEE advance, we need to be more

00:29 focused towards our studies. But as soon as we enter college, we had a scenario in which

00:35 we need to be a social person, we need friends, we need people to communicate or express our

00:40 thoughts. But due to being a learner from a long time, it puts a lot of stress to adapt

00:47 that habit of being a social person again. So that affects our mental health. So how

00:54 to overcome this habit of not expressing oneself. So Rashi, what you're saying is when you were

01:01 preparing for the JEE, at that time, you didn't really socialize, you kept studying. And now

01:10 when you have entered, yes, like when during the JEE times, what actually happens is we

01:19 avoid attending marriage and parties. We avoid talking like we spend most of the time studying.

01:27 Like when we wake up, we study, we go to coaching class, we do have some exams or tests. And

01:35 then we came home, we study again, then we sleep. This is what our schedule is. But as

01:40 soon as we enter college, we tend to have other things to do. Like we need to make friends,

01:49 we need to have someone to listen to our problems.

01:52 Now, didn't you have problems when you were preparing for the JEE? What happened then?

01:58 Who did you go to speak to?

02:00 Like generally, we used to go to our teachers. We don't, we, because it was a competitive

02:08 environment. So we used to feel like to talk to a teacher is the best thing. But right

02:14 now, we talk mostly to first towards with our friends and then we go to a teacher if

02:20 it's a major issue.

02:22 Let me ask you something. How driven and focused did you feel at the time of JEE preparation?

02:30 Now that you have cleared the JEE, you are in a good position to say how driven were

02:36 you?

02:37 Like I mentioned, I was like completely into studies.

02:43 Completely into studies, right?

02:45 Yeah.

02:46 And now after entering IIT?

02:50 Like I am now bit relaxed that I had at least.

02:53 Which semester, which semester are you from, Rashmi?

02:56 Right now, I am in my second year. I will be having my fourth semester from January.

03:03 If it's not very personal, may I ask your CGPA?

03:07 Yeah, it's right now it's near about 8.5.

03:12 And 8.5 means what? DR 5, 10, 15?

03:19 Sir, I am not sure about that.

03:27 You would have been very sure of your percentile and rank when you were preparing for the JEE,

03:32 right?

03:33 What do they call it in IIT Kharagpur?

03:34 They do not call it DR, departmental rank.

03:36 What is it called there?

03:37 We call it DR.

03:38 You call it DR, right.

03:39 So, the tradition continues.

03:42 See, the thing is you had a purpose then.

03:46 So, you did not need to socialize.

03:51 And that purpose is bigger than the company of any of these friends and all.

03:59 Now you are in IIT and there are so many other things to do, we all know of them.

04:04 So, you are saying, oh my God, I just kept studying, I did not develop my so-called soft

04:09 skills.

04:10 I am not very good at communication.

04:15 I must talk a lot.

04:17 I must be attractive to others.

04:19 I must get the best company possible.

04:23 And by best, what we mean is the most glamorous.

04:29 What do you mean by social skills?

04:30 You are a human being, right?

04:31 You are a human being.

04:37 If somebody is worth it, there would be a relationship.

04:43 What do you mean by social skills?

04:45 What do you, it is just the absence of a purpose now.

04:54 Give yourself a purpose.

04:57 You do not need to be great at socializing.

05:00 Let the purpose decide the kind of company you are to get.

05:06 And if you have a great purpose, you will get just the right company.

05:11 What happens is once you enter IIT, placement is almost guaranteed.

05:20 So, that bogie is off your mind.

05:25 You do not have to clear the JEE once again.

05:32 And because everybody gets into a relaxed mode once you enter the campus, therefore,

05:43 even with very modest kind of effort, you can have a decent CGPA and a decent rank.

05:53 That has been happening since ages, that has been happening across all IITs.

05:57 So, you will have to agree to what I am saying.

06:04 What you lack now is the same fire that you had at the time of JEE preparation.

06:12 At that time, it was like, I have to get in and if I do not get in, I am losing on something

06:17 very, very important.

06:19 In contrast, right now your statement is I already have what is important.

06:24 Therefore, let me get into other things that offer pleasure and fun and excitement and

06:31 the rest of it.

06:34 No, you have not attained anything yet.

06:38 Let that be very clear to you.

06:40 Clearing the JEE is nothing.

06:43 Clearing the JEE at best guarantees you bread and butter and an upper middle class kind

06:49 of life.

06:50 Does not mean much.

06:52 There is a long distance to cover and especially as a woman in Indian conditions, you have

07:00 to keep sprinting.

07:03 You cannot reduce your pace, you cannot let your guard down.

07:07 You cannot start seeking company and socialization and relationships.

07:14 Because all of this ultimately leads to that one thing that we can call as the final bondage.

07:24 Why do you want to go towards that?

07:28 Be a scholar rather than the sensation on the campus.

07:34 But that is what we want to be called, right?

07:38 Mr. campus or Miss campus rather than the best scholar out there.

07:44 And if you have to do something apart from your studies, there are so many co-curriculars

07:51 to choose from.

07:54 I am sure KGP campus offers at least 10 different kinds of sports and great infrastructure,

08:05 debating dramatics.

08:08 That is one good thing about being in an IIT campus.

08:12 You get exposure to so many things that are usually not available to the common student.

08:21 Excel in them.

08:24 Socialization etc. carry next to zero value.

08:28 And as I said, if what you are doing carries value and importance, socialization, the right

08:34 kind of socialization will happen on its own.

08:38 You will get the right kind of company, be totally devoted to your work and to your purpose.

08:45 And some person or a group of persons cannot be the purpose in your life.

08:52 I say that to everybody.

08:54 And when I am addressing a girl, I say that with heightened emphasis.

09:00 Forget all this, please.

09:07 I have seen what now an entire generation of IITians pass through in front of my eyes.

09:22 Do not get into that same old kind of trap.

09:26 It firstly leads to mediocrity and then it leads to bondages.

09:31 Learn to excel, keep the fire burning.

09:37 If you are in IIT, I am pretty sure your rank would have been in the top 1 percentile.

09:42 Obviously, it has to be top 1 percentile or 1.5 or 0.5, whatever.

09:50 So that benchmark has to be maintained.

09:54 Tell me, since the last 2 years, what is it that you belong to the top 1 percentile of?

10:07 JEE was the last thing you excelled at, right?

10:10 Tell me what is it that you have added to your kitty post the JEE?

10:17 Are you 1 percent, top 1 percent in swimming, 1 percent in debating, in dramatics, in tennis,

10:29 in what?

10:33 And that which you are seeking now will push you, I said deeper into mediocrity.

10:43 Do you want to be among those students of your class who used to obtain 50, 60, 70 percent

10:51 or 75, 80 percent and were satisfied with that?

10:56 Do you want to be counted among them, please?

10:59 No, sir.

11:01 Yes.

11:02 So maintain the JEE like spirit throughout your life.

11:07 You have to excel.

11:12 Mediocrity types and such thing, let the mediocre ones count them as their priority.

11:20 Read, read a lot.

11:24 You would have poured into the books and burned the midnight oil and since entering the campus,

11:39 how much have you really read?

11:40 And even if you have read, I am sure it mostly belongs to the technical genre, right?

11:47 Yes, sir.

11:49 And the entire world's literature is waiting for you.

11:53 When will you read that?

11:55 When will you read that?

11:59 And if you do not read that, do not you see you will be missing out on so much?

12:07 What can the company of a common second or third year student give you?

12:15 Do not you want to learn from the great philosophers, the great writers?

12:20 Do not you want to be with them?

12:26 But you see it is the body, we want a living being, the warmth of another living body,

12:32 that is what this body craves for.

12:36 So even if you must have that, then let that be secondary to your purpose, goal and work.

12:50 Choose the company of those who assist in your work.

12:55 Choose the company of those who are aligned with your work.

13:03 Decisions must be way down in your priority.

13:10 Remember who you are.

13:14 You are someone who must excel.

13:18 You are someone who must know, learn, realize and ultimately be liberated.

13:25 And this fact of central identity of yours must govern all your life decisions.

13:33 [Music]

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