Scoundrel Turned Hero: A Surprising Transformation || Acharya Prashant (2022)

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Video Information: 17.10.2022, IIT Mumbai

Context:
~ Unhappy with your job?
~ What to do if I hate my job?
~ When should one quit his or her job?
~ Why do we take nature for granted?
~ Why am I so unhappy?
~ What is the cause of climate crisis?
~ Who are your role models?


Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~

Category

📚
Learning
Transcript
00:00 Questioner (Ajahn): Namaskar, Acharyaji.
00:05 My question is, there is enough evidence these days that, you know, the people who are unhappy
00:11 with their jobs are having more carbon footprint in the nature.
00:15 And I have also been listening to you for over a year and I have listened to your videos
00:19 on climate change where you said that the only solution to climate change is spirituality
00:23 alone.
00:24 I have been reading books on climate change and one such book is Less is More, where they
00:29 talk about de-growth to be the solution.
00:34 And in the book, they also talk about dualism being the reason why we exploit nature and
00:40 why we take nature for granted.
00:43 The solutions of climate change also being animal exploitation, less population.
00:48 But we also have influential leaders like Elon Musk who talk about, who say, who ask
00:54 us to increase population without caring about this.
00:57 So my question to you is about this de-growth and non-dualism.
01:05 Like whatever the actions that we do is we are, you know, using the resources of nature,
01:11 right?
01:12 So and they will have carbon footprint.
01:14 So what is it meant to be non-dualistic in that aspect and how can the society be non-dualistic
01:21 with all these influential leaders talking to you, otherwise that the science is talking
01:25 to you and in this capitalist world, what is it meant to be de-growth?
01:30 This is what is my question.
01:32 What is duality in the first place?
01:36 The feeling that there are two truths, this and the world and both of these truths are
01:49 incomplete and dependent on each other.
01:52 That's duality.
01:54 That there definitely exist two and of the two I am one and I am incomplete.
02:04 How do I become complete?
02:07 By feasting on the world, by exploiting the world.
02:13 That's the reason the book you have read says that duality is one of the reasons behind
02:21 climate change.
02:25 Climate change is nothing but a crisis of consumption.
02:30 We are so terribly incomplete and hurt and restless that we want happiness at any cost
02:43 and to get happiness we exploit everything around us.
02:48 We exploit our own bodies, we exploit the ones we are related to and obviously we'll
02:55 exploit the animals, the birds, the trees, the forest, the rivers, the atmosphere.
03:04 We exploit everything.
03:06 We are so crazy and so deeply in pain.
03:13 Think of a person who is both in agony and in illusion.
03:30 Suffering deeply and also crazy.
03:34 What will he do?
03:35 He will do anything to get rid of his pain.
03:39 And that's what mankind is doing.
03:42 All kinds of unthinkable stuff so that we can somehow feel happy.
03:49 Kill, eat, exploit, plunder, rape, do whatever can be done just so that you can have a fleeting
04:00 glimpse of happiness.
04:03 And because that is fleeting, so you have to do more and more of it to sustain even
04:12 the semblance of being alright.
04:15 Are you getting it?
04:20 So you said anything that we do has a footprint.
04:26 See climate change is not caused by all the little things that you do.
04:32 You can relieve yourself of that guilt.
04:37 It's not you and me who are responsible for climate change.
04:44 If just to exist is to contribute to the climate crisis, then we would all be guilty.
04:51 But that's not really the case.
04:54 There is a perfect balance that nature provides.
04:59 You have agents that emit carbon and equally you have agents that absorb carbon.
05:11 What are those agents known as?
05:13 Trees and the oceans.
05:19 They absorb these gases.
05:23 What's happening is that you have crossed all limits by a long distance.
05:31 280 ppm to 440 ppm and increasing and increasing at an accelerating rate.
05:40 Who's doing that?
05:43 Not the common man.
05:45 Though there are vested interests that are trying to put the guilt of climate change
05:53 on the common man.
05:55 The common man is not really responsible.
05:57 The common man is responsible but in some other way, indirectly.
05:59 We'll come to that.
06:03 The richest 10% of the world's population is causing 90% of the carbon emissions.
06:20 And if you bring that down to the richest 1%, that still remains close to 30-40%.
06:30 It's so skewed.
06:34 The per capita emissions of an Indian are only a small fraction of those of an American
06:43 or a Briton.
06:47 It's coming from there.
06:50 There is enough allowance for everybody to peacefully survive.
06:56 What we do not have is the allowance to consume endlessly.
07:07 So it's not as if doing anything contributes to carbon emission.
07:11 No, not that way.
07:13 And if it does, then there is stuff to take care of that.
07:17 Trees and other physical mechanisms, natural mechanisms.
07:22 But when you are burning oil endlessly so that you can have physical comforts and all
07:35 kinds of vanities, then there is obviously no solution.
07:44 How do you take care of that?
07:46 Now here comes the role of the common man.
07:50 This has to be turned into an electoral issue.
07:55 You have to elect governments that are prepared to tax vulgar consumption.
08:06 You have to have governments that are prepared to tax the ultra-rich.
08:13 You cannot let them go scot-free with all the damage they are causing to the environment,
08:22 to the planet itself.
08:23 We were talking of the sixth mass extinction.
08:27 That sixth mass extinction is not being brought about by the lower middle-income countries
08:36 and the middle-income countries.
08:37 That is being brought about by the first world, the developed world.
08:45 They are the culprits and they'll have to bear the burden.
08:48 And even in countries like India, if the per capita emissions are rising, the responsibility
08:59 lies with only a handful of people compared to our population.
09:05 They are the ones who have to be singled out and taxed.
09:12 Are you getting it?
09:13 It is a very clever ploy to make the common man feel responsible.
09:23 So what does the common man start doing to alleviate his guilt?
09:29 He says fine, I'm recycling.
09:34 I'm not using plastic that much now.
09:36 Or I'm turning organic.
09:39 Or I'm reducing my electricity consumption by 15%.
09:44 The question is, dear, how much electricity does the common man anyway consume?
09:52 It's not the common man who is causing all this.
09:56 I'll tell you who is causing it.
09:57 Your role models are causing all this.
10:01 The influential fellow you referred to is causing all this.
10:07 And it's a great tragedy when the ones who are influential are neither intellectual nor
10:12 spiritual.
10:14 Think of it.
10:15 A brain dead fellow is so influential just because he has so much money.
10:21 And you can have a lot of money without being intellectual at all.
10:25 It is possible.
10:26 It is happening.
10:28 Your role models are very unworthy people.
10:32 And they are role models exactly because you find them consuming a lot and you all aspire
10:38 to consume that much.
10:39 So they become your role models.
10:41 You say wow.
10:45 Somebody asked a famous soccer player and he says I have 20 cars.
10:49 All luxury ones.
10:53 And that simply charms you so much, wins you over.
10:56 20 cars.
10:59 Five Rolls Royce.
11:04 He does not even want to own a cheap thing like Mercedes.
11:14 Not one but multiple private planes.
11:19 Super expensive yachts.
11:21 Yachts to take care of yachts.
11:25 And that's what we all aspire for.
11:27 Why?
11:28 That brings us to the point we started from.
11:32 Our dualistic philosophy of life.
11:35 We all have been taught wrongly.
11:38 We have been trained wrongly.
11:42 Life education we have been deprived of.
11:48 So all that you want through all that you do is consumption.
11:53 What do you live for?
11:54 Consumption.
11:55 Now you know a fellow is doing well in life.
11:58 He is able to consume a lot.
12:00 When consumption is the ideal, climate change is the result.
12:06 And all these role models, people you follow, the ones who have 50 million on Instagram
12:12 and places, what are they displaying to you except their ability to consume?
12:20 Either they display their own ability to consume or they present themselves in certain cases
12:29 as tough to be consumed.
12:33 For example, a voluptuous female model.
12:39 Why does she command that kind of a following?
12:42 She is saying I am available to be consumed.
12:45 At least optically.
12:49 Consume me.
12:51 Or you will follow a billionaire, a millionaire or somebody.
12:56 We have been taught the wrong purpose of life and the results are catastrophic.
13:03 We do not know why we exist.
13:05 And climate change therefore is a result of a totally wrong kind of education, the wrong
13:13 fundamental philosophy of life.
13:17 Is all this coming together and making sense or is it appearing too scattered?
13:23 Do you see how it is all integrated?
13:26 Do you see how the one you follow on Instagram and the rising PPM levels are directly correlated?
13:37 Do you see all these things?
13:40 In general, they will appear different issues, not related, but they are very much related.
13:49 The very concept of good life is a carbon intensive one.
13:55 The very concept of happiness is carbon intensive.
14:04 When you become richer, you typically become a meat eater.
14:07 You know how much does animal agriculture contribute to climate change?
14:13 Just as much as fossil fuels do.
14:21 Everything that makes you happy is actually something that is destroying the earth.
14:29 The saving grace is as Indians, as middle class Indians, you still are not in a position
14:34 to consume too much.
14:36 Therefore you are still not directly responsible for destroying the earth.
14:42 But there is an indirect culpability, which is that you are following and admiring the
14:48 ones who are in fact destroying the earth.
14:55 And if you keep following them, you'll become like them.
14:59 That's the whole purpose of being an admirer, right?
15:01 I want to be like him.
15:04 You want to be a murderer?
15:08 You want to be like someone responsible for genocide?
15:15 You want to be like someone responsible for wiping out hundreds of species of organisms
15:24 per day?
15:28 It's a sad commentary on our times that people who should be behind bars are actually hemming
15:36 top positions in industry, in government, everywhere.
15:49 Choose your role models very carefully.
15:57 It's got something to do with love.
15:59 Be very careful about the ones who appeal to you.
16:07 Don't be just driven to anything that appears attractive.
16:14 We do not know whether much can be done to save the planet.
16:21 Certainly we are all inexorably on our way to extinction.
16:32 But still, you have a life to live.
16:38 Be very careful.
16:41 Most people we follow, we admire, we respect are terribly unworthy.
16:47 Don't fall for the gloss.
16:55 Are you getting it?
16:56 Even if you find you are being left alone, that aloneness has a dignity.
17:06 Learn to enjoy that dignity.
17:08 This brings us to the end of the Q&A session.
17:15 Thank you Acharyaji for patiently answering all the questions.
17:19 I am sure students are enlightened after this session or at least started the process.
17:27 I request Professor Bapat to present a vote of thanks.
17:33 For the last three and a half hours, we are really mesmerized.
17:37 I know big, big speakers come to IIT and we have just an audience of 20-25.
17:43 This goes to Shri Acharyaji.
17:47 We do not have the exposure of such knowledge.
17:51 I think we are experiencing something.
17:54 In Upanishads, it is said that questions and answers are the same.
17:59 We have received answers to many questions.
18:03 But we have not received answers to many questions.
18:07 This is just the beginning. I think we need to go much further.
18:14 We have received inspiration and we will take it forward.
18:19 I bow to Acharyaji.
18:23 I thank all the volunteers.
18:26 PG, Council, Yogastha, Think India, IIT Bihar, all have helped.
18:35 I thank all of you.
18:38 I will not thank all of you because you should continue in this diet and continue on this journey.
18:43 Namaste.
18:45 (Applause)
18:48 [MUSIC PLAYING]
18:52 [Music]

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