Confidence

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, जो आत्मबल है उसमें आत्म का तो पता है, पर यह बल कहाँ से आएगा?

आचार्य प्रशांत: आत्मा का बल कभी आत्मा स्वयं प्रदर्शित करने नहीं आती। वो अपना बल किस पर प्रदर्शित करे, उसके अतिरिक्त तो कुछ है नहीं। तो आत्मा कभी स्वयं नहीं आएगी अपने…

Spirituality just needs basic self-honesty, self-awareness. There is nothing mystical, nothing magical about it, but that is what it has been associated with. I am not talking of chanting; I am not talking of chakras; I am not talking of flying snakes; I am not talking of magical seeds. Not…

You must learn aloneness before you relate with people. You must be very, very comfortable with yourself. If you are someone who cannot be with herself comfortably, easily, gladly, then kindly spare the other person. If you are not alright with yourself, then don’t start piggybacking on the other—and usually…

As long as you keep giving importance to what you get from here and there, you will live in fear. And that is not necessary. Nobody wants to live in fear, right? Neither do you want to live in fear, nor do I want to live in fear. That is…

What is it that blocks creativity? A cluttered mind, an obsessed mind, a worried mind, a mind too particular about results. Just as creativity is uncertain, similarly are the results of creativity. And if you are someone who bothers too much about results, then you cannot be creative.

You would…

देखिए, एक आदमी जो बिलकुल पढ़ा-लिखा नहीं है वो प्रभावित नहीं हो जाएगा, वो इम्प्रेस्ड नहीं हो जाएगा जब आप उससे कहेंगे – रेजोनेंस, और कंस्ट्रक्टिव इंटरफेरेंस, आयोनाइजेशन, वाइब्रेशन और *स्पेक्ट्रम*। उसके लिए तो काला अक्षर भैंस बराबर है। आप ये सब बातें बोलते रहिए वो सर…

The ego will forget 999 defeats and remember that one game when it was able to win a game in spite of being 0-9 down. The memory of that one game keeps your false confidence alive.

Then you repeatedly keep slipping to 0-9 positions.

It is 0-3; you say, “Not…

Most people let their suffering de-energize them, stop them, encage them. And then there are others who work even more, get resolved even more exactly because they suffer. They let their suffering be their fuel. They don’t shy away from suffering.

A point comes they start inviting suffering. They say,…

Spirituality is a most exquisite pursuit. It is only for those who are not at all contented with what the world can maximally offer. Not only are they not contented with what they already have, they are not contented even with the best that the world can potentially offer. Those…

In our society, in this distorted culture that we have nowadays, there is just too much emphasis on public speaking; there is just too much emphasis on confident expression. A clear extrovert—that has become the ideal of this age. Speak, and speak without content; speak, and speak without knowledge. Your…

Ruthlessly question everything, and patiently and devotedly seek to understand. You must ask the most fundamental questions. What is the school? What does it mean to be an American versus an Indian? Why do we call somebody a girl and the other a boy? What is our relationship with the…

Questioner (Q): I lack confidence when it comes to decision-making. I am always doubtful of whether I am making the right decision or not, and this results in a lot of stress and having to take a lot of time to decide anything. How can I be more confident in…

Question (Q): Acharya Ji, being in Satsang, my mind is peaceful. But after some trigger happens, it gets deviated. How to deal with these external problems?

Acharya Prashant (AP): The trigger does not work really automatically. You program yourself to be triggered. You are standing and a fellow comes over…

Questioner: In the first five chapters of Śrīmadbhagavadgītā, I am seeing that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is repeatedly telling us of the state of the wise one, when I read such verses, all I see is a clear distance between the way the wise ones are and the way I live my…

Questioner: I work as a software engineer. My pocket is filling but not my heart. I quit my job two years ago and volunteer for an NGO which is a spiritual foundation. But somehow there was no transformation or peace within me even after one year of volunteering. So, I…

प्रश्नकर्ता: नमस्कार गुरुजी, मुझे ये बोलना है कि मुझे काफ़ी हिम्मत की कमी महसूस होती है। उस कारण से कोई निर्णय भी स्पष्टता से नहीं ले पाता हूँ, न कुछ पूरी तरह हाँ होता है और न कुछ पूरी तरह ना होता है। मुझमें कोई स्पष्टता नहीं आ पाता। कृपया…

प्रश्नकर्ता: प्रणाम आचार्य जी, मैं तेईस साल का हूँ और अभी मैं यू.पी.एस.सी. में फॉरेस्ट सर्विसेज़ की परीक्षा की तैयारी कर रहा हूँ। अभी मैं घर पर बैठा हूँ और पापा से पैसे लेता हूँ। आपको मैं डेढ़ साल से सुन रहा हूँ, और जीवन में स्पष्टता आ रही है,…

आचार्य प्रशांत: संदीप (श्रोता की ओर इशारा करते हुए) पूछ रहा है, "अपने ही लिए जीना चाहिए या दूसरों के लिए भी? हमारी कुछ ज़िम्मेदारियाँ हैं जिन्हें हमें निभाना पड़ेगा जैसे बेटा हूँ, भाई हूँ।" चलो, संदीप खुद ही बोलो।

प्रश्नकर्ता: सर, अब तक तो हम सोच रहे थे कि…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, बहुत अच्छा लग रहा है यहाँ शिविर में आकर। ऐसा घर पर अनुभव नहीं होता। ऐसे में मुझे क्या करना चाहिए?

आचार्य प्रशांत: दो-चार बातें हैं, सब ध्यान से सुनो। पहली बात तो ये कि—सही जगह पर जितना समय गुज़ारोगे, भ्रामक और अशांत जगह पर वक्त गुज़ारना…

प्रश्न: आचार्य जी, आज दिन भर तमस हावी रहा है। मैं देख रहा था कि उसपर मेरा वश चल नहीं पा रहा था ज़्यादा। कभी देख पा रहा था, कभी लुढ़क रहा था, और कभी उठा रहा था ख़ुद को। ये लगातार चलने वाली प्रक्रिया है या कुछ और है?…

प्रश्न: आचार्य जी, लड़कियों से बात करने में झिझक महसूस होती है। इस झिझक को कैसे दूर करूँ?

आचार्य प्रशांत जी: तुम हर समय लड़के बनकर क्यों घुमते हो?

तुम जितना ज़्यादा देह-भाव में जियोगे, उतना ज़्यादा अपने लिए परेशानियाँ खड़ी करोगे।

Question: I don’t have confidence in myself. How to gain it?

Acharya Prashant: The question comes from an extreme – “I do not have confidence in myself.” But surely, this question addresses a pain that all experience in varying degrees, on various occasions.

Question: If a person has stage-fear, how can that person enhance or extract the ‘Inner-confidence?’

Acharya Prashant: Sit. See ‘confidence’ and ‘fearfulness,’ ‘confidence’ and ‘fear’ these two are actually the two names for the same state of mind. Fearfulness says, “I’m at the risk of losing something important that something

Questioner (Q): What is meant by saying that confidence is fear? And secondly, does it practically help me to know this?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Both are related. You see if you really come to understand it, then the question of the application of your understanding becomes redundant. Because whatever you…

वक्ता : आदमी का मन ऐसा है कि वो हमेशा कार्य-कारण में जीना चाहता है| अपने से बाहर की किसी सत्ता को किसी हाल में स्वीकार करना नहीं है| वो यह कहता है कि संसार में जो हो रहा है उसके कारण हैं ही, मुझे जो मिला या नहीं मिला,…

प्रश्नकर्ता: सेल्फ-कॉन्फिडेंस और ओवर-कॉन्फिडेंस में अंतर क्या है?

आचार्य प्रशांत: ये जो शब्द है कॉन्फिडेंस, इसको थोड़ा समझना पड़ेगा। हमें बचपन से ही यह बताया गया है कि कॉन्फिडेंस में कोई विषेश बात है। हिंदी में इसको कहेंगे अभयता, पर हम देख नहीं पाए हैं कि भय और अभय…

Question: What I notice with myself is that having thoughts prevents me from listening with attention and then I say to them, ‘leave; go away!’ What’s your opinion on this?

Acharya Prashant: Don’t say even that much to your thoughts.

प्रश्न: सर, ऐसा क्यों होता है कि हमारे विचार और हमारी जो करनी है उसमें अन्तर रहता है? कि हम कुछ जानते नहीं हैं कि क्या चीज़ सही है, कि ऐसा ना करके कुछ स्वभाव ही अलग रहता है। स्थिरता नहीं रहती तीनों चीज़ों में।

वक्ता: विचार और…

प्रश्न: सर, सब कुछ अगर छवि ही होता है, तो जो समझ में आता है, जैसे आपकी बात सुनना, वो भी समय की प्रक्रिया है। क्या ऐसा होता है, एक छवि या कुछ छवि बाकि सारी छवियों को मिटा सकती हैं?

वक्ता: देखिये, इस बात को स्वीकार करना आसान होगा…

Question: Can this happen that ‘I don’t know and I don’t even want to know, and that there will always be something more to know’? Can this happen that a person thinks that ‘I am so peaceful that I don’t even want to know’?

Shri Prashant: You see, these are…

Questioner (Q): (In tears, sitting next to the Speaker, by the Ganges and the Himalayas. Overwhelmed by his weeklong presence in the Speaker’s discourses) Why is it difficult to even be here?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Something is difficult if you try to fight. Something is difficult only if you try…

Speaker: So, it is a nice question to start with. Confidence is something that we want, right? We do not like to be unsure or hesitant. We do not like to be in a situation where we are not certain that we know. That brings us to the word,…

प्रश्न: सर, मैं किसी भी काम में कॉन्फिडेंट महसूस क्यों नहीं कर पाता ?

वक्ता: हम्म, कॉन्फिडेंस पर बात करें? कॉन्फिडेंस का मतलब है – ‘यकीन’ । कुछ पक्का जानना । विश्वास, कि ऐसा ही है । हम पाते हैं कि हमें किसी भी बात पर यकीन ही नहीं…

Questioner (Q): Sir, how to get confidence that is not based on knowledge?

Acharya Prashant (AP): (Laughingly) Just say that even if knowledge is not there, no harm will be done. Simple!

Question: What is the difference between confidence and over-confidence?

Speaker: It seems that this question is important to many of us here. Right?

Listeners(everyone): Yes, Sir.

Speaker: The question is, “How do I know whether I am confident or overconfident? One is considered positive, the other is considered negative.” I ask you again. How can I declare a quantity ‘x’ to be positive or negative if I do not know that quantity. I must know something…

Speaker: ‘Good’ and ‘bad’ are value judgments. I will not very quickly get into them because you are adults, mature adults. You can find out on your own. I can only be with you, and together we can discover what all this ‘confidence’ business is all about.

As you are…

Question: How do we have confidence in us?

Speaker: We are born confident. Do you know that when you were a small child, you were so confident? Ever seen a kid; six months, one year, two-year old? Look at the level of confidence he has. That kid hardly ever has…

Questioner: Sir, sometimes I lose my confidence. How can I boost up my confidence?

Speaker: Dilpreet, how many students are sitting here?

Listener: Around 100 students.

What is the root cause of unhappiness? Why strength is necessary for liberation? Why ego can not reflect on itself?