Fear

Whenever you will give a lot of importance to what others give you, you will be afraid, and then you will want to play safe. Make a list of all that others give you—company, attachment, reputation, and these are the things that are at the core of your fear.

Whenever…

You are so powerful actually that you are scared of yourself.

There are three ‘you’s in that statement. The first two refer to the small self or the ego. The third one refers to the best that you can be, the Great Self, the Truth—classically, the Ātman. And classically…

There was a Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna. He talked of a painter who fills his entire room with terrifying paintings painted by himself. So, on this wall he paints a demon, there he makes another horrible scene, something there, something there. And he is painting it himself, and then he becomes…

The movies tell us that unless there is a special person in your life, you are really missing out on something big, and then you are seized by FOMO. What is FOMO? Fear of missing out.

“Oh my God, everybody has that! I am the only one left behind! I…

Choose a person who will challenge you, not someone who will pamper you, console you, tell you, “You are beautiful as you are.” And in the very same way, choose work. Choose work that will really be difficult to handle. Because if it is difficult to handle, then maybe it…

Love knows on its own. Love needs no instructions. Hence, we are so afraid of it. We cannot control it. We do not know where it would go and what trouble it might lead us into. So, we say, keep your hands off this dangerous thing! Better be in formal…

Your fear is not that something bad will happen; you are afraid of the impact it will have upon you.

Is it the world that terrifies you, or is it your own vulnerability? If you know very well that, “Come what may! Let the world collapse, it will have no…

If you look at fear with fear, then you will never know fear. You will have to fearlessly penetrate fear.

So, when you say, for example, that you are afraid of something, you will have to ask, “What am I really afraid of?” Penetrate it.

Fear tells you, “Something wrong…

Those who are lazy lack not in energy but in understanding. You do not know that you need to work and that work will get you benefits, dividends, joys. Therefore, you are preferring inaction over action. Had you really known the sweetness, the ambrosia of right action, you would have…

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…

लड़कीवाले लड़की देने को राज़ी नहीं होते अगर सरकारी नौकरी नहीं है। और कोई वजह हो-न-हो, वंश चलाने की ख़ातिर हमें यूपीएससी निकालना पड़ेगा। ‘वंश चलाने के लिए यूपीएससी निकालना पड़ेगा!’ यह सब तो तुम्हारे सारे कारण हैं सरकारी नौकरी के पीछे जाने के, नहीं तो और तुम क्यों इतने…

It is not anxiety that bothers you. It is your anxiety about anxiety. Just as we are afraid of so many things, we are also fearful of fear. “What if I become afraid?” Similarly, we are anxious about anxiety.

Now, is there anything here, right now, that makes you anxious?…

सबसे पहले यह समझो कि दूसरे तुम में कमज़ोरी देख रहे हैं न, इसीलिए तुम पर चढ़ने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं। अगर वह तुममे कमज़ोरी देखेंगे ही नहीं तो तुम पर चढ़ने की कोशिश भी नहीं करेंगे। बात यह नहीं है कि उसने जो भी कहा है वह सही…

Were you born thinking of a job? Was that the first thing you said to the nurse? “How and where can I get a job, please?”

Nobody is ever born with fear. Fear has been given to us. Who implanted this fear in your mind? Society, and these movies, and…

ना संसार से डरो, ना सरकार से डरो, ना डरो दुनिया के तानों से, ना डरो अधूरे अरमानों से, डरो तो बस ज़िंदगी के बर्बाद चले जाने से। घड़ी की टिक-टिक को अपना दोस्त बना लो, हर घण्टे-दो- घण्टे पूछा करो अपने-आप से, “अपने समय का जो मैं ऊँचे-से-ऊँचा, बढ़िया-से-बढ़िया…

You are actually so powerful that you are scared of yourself. The ego doesn’t want to give up. That’s what the scare is all about, because betterment of the ego is nothing but the reduction of the ego. Who wants to reduce?

We all want to accumulate. We all want…

पढ़ाई में मन नहीं लगता क्योंकि वो पढ़ाई शायद तुम्हारे लिए है ही नहीं। वो पढ़ाई तुम कर ही रहे हो उनके दबाव में जो तुमको एक तरह से स्पॉन्सर कर रहे हैं कि ‘तू घर बैठ, तुझे रोटी-पानी की फ़िक्र करने की अभी कोई ज़रूरत नहीं साल-दो-साल, तू बैठ…

When you are speaking to a friend, do you need confidence? You don’t need confidence in the everyday situations at your home or with your friends. But in the interview room everybody says, “I need confidence,” right?

When do you need confidence? When does the question of confidence arise? The…

दुनिया में एक-से-बढ़कर-एक प्रकाशित स्त्रियाँ हुईं हैं, जाओ उन्हें चाहो, बिलकुल उनके प्रेम में पड़ जाओ, न्योछावर हो जाओ उनपर, तुम्हारी ज़िंदगी बन जाएगी। पर तुम ऐसा करते नहीं। ऊँची स्त्रियों से तुम्हें भय लगता है, क्योंकि ऊँची स्त्री के पास जाकर के तुम अपना बौनापन बरक़रार नहीं रख सकते।…

दुनिया की ताक़तों से, और घरवालों से, और पचास लोगों से डरते हो इस बात से भी तो डरो कि, ‘जन्म ही व्यर्थ हो गया तो?’

जीवन से छोटे-मोटे डर सब हटाने हों तो बड़ा डर ले आओ। और बड़ा डर यही है – कल्पना में तो खोए ही रहते…

I need not pick up work that is suited to my strengths. I must do that which I am really afraid of doing. That is the right definition of work.

Work is not something that you do in order to inflate yourself or to fatten your pockets. Work is something…

अकसर जो नंगा होता जाता है उसको हम लिख देते हैं, “ये तो बोल्ड (निर्भीक) कपड़ों में आया है।“ उसमें बोल्डनेस (निर्भीकता) क्या है? फिर तो सबसे बोल्ड जानवर हुए। एक गधा तो बोल्डनेस की प्रतिमूर्ति हो गया, उसे बोल्डनेस का नोबेल प्राइज़ मिलना चाहिए, उसने ज़िन्दगी में कोई कपड़ा…

एक ज़िंदगी है, दबे-दबे जीने में क्या मज़ा है भाई? तुम किस चीज़ को सुरक्षित कर रहे हो? जीवन माने समय ही तो होता है न? डरे-डरे समय बिता रहे हो, तो तुमने सुरक्षित किस चीज़ को रख लिया है? समय डर में बिता दिया तो तुमने बचा क्या लिया?…

जो आपको डराने आए, वो आपको छोटी धमकी देता है। उसको आप कहिए, “तू आ कर बैठ! तू तो छोटी धमकी दे रहा है, मुझे तो पूरी बात पता है।“ पूरी बात क्या? यहाँ से एक पैसा और शरीर की एक कोशिका ले कर के हम बचने नहीं वाले, बाहर…

Why does society exist?

“Because man is a social animal.”

Who told you that?

“My teacher in the third grade.”

Are you still in the third grade?

“No, but I heard it from others and…”

Why must you hear that? What can you hear? Only the words said by others?…

Wherever you are, that is where the door will open for you. You need not go to any other place. If you are bored, then boredom is the door. If you are attached, then that attachment itself is the door. If you are angry and fearful, then the anger and…

Why do the regular events of life succeed in deceiving you? Because you are not available to them; because you are not looking at them as they are; because you are not listening to what they are really saying right now. Instead, you are carrying images and echos—images of scenes…

Your parents don’t want you to speak, your teachers don’t want you to speak, and religious preachers, obviously, they are very afraid if you speak up. So you don’t ask even the most basic, logical, sensible questions, and you keep accepting even the most amusing kind of trash as if…

You cannot keep measuring human wellness by human consumption anymore, not possible. You have to train yourself to think in different terms. Your internal model of human wellness has to be very different now; it has to be an internal model.

“Does the fellow have food to eat? Does the…

If in relating to the other you feel afraid, it is because the other has the capacity to hurt your interests, that’s all. Why are you so dependent? It might be that you are dependent just in a psychological way, or you might be dependent even in a financial way,…

Not to be born is a remedy from the perils of life, and more importantly, from the scare of death. Do not allow your mind to take very seriously all that which comes as a result of your physical appearance. What does your physical birth give you? It gives you…

The yakṣa (demon) asks, “What is the most surprising thing about life?”

Yudhishtira says, “The most surprising thing is that we all know that death is coming, and yet we pretend as if we are immortal.”

Let not death come as a surprise. Live in the remembrance of death every…

Fear comes when they tell you that you must have a life insurance. Aren’t the commercials always telling you that? And so dumbly we continue to look at them.

Fear comes when you are told that you must have a life partner so that you have a nice old age.…

Do not just keep saying, “Oh! I get hurt. I need to be handled with kid gloves.” Have you seen those boxes? On top of them it is written, ‘Fragile. Handle with care’. Are you that box? Wear a T-shirt. On the front, it should read ‘fragile’; on the back,…

Fear is never reasonless, purposeless, or messageless. It tells you of your insecurities. It tells you of your vulnerabilities. It tells you where you are not real.

If you do not listen to fear, you will keep assuming that you are all solid and strong. It is only fear that…

If you have to catch a train or a flight, you very well do see that time is limited. When others are dying in front of you, you do see that time is limited. It is only yourself that you consider immortal. Everything else is perishable. “The train would leave,…

Ego is a pleasure seeker. The ego wants to talk of life and its celebrations and beauties and fragrances. The Aghori says, “The ego wants to forget death, and I keep reminding the ego of death.”

He reminds the ego of death in the most ruthless way possible. He would…

All your life your experiences have fooled you, right? When you looked at that woman, you experienced pure love; next year, you were filing for divorce. What happened to that experience?

Don’t you know how your experience fools you all the time? Don’t you see the most beautiful woman in…

Fearlessness helps. Confidence does not help. Confidence is like a pill that you are trying to take when you are already sick. Avoid sickness. The pill cannot be your food, the substance of your life.

I am giving you a mantra: Whenever you feel scared, trembling, or even hopeful in…

See how much of our energy rises from suspicion. See how uncertainty and doubt motivate us so much. See how people are rushing around in their cars, and the fuel is doubt.

Doubt kills. It will not let you sleep. You cannot relax in doubt.

Is there anything in your…

With every passing breath, with every passing day, with every passing year, you should be getting actually better and better. And by betterment I do not mean accumulation of wealth or knowledge or stuff; you should really be getting better as you advance in years. You should be getting better,…

Questioner (Q): I have been a part of college campuses for a long time, ten years in fact. For five years I was an undergraduate at IIT Bombay, and eventually I completed my Ph.D. at the University of California. One common theme that I have noticed among students in both…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, हम मृत्यु के बाद के जीवन के बारे में कुछ-न-कुछ कहानियाँ सुनते रहते हैं, आखिर मृत्यु के बाद क्या होता है?

आचार्य प्रशांत: पहेली है ये, कुछ है ही नहीं मृत्यु के बाद। संसार ही नहीं है, तुम्हारे ही देखे संसार है तुम्हारे ही देखे समय है।…

दुर्लभ मानुष जन्म है, मिले न बारम्बार। तरुवर ज्यों पत्ता झड़े, बहुरि न लागे डार।।

~ कबीर साहब

प्रश्नकर्ता: सत्य की साधना में यह मनुष्य का शरीर ही अवरोध बनती है तो इसे ही दुर्लभ क्यों कहा गया है?

आचार्य प्रशांत: मैं सवाल समझा देता हूँ सबको। कह रहे हैं…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी प्रणाम, आपका एक वीडियो देखा जिसमें आप बता रहे थे कि शरीर की औकात राख भर की है। ये तो हमें भी पता है कि एक दिन मरना है। पर मौत के डर से क्या जीवन का आनंद लेना छोड़ दिया जाए?

आचार्य प्रशांत: अरे नहीं, क्या…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आपके वीडियोज़ देख कर समझ आ गया है कि अगर निर्भरता न हो तो डर नहीं आता। किसी भी उपलब्धि को गंभीरता से ना लिया जाए तो डर नहीं होता और डर हटाने के बाद मन को कुछ अच्छा देना होता है। यह छोटे-मोटे डर को पार करना आसान…

प्रश्नकर्ता: मेरा एक दोस्त है वो ये भूत-प्रेत वगैरह सब में बहुत ज़्यादा विश्वास करता है। हालाँकि पढ़ा-लिखा है वेल एजुकेटेड है लेकिन पता नहीं क्यों ऐसा है। तो बहुत उससे डिस्कशन (चर्चा) हुआ, काफ़ी सारे लॉजिक (तर्क) उसने भी दिए। मैंने कहा — भई मैंने तो कभी नहीं देखे,…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, कुछ मुद्दे हैं जिनपर आप पिछले दस साल से बोल रहे हैं, जैसे — आत्मा, चेतना, मन, मृत्यु, पुनर्जन्म। हाल ही में बातचीत सीरीज़ (श्रंखला) के माध्यम से आपने इनपर स्पष्टता भी दी है, फिर भी कई लोग हैं जो एक ही सवाल बार-बार घुमाकर अन्य तमाम…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, आपके हज़ारों वीडियोस हैं यूट्यूब पर, हर वीडियो में आपने किसी-न-किसी तरीके से धर्म या अध्यात्म की ही बात करी है — उपनिषद्, ब्रह्म, धर्म, अध्यात्म, भगवान। ये सब मिलकर भी दुनिया में जो इतना पाप, दु:ख, युद्ध, क्लेश, अवसाद, बलात्कार, हत्या इत्यादि है उसका आजतक खात्मा…

प्रश्नकर्ता: मेरी उम्र तैंतीस वर्ष है, और मैं एक नामी आईटी कंपनी में इंजीनियर हूँ। कोरोना काल में आपकी वीडियोज़ सुनना अधिक बढ़ गया। सर, आज से तीन साल पहले अचानक मेरी नौकरी छूटी थी। उसके तीन महीने बाद सब ठीक भी हो गया था। परंतु उस घटना ने मुझे…