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Video Information: 13.07.2023, GSE, Greater Noida
Context:
~ Is a word more than just a word?
~ How words are related with self interest?
~ How are words related to the ego?
~ Are all words meant for the ego?
~ Is there anything in our life that is meaningless?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~
Be a part of the Live Sessions: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/enquir...
📚 Want to read Acharya Prashant's Books?
Get Free Delivery: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/books?...
📝 Read 3 handpicked wisdom articles, just for you: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/articl...
➖➖➖➖➖➖
#acharyaprashant
Video Information: 13.07.2023, GSE, Greater Noida
Context:
~ Is a word more than just a word?
~ How words are related with self interest?
~ How are words related to the ego?
~ Are all words meant for the ego?
~ Is there anything in our life that is meaningless?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Pranam Acharya ji. I'm very excited to finally see you and interact with you. So my question
00:12is or rather reaction is you have talked a lot about emotions being a bundle of chemicals.
00:20Now the context here is what is the relationship between emotions and language or words basically.
00:29So I have been observing myself for some time now and I have seen that a lot of ideas and
00:38concepts that I have, when I try to investigate on them, all I end up is with just more words.
00:46And basically what I see is that these different groupings of words, which my mind tells, it
00:55is basically creating kind of emotional responses within me. So I want to understand from you
01:03whether the mind and my word is anything more than just words. Thank you.
01:10Words come upon observation. That is one thing. And words are mind stuff. That is another thing.
01:18One thing is I observed and then I was trying to verbalize my observation. And then the words got muddled up.
01:26That is one thing. And it's a different question to ask. Is mind stuff just words?
01:32What exactly? Which of these two is the question?
01:36Basically, when I contemplate all the ideas that I have, the definitions of ideas, I feel that in essence, they are just words.
01:47They are. They are. Okay. Step by step. Yes, they are. Then?
01:51Right. Since they are words, there is something in me which is giving more meaning to them than just seeing them as words.
02:00And this happens because when words pop up in my mind, I start to, some kind of emotion happens, right?
02:08Like if I'm anxious now, there is like an explanation why I'm anxious.
02:15So I started to...
02:17So let's stop. Stop. Stop. That's just because the mind can receive stimuli not only from the externally looking senses, but also from its internal database memory.
02:37So somebody called me a hippo. I got angry when called a hippo.
02:48And then I again got angry when I remembered that he called me a hippo.
02:55First time the word hippo came to me from? Outside.
02:59Outside. Second time the word hippo came to me from?
03:04My mind. Inside. From inside. From the memory.
03:07And where did the meaning of the word hippo come from?
03:11Outside. Again from experiences which is stored within.
03:17So the word has a certain meaning. Meaning. What does the word meaning mean? Interest.
03:27It has a stake. Meaning means stake in spiritual parlance.
03:32In linguistics, meaning simply means translation.
03:36If I ask the meaning of a word, you will simply translate it into other words that you already know of.
03:41That's called a meaning.
03:44In spiritual terms, meaning implies interest. Meaning implies stake.
03:49So for example, when you say, let's live a meaningful life.
03:54That means let's live a life that fulfills your deepest interest.
04:02Are you getting it? So that's what the word as a stimulus does.
04:10It tells the ego whether it is gaining or losing.
04:14So the word comes to me and the word is hippo.
04:18And the word has told the ego, oh, you are losing something.
04:21And the ego is already afraid of losses. It's already sitting shivering.
04:27And on top of that, it has been told that it's a hippo.
04:31And being a hippo means loss of social acceptance and respectability.
04:36Because I'm a hippo, so nobody respects me.
04:39So the ego feels even more shriveled.
04:43That's what the word does.
04:45All words have existential connotations to the ego.
04:49That existential connotation is the meaning.
04:56If that connotation is removed, words will do nothing.
05:02All words carry something that impinges on your very existence.
05:08If you can clear the word of that, then words will remain just words.
05:14And no words will have the power to shake you up or disturb you.
05:22So basically, the way I'm using my language is affecting my ego also.
05:29All words exist for the ego.
05:35And the ego is so damn desperate that nothing can exist for it without having a meaning for it.
05:42In your entire universe, nothing can exist just for its own sake.
05:48We are so hungry that everything exists for our sake.
05:53Is there anything in your house that is meaningless? Please tell me.
05:57Is there anything in your house that doesn't serve any function?
06:02That's what is called meaninglessness.
06:04Is there anything in your house that does not serve your self-interest?
06:09Your house is your Brahmand, your universe.
06:12Everything inside it must have a meaning for you, otherwise you'll throw it away.
06:17Similarly, your entire vocabulary has things, which is words, that have meaning for you.
06:26And if a word does not have any meaning for you, you'll forget it.
06:30So that's what language is.
06:35It reminds you of something that potentially can either belittle you or inflate you.
06:45Every word is a pointer to the ego of its hollowness and also of its potential fulfillment.