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00:00A very good evening to all the attendees. Today we have with us Acharya Prashantji,
00:08acclaimed Vedanta exegete, author of over 80 books including the national bestseller
00:14Karma and a powerful voice of socio-spiritual awakening in the world today. After graduating
00:20from IIT Delhi, Acharya Prashant went on to qualify both UPC and CAT in the same year.
00:26After two years at IIM Ahmadabad and a few years in the corporate world, he found himself a higher
00:32calling of spreading the ancient wisdom of Vedanta among the masses and for that purpose he founded
00:38his mission which is at the forefront of creation of a new humanity through intelligent spirituality.
00:45Today his movement has touched the lives of tens of millions of individuals. Through his direct contact
00:51with people and through various internet-based channels, he continues to bring clarity to all.
00:57Acharya Ji, it's an honor to welcome you to address our institute. On behalf of IIT Hyderabad,
01:02we thank you for accepting our invitation in such a short notice.
01:06Thank you, thank you so much for the kind introduction.
01:09Before I start to introduce myself, I just want to say that sir like I've been recently going through
01:17your videos, even the short videos of 10 to 15 seconds, especially the woman empowering one,
01:23are like literally touched my heart and it is really helping me to motivate more as a woman,
01:30especially as a working woman. So thank you so much for that.
01:34Welcome.
01:36My name is Vrushali sir. I am 32 years old. I have done BTEC and metallurgy. Now I'm doing online
01:44Mtech from IIT Hyderabad since last year. This is the first time they have started this online type
01:50program and we are the ambassadors of that program. I'm also currently working in a central government
01:57organization as a grade B officer. So my question was since childhood, I've been like more studious type
02:08of person, more into books kind of thing. And since I'm working also, uh, since I'm doing work,
02:15being an employee, I'm more into work kind of thing. I've become work, work alcoholic like that type
02:22means I'm more into doing a perfection type of job into micro, micro perfection type. I'm doing this.
02:29So now what I want to do is I can see that I don't have much practical knowledge due to
02:35being like this person, not being much into practical things of life means I'm only being into
02:43studious kind of things. So now when I have decided to enjoy my life like that
02:49and not be more into working type of thing or studying type of thing, I'm whenever I enjoy my life,
02:56I feel like I should work or study. And when I, uh, decide to study or work, I think I should enjoy my
03:03life. So I'm in this type of dilemma always. So I don't know how to move on now.
03:11You'll probably need to explain it a little bit to me.
03:18So
03:21where exactly is the dilemma, uh, you, uh, working somewhere. Yes. And, uh, there you said you
03:30like to be a perfectionist. Yes. So you want to go till the last detail
03:38of the task at hand. Yes. Yes.
03:43That seems to me a pretty nice thing. Now, uh, where is the problem really?
03:50The problem is now I am finding myself more into work and more into study kind of thing and not more
03:57into practical life. Uh, not more into practical life. So what, what is practical life? What is
04:04this practical life you say you are missing?
04:08Like, uh, you can say, uh, going, having friends, uh, enjoying with friends or, uh, taking out
04:17family with me and enjoying that type of life like that I'm saying.
04:22Um, but then if you're missing that, that has not really much to do with, uh, your affection for your
04:36work that can stand its place. And, uh, there's not much that you probably need to change there.
04:48It's one of the big fortunes of life. Okay. To be able to have work that one can
05:02immerse oneself into that one can, uh, really get into and forget, uh, about time and the world
05:15and, uh, other things. So it's a, it's a great thing, uh, to have in life, the right work.
05:25So if you have chosen the right kind of work, wonderful. And, uh, please do continue with that. Now
05:36about, uh, relationships and, uh, hanging out and chilling out with friends and, and those things.
05:44Uh, you see, um, it's a bit of a matter of chance whether one would have the physical company
06:01of the right people, um, because, uh, truly speaking, the right kind of people
06:12are not too many. So you can never be very sure or very insistent that, uh, you will have
06:28very high quality people in your life. Whether or not you'll have, uh, those people depends
06:39to some extent on random luck. It's circumstantial. You do not know.
06:44But one thing you can, uh, do for sure. You can, uh, get into the company
06:55of nice books, nice art, um, ideas, literature.
07:07You can travel a lot.
07:08And would you not call, uh, these things as practical? Yes, sir. Yes. Yes.
07:19This is, uh, every bit as practical as being with a person in flesh and blood.
07:28Right? Yes.
07:28Yes. So my advice would be do not, uh, perpetually keep waiting for human company.
07:38There are, uh, other, uh, equally effective ways to have company and, uh, not feel lonely
07:55and have uplifting company. Right? Yes.
07:57Further, you see, human beings,
08:01you do not know what's, uh, there, uh, behind and beyond the cover.
08:12Yes. Right? Yes.
08:14Books don't change and, uh, books don't lie. Right?
08:21In no way am I undermining the importance of human company.
08:28I fully will understand that a human being is a conscious entity and, uh, a book is, uh, not conscious in that sense.
08:41So obviously we say that if you, if you can get human company, nothing like that, but the chances are sometimes, uh, not in our favor.
08:52So then we do not keep waiting. Hmm. We, uh, add value to life in, uh, the way we can.
09:04And there are tremendous ways to add value to life, to enrich oneself, to challenge oneself.
09:13And, uh, there is no point, uh, sitting and brooding over missing company.
09:21I don't know.
09:33And there is nothing we need to address.
09:42Yes.
09:42You