Viral Philosopher Exposes Why Love Is Failing Right Now | DSH #2066

Summary

Digital Social Hour – Episode #2066

Viral Philosopher Exposes Why Love Is Failing Right Now

Guest: Acharya Prashant
Host: Sean Kelly
Date: July 15, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this deeply introspective episode, host Sean Kelly welcomes renowned viral philosopher and author Acharya Prashant to discuss why modern love is failing, the roots of loneliness, and the psychological turmoil affecting today’s generations. The conversation dives into the impact of technological progress, specifically the AI age, the proliferation of choices and objects, the crisis of meaning plaguing Gen Z, the true nature of ego, and the societal avoidance of self-inquiry. Acharya advocates for internal honesty and self-awareness as the solutions to not just healthier relationships, but a more purposeful life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Acharya’s Recent Work and Engagement

• Acharya has been on an international tour for his latest book, Truth Without Apology, engaging diverse audiences in discussions on life and its complexities. ([01:01]–[01:49])
  • The book is structured as brief, thought-provoking chapters meant for quick, reflective reading. ([01:53]–[02:02])

The Epidemic of Loneliness

• Worldwide Loneliness: Acharya confirms that loneliness and rising anxiety are global phenomena, not restricted to the West, noting that all humans fundamentally share these experiences. ([02:32]–[04:14])
  • Memorable Quote:
    “That loneliness, Sean, is kind of the difference between what this self, this ego, expects from all these objects it has struck relationship with versus what it actually receives from those objects.” – Acharya ([03:04])
• AI Age Intensifies the Gap: The abundance of choices and objects (technological or otherwise) heightens expectations and amplifies disappointment, widening the gap between desire and fulfillment. ([00:00], [03:09])

Technology, AI, and Human Agency

• Is AI a Threat?: Acharya emphasizes that the danger lies not in AI or technology itself, but in “who the wielder of the tool is.” AI can be constructive or destructive depending on the internal state and responsibilities of its user. ([05:14]–[05:59])
  • Quote:
    “It's not about the potency of the tool, it is about whether the user is awake.” – Acharya ([05:59])
• Environmental Considerations: They discuss AI’s environmental impact, with Acharya likening responsible tech use to the electricity used in hospitals: justified if it aids healing. The real threat is humanity’s “inner darkness,” not technology. ([06:06]–[07:37])

Human Darkness, Suffering, and the Ego

• Universal Inner Darkness: Every human is born with an “inner ignorance,” which grows with experiences and social conditioning. Most people focus on external objects rather than self-examination. ([08:14]–[10:40])
  • Quote:
    “It's a darkness we are born with... all our senses... are directed outward. So we want to know this and that without ever the question arising in us: who is the observer and experiencer...?” – Acharya ([08:14])
• Suffering as Opportunity: Acharya sees suffering as a diagnostic symptom, signaling the need for internal reflection and honesty, not as an inescapable punishment. ([10:40]–[12:15])
  • Suffering becomes collective and global, as seen in climate change, but can prompt awakening if honestly addressed.

The Problem of Ego

• Ego as the Root Cause: People often see external objects or circumstances as the cause of their suffering, rather than examining their own ego-driven perceptions. True healing requires honest self-confrontation, not external fixes. ([13:24]–[16:41])
  • Quote:
    “The ego does not require correction or suppression or validation or invalidation. It requires simple honesty. The honesty to face the mirror, the honesty to see itself for what it truly is.” – Acharya ([15:37])

Karma and the “Inner One”

• Redefining Karma: True karma is less about actions and more about the doer – the “inner man” or “I am-ness.” Popular culture bypasses introspection, focusing instead on deeds or results. ([16:41]–[17:58])
• Not Soul, but 'I am-ness': Acharya distinguishes between metaphysical notions like the soul and the lived, experiential sense of “I am” that underlies all suffering and longing. ([18:04]–[19:09])

Fear and Psychological Dependence

• Fear is Egoic: All fear stems from the ego’s sense of incompleteness and its dependency on impermanent things. Reducing psychological dependence is the way to freedom from fear. ([19:09]–[24:18])
  • Quote:
    “The more dependent you are, the more afraid you will be. And the very default nature of ego is dependence.” – Acharya ([23:31])
• Independence is not a Discipline: Acharya warns against treating independence as just another rule; true inner freedom comes from directly observing and understanding dependence in oneself. ([24:24])

Why Love & Relationships Are Failing

• Dependence in Relationships: The popular notion of “You complete me” is a symptom of inner hollowness, not genuine love. Two incomplete people cannot find fulfillment in each other; true connection comes from fullness, not need. ([25:44]–[29:23])
  • Quote:
    “These three words, ‘you complete me’... this is actually not love. This is just a statement of inner hollowness.” – Acharya ([27:39])
• Self-Prioritization: One cannot truly put another first without first being internally healthy and complete. Self-neglect in the name of selflessness becomes hypocrisy. ([29:29])

Mental Health Crisis & Modern Freedom

• Proliferation of Choices and Anxiety: The explosion of choices leads to greater expectation and pressure, especially among Gen Z and Gen Alpha, but without self-knowledge, these choices only increase anxiety. ([32:08]–[37:14])
  • Modern education focuses on external knowledge, neglecting self-inquiry, leading to internal confusion.
• Internal vs. External Freedom: Acharya champions the concept of “internal freedom” – being free from self-oppression and conditioning, which is missing even as society grants unprecedented external freedoms. ([37:27]–[41:15])
  • Quote:
    “The one entity you always live with is yourself. Others do not oppress you... but what if you are oppressing yourself?” – Acharya ([37:47])

The Futility of External Fulfillment

• Wealth Isn’t the Answer: Both host and guest agree that wealth brings only fleeting satisfaction; without self-awareness, neither the acquisition nor the loss of money brings contentment. ([41:15]–[41:52])
  • Sean: “I thought when I became a millionaire, I would be happy, but it lasted like five minutes, and then I was still depressed, you know.” ([41:39])

Conscious Living & Personal Responsibility

• Every Choice Matters: Acharya stresses radical honesty and awareness, even extending to small daily decisions like food choices. He’s not advocating for specific diets, but for seeing clearly the motivations and consequences of all actions. ([41:52]–[46:00])
  • Quote:
    “The field of wisdom is not about imposing one's thoughts or opinions... it is the field of honest freedom and liberation.” ([44:08])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “[Loneliness is] the difference between what this self, this ego, expects from all these objects... versus what it actually receives from those objects.” – Acharya ([03:04])
• “It's not about the potency of the tool, it is about whether the user is awake.” – Acharya ([05:59])
• “The darkness snowballs... All our senses, they are directed outward. So we want to know this and that without ever the question arising in us, who is the observer...?” – Acharya ([08:27])
• “Suffering tells us that some of the deepest assumptions we are holding, the ego is holding, are false.” – Acharya ([11:28])
• “You complete me... this is actually not love. This is just a statement of inner hollowness.” – Acharya ([27:39])
• “The one entity you always live with is yourself. Others do not oppress you... but what if you are oppressing yourself?” – Acharya ([37:47])
• “The field of wisdom is... the field of honest freedom and liberation.” – Acharya ([44:08])
• “I thought when I became a millionaire, I would be happy, but it lasted like five minutes.” – Sean ([41:39])

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Important Timestamps

• [01:01] Acharya’s book and touring
• [02:32] Global epidemic of loneliness explained
• [04:21] Will future get worse? The importance of choice and agency
• [05:14] AI and responsibility
• [08:14] Universal “human darkness” and ignorance
• [10:40] Suffering as an indicator and path to healing
• [13:24] Root of ego-driven suffering
• [16:41] Redefining karma and the “inner one”
• [19:09] Fear, psychological dependence, and ego
• [25:44] Dependence and failure in modern relationships
• [29:29] Self-prioritization for healthy relationships
• [32:08] Why anxiety is growing: too many choices, not enough self-knowledge
• [37:27] Internal vs. external freedom
• [41:39] The myth of happiness through wealth
• [44:08] Ethics, consciousness, and the importance of honest choice

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Conclusion

In this provocative and philosophical journey, Acharya Prashant and Sean Kelly dissect the reasons behind the failure of love and the epidemic of loneliness in the AI age. The central message is one of radical self-honesty: true fulfillment, healthy relationships, and wise engagement with the world all begin with deeply knowing oneself. Internal freedom and conscious choice, not external achievement, are the foundations of a meaningful life.

For further resources or to connect with Acharya, listeners are directed to his website, app, and other online platforms. ([46:11])

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Transcript

[A]

And now in the AI age, there has been an exponential proliferation of objects. So the gap between what you expect from objects, now there are so many of them, so the expectations have risen and if one object doesn't satisfy you, you can quickly hop onto the other. So the gap between what you expect from the objects and what you actually get from them, that gap has widened. You complete me. These three words, you complete me. This is actually not love.

[B]

When I became a millionaire, I would be happy, but it lasted like five minutes and then I was still depressed, you know. Okay guys, very special guest today. We got Acharya on the show today, tuning in virtually. He's a long way across from Vegas right now. Thanks for coming on today.

[C]

I'm glad.

[B]

What have you been up to lately? What have you been focusing on this year?

[C]

Year has been an year of touring. So late last year my book Truth without Apology was released and in context of tour, first of all, I traveled the length and breadth of India and now I have come to the uk so just the last week I was at Cambridge and since then I've been speaking with all kinds of audiences, readers, intellectuals, Indians, non Indians, Westerners, Easterners. In context of the book and in context of everything that human life comprises of.

[B]

What is the book about for people that don't know about it?

[C]

Life, the truth about life, Everything about life, everything.

[A]

It's a freewheeling thing having chapters that last barely two pages so you can

[C]

pick up the book from anywhere and

[A]

it would be a chapter on your life.

[B]

Interesting. So the younger generation seems to be struggling to find purpose and meaning in their life. They're saying Gen Z is the loneliest generation of all time. Have you seen those studies?

[C]

Yes. Seen them. Yes. And I interact very closely with Gen Z, so I have that relationship and I and I kind of share that psychological space so I know what they are into.

[A]

I'm a friend to them.

[B]

Are you seeing that loneliness worldwide? Because I'm in America so I haven't talked to people about this outside the country. But is loneliness an issue going on worldwide right now?

[A]

Yes, worldwide loneliness is a big issue. Loneliness, inner emptiness, lack of meaning, lack of purpose, rising anxiety levels and inner void. You see, all of these things are to this self, this feeling of I am ness that we carry within and all over the world. Homo sapiens are the same, right? We belong to the same community, same fraternity. In that sense we are all one. And in that sense we are all experiencers of the same loneliness. That loneliness, Sean, is kind of the difference between what this self, this ego, expects from all these objects it has struck relationship with versus what it actually receives from those objects. And because in the modern age, in the industrial and the post industrial age, and now in the AI age, there has been an exponential proliferation of objects, right? So the gap between what you expect from objects, now there are so many of them, so the expectations have risen. And if one object doesn't satisfy you, you can quickly hop onto the other. So the gap between what you expect from the objects and what you actually get from them, that gap has widened. And that's why you see this epidemic of loneliness the world over.

[B]

See it getting worse before it gets better. Because AI is on the rise right now pretty fast, right?

[A]

Choice. It's a choice we'll have to make if we want our condition to get worse because we want to remain in consoling falsenesses. It will get worse. And it will not get worse because somebody else wrote that for us, it will get worse because we choose entertainment over truth, consolations over courage, and escape over love. So that would be a choice that we make. And that in that sense is not a condemnation, it is a statement of empowerment. Because if we can choose it to get worse, we can also choose it to get better. The choice rests in us.

[B]

Choose to use any AI, or are you against it? Lots.

[C]

Lots.

[A]

It's a great companion. Yes, AI is a great companion. It all depends on the wielder of the tool. People talk of AI as if AI is an autonomous threat in itself. It all depends on who the wielder of the tool is. In the right hands, AI is wonderful. And if we do not know who we are, then just as we put everything to the worst kind of use, AI too would be similarly put to harmful use. It is not about the potency of the tool, it is about whether the user is awake.

[B]

And I know climate change is very important to you. Do you think about the usage of the water and energy with the AI companies?

[A]

Yes, yes, yes, I do that. I do that. And therefore, AI has to be used in a way that does not correspond to empty consumption. AI has to be used in a way which corresponds to the overall healing of the planet. Take for example, Take for example the surgeon's theater, the operations theater in which he is working on a patient. Obviously he is using electricity, and he might be using loads of electricity. Obviously there is a certain carbon footprint associated with the hospital as well. Right? But then that is being used to heal the planet. So we are very conscious of the impact of AI. AI does not destroy the planet. Let this be very clear. AI is not going to destroy the planet. There is nothing here that holds a certain grudge against the planet or against ecosystems or against the forests, or against Amazon, or against the various species going extinct. Nobody is their enemy. The only enemy the planet has is the human darkness. And the human darkness, by the way, is its own enemy as well. It cannot be its own friend. How will it be a friend to the other countries, the other communities, other species, and to the wider planet? So that's the threat. AI in itself is not the threat. In fact, even the vehicle is not the threat.

[B]

It.

[A]

People talk of all kinds of things that are destroying the planet without talking of the one who is putting all those things to very absurd kind of misuse. He is the real problem. And by talking of all other problems, we kind of hide the real problem. And the real problem has to be hidden, because the real problem is us. The real problem sits within us.

[B]

So let's dive into that. You said human darkness. So is that darkness within every human, or do you think it's within a select number of human? Oh, it's in everyone.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

It's a darkness we are born with. It is. It is inner ignorance. It is inner ignorance. We are born with the seed of that. And then over time, the various experiences, we are subjected to education and upbringing and indoctrination and faith and belief and media and peers and this and that and all that just piles up upon that darkness. And the darkness snowballs. It's like a dark snowball. So it's. You see, when the kid is born, it has no idea of who she is, right? And that's the darkness I'm talking of all our senses. They are directed outward. So we want to know this and that without ever the question intuitively arising in us, who is the observer and experiencer of this and that? So the finger remains almost perpetually pointing outward that way. What is that? What is that? And who is the one looking in that direction? The one who wants to consume everything that can be seen in that direction. And why does that thing have to be consumed? Because there is somebody inside feeling lonely, feeling incomplete, feeling restless and feeling afraid. And because it feels incomplete, it says, let me bind myself, let me attach myself to some object on the outside, or let me consume something on the outside, let me wear something from the outside, and maybe that would give me certain fulfillment. That is the darkness I'm talking of. That darkness is not impossible to illumine. What we, however, need is intent. And that intent has been, well, more or less missing. Though history has shown flashes of brilliance where certain human beings or even certain groups rose and said, no, we are not condemned to live and die in darkness. We want a better life and a better planet. We want to take our ourselves to the highest potential we hold. So if it has been possible for certain people or certain people in certain patches, obviously it is possible for everybody. It's possible for you, it's possible for me. And that's the resolve humanity has to have now, that intent, that love.

[B]

Humanity is going through another awakening process right now.

[A]

You see, suffering is a great indicator. But again, whether you want to read what suffering is telling you is an autonomous choice. The ego is sovereign, right? We are suffering and we are suffering in a big way. Not only are we suffering, the signs are unmistakable. This time you talked of the climate. It's obvious. The weather patterns across the world are changing, crops are failing. Look at the kind of heat waves we are experiencing. Oh, I came from a heat wave in India and I land here in UK only to experience another heat wave. So that is happening and we are already having the signs of coming mass migration of populations. So suffering is there and suffering is no more. Just internal suffering is now collective and very much socially and internationally visible. However, it depends on us whether we want to be honest with our suffering. Suffering can be a great friend, provided we see what it is pointing at. Suffering tells us that some of the deepest assumptions we are holding, the ego is holding are false. Right. And it requires a certain courage to admit that. It remains to be seen whether we are going to exhibit that courage.

[B]

My, yeah, there's a lot of war going on right now, a lot of suffering, maybe even billions of people. Now you could say, right?

[A]

I don't subscribe to the view, Sean, that human life is punishment and suffering is inevitable. Right. And I also don't think that pain has to be tolerated as a means of purification. I do think that reduction of suffering, minimization of suffering is possible. But there is something that comes along with minimization of the inner darkness. The ego has to thin down and therefore suffering is just a symptom. A disease displays symptoms, and a disease displaying symptoms is far better than a disease that displays no symptoms. It is through the symptom that you that you catch the disease, diagnose it, and probably, if you want, heal it. So suffering offers us a chance to heal. Our condition depends on us.

[B]

Ego earlier, just now. Why do you think so many people struggle with ego right now?

[A]

Because they look at everything that the ego is concerned with and try to convince themselves that the problem lies with the objects of the ego rather than the ego itself, right? So I suffer in a relationship, let's say, or I suffer in my office, or I suffer with my parents or anything, right? I suffer with my body, something. So I want to think that something out there is what is causing me my difficult inner condition, right? And then I might even try to correct my condition without seeing that the corrector is also the culprit, right? That the controller of the situation is also the one who is making it worse. So in the morning he can go about and elaborate business of correcting the inner situation. But then he is the one who knows how the situation has been made worse. So he also knows how to go about whatever structures he has raised for the correction. In the evening, he will be bypassing whatever corrections he has made. The ego. The ego does not require correction or suppression or validation or invalidation. It requires simple honesty. The honesty to face the mirror, the honesty to see itself for what it truly is. But that's not something that our conventional education or the general ecosystems, the social environment, train us for. So we are equipped to look at everything outside of us and try to correct it or fix it without looking at the one who is striking. The relationship with everything that exists in life. And for most people, most of the objects. And objects include thoughts, ideas, things, people, places, events, everything. All that is an object. Anything that you can think of is an object. Most people have problems, grudges with almost all the objects they have had in life. And if they don't have a problem there, they'll at least say, no, we are not fully satisfied. There. Now the inference should be quite obvious. If you have a problem, come what may, from A till Z, everything in the Alphabet is more or less a problem to you. Just the. Just the degree of the problem keeps varying. Then shouldn't we rather look at the one who is getting problemed? The receiver of the problem might be the conceiver of the problem.

[B]

Interesting. Is that like karma, or what would you call that?

[A]

Not karma in the way it is commonly understood, but yes, karma in the sense of the doer of the deed. You see, karma, technically the word coming from Sanskrit means the deed, the action. That's karma. So the real principle of karma has very little to do with the action or the deed, or the decision or the choice. It rather has to do with the doer, the actor, the chooser, the decider, which is that inner thing, the self, the ego, the darkness. That we are talking of. Some philosophers have even called it the inner man. The inner man. That's the one we are talking of. And in popular culture, karma hardly looks at the inner one. In fact, most cultures have a way of bypassing the inner one. It is in their method of bypassing that various cultures difference. Otherwise in the intent to bypass the inner one, Most cultures stand united.

[B]

The inner one. I've never heard that. So is that the soul or what would you identify that?

[A]

The soul. The one who keeps claiming I am the one. Right. So when you say I, for example, who speaks from within? Obviously it's not a bodily organization. And I'm not going to get into metaphysics. I'll limit myself to what we experience actually. Empirical evidence. Right. So I'm not talking of the soul or the spirit here. I'm talking of the lived experience of I am ness, I am ness. And this lived experience is something that we all share in common. We all feel I am. Now, no body part actually in particularly or a group of body parts can be said to feel that I am. It is this I am ness that suffers, that experiences, that plants, that is hungry for identity, that is hungry for completion. And it is this I amness that the field of philosophy and wisdom truly want to address. Because this I amness is at the core of all human suffering.

[B]

Wow, that's deep. You mentioned fear earlier. So fear of death, fear of public speaking, financial fear is a very common fear. What is the best way to deal with fear?

[A]

Understand, first of all, the one who is afraid. You see? Who is the one afraid? Only the ego is afraid. I've made this claim. I'll substantiate it. Because we are not dealing in dogma or doctrine here. We want to let it remain grounded and close to the fact of lived life as much as possible. You see? What does fear say? What does fear say? Once you are afraid, once you are afraid, you are hard. Once you are asleep, you are not afraid anymore. Right? So fear is a particular thought. And that thought or that feeling, it says, I stand to lose something. I stand to lose something. Or maybe there is a gain coming my way and it would be obstructed. Right? So fear implies incompletion. Incompletion. I might lose something. And that incompleteness hurts. Who is the one sitting within and experiencing the incompleteness? It is the ego. It is the ego. And it is always afraid. Because whatever it has chosen to feel complete with is always insufficient. Not just insufficient, it is never permanent. So fear as a threat looms Large, always you can have something. But you know the nature of life. Things move. Even the body is going to move. And because the ego is seated in the body, therefore death is a perennial threat, right? The ego is afraid and the body is the host of the ego, right? If the body is not there, the ego won't be there. So the body so that. So the ego is always afraid of death. Now, death can come in two ways. One is obviously the loss of habitat itself. I sit within the body. And if the body loses its particular configuration, then the ego is gone, right? The body will remain as molecules, as elements. The body would still remain in the universe. But the ego is gone because the ego depends on a particular configuration of the body. So that is one fear. What if something happens to the body at the other end? Ego sitting within the body is never satisfied with the body alone. The ego always holds something via the body. So the ego is, for example, holding this thing right now. This thing right now. What if this thing is taken away now the other end of the ego is threatened. On one hand is this I am ness that resides in the body. This can never be secured because the body is not eternal. On the other hand, whatever the ego relates to via the body is movable on its own. This can shift, this can go, that can break, that can deceive. Therefore, fear remains a permanent accompaniment of the ego. The ego and fear always go together. You cannot say I am egoic, but not afraid. You cannot say I have never examined myself, but I am not afraid. Oh, that way you can put some nice costume over fear, put some decent curtain over fear and console yourself, entertain yourself. But without self examination, without an internal honesty, without an inward awareness, fear is going to be the default state. The only solution is looking at yourself honestly and asking, what do I really stand to lose? What do I really stand to lose? And if this thing that I fear losing actually goes away, am I left with nothing? Am I nothing on myself at all? Must life be compulsorily spent in dependency? You see, fear and dependency. Fear and dependency. I am X. I must hold this. So I have to be then dependent on this for my identity. The more dependent you are, the more afraid you will be. And the very default nature of ego is dependence. So one has to examine his dependencies. Then why must I be so helplessly dependent on. On this and that? Does that not take away human dignity from me? Can I not relate without depending at least for my identity? Obviously, physically, one has to depend. Physically I am depending. For example, this movement on the Sofa set. I am depending, for example, this movement on these clothes to maintain my bodily temperature. So physically one has to depend. But must one also depend psychologically? As you keep reducing your psychological dependence on. On all objects around you, including the body, you will find that the one who shouted in fear is now turning silent.

[B]

Oh, so the goal is to be psychologically independent as much as possible.

[A]

And that cannot happen as a practice, that cannot happen as a discipline. That cannot happen as a principle. That can happen only when you observe dependence for what it truly is. Because dependence truly is just needless. Needless. There is a big assumption. If I am not dependent, I will not be. If I am not dependent, I will not be. And dependence prevents you from therefore being your authentic self. By being dependent, for example, this moment, on how an audience might be taking me, I'll find myself distanced from my inner truth. Because now I'll be constantly thinking of, oh, how might this be clipped? How might. Might this be presented to an audience? Or what's the editor going to do with this? Oh, are these Westerners mostly who are now going to look into what I have said? Would they get the context as much as people from India or the east document? And the moment, the moment I subject myself to that kind of worries, I have distanced myself and the quality of this conversation will drop. The quality of this conversation? The quality of this moment is the quality of life. I lose it.

[B]

I've seen you talk about in relationships how one person may be too dependent on the other one, right? That's a common issue. Boyfriend and girlfriend.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Yes, in relationships, you see, we would just play out the same script we have been reading from and playing the rest of our life. If I have never cared to hold the mirror in front of me, and I mostly live my life via others, right, as a socially conditioned person, a physically conditioned being, then that kind of thing will be visible in all my relationships as well. It is not about one particular relationship. The relationship with your parents, your teachers, your girl, your boy, your spouse. No, it's not that.

[C]

If.

[A]

If I operate from a point of incompleteness, I'll choose everything from that point. And that would. That would give nothing to me except disappointment. And at the same time, it might mean I'll have to. It would actually definitely mean I'll have to be exploitative towards the other. Therefore, two incomplete ones can't really meet each other and say, now we stand completed. In fact, this statement, which is often taken very romantically and sounds so sweet, you complete me. These three words, you complete Me, this is actually not love. This is just a statement of inner hollowness. And from that inner hollowness, love rather becomes impossible. So do I really need to be internally hollow and suffering and lonely to strike a relationship? Can't I be with something or someone in my fullness, in my joy, just to share abundantly, just to receive freely, to share without expectation and to receive without obligation? Can't there be a relationship that way? Must the two of us, or the five of us, or the 50,000 of us as a community, right? Limit each other, bind each other, handcuff each other in emotional ways, in religious ways, sometimes even in legal ways, and then call it a relationship. So the concept of relationship that we see peddled to us via most of the cultural strings in the novels and the movies is not something that fosters inner health. Relationship can be wonderful. Relationship is an action, a deed. We just talked about that. It is not about the action, not about the deed. It is about the actor and the doer. Marriage, too, can be wonderful. It depends on the intent. How internally illumined is the person entering the institution of marriage? From which center has the decision to have that relationship been taken? That's all that matters.

[B]

Think you should put yourself first in a relationship? Or should you prioritize them first?

[A]

If I am incomplete, how will I put anything ahead of me? It's impossible. It's impossible. If I have that insatiable hunger riling me, killing me from within, how will I be generous or benevolent or kind or loving and say, well, you know, I am being selfless, the other matters more than me. That would be a nice sounding principle. But. But in life, narrating that principle would simply be an act of hypocrisy. So unless I am inwardly okay, I cannot be loving towards the other. The one who is afraid of himself is bound to first of all keep looking for security for himself. I am fearful. I am fearful and I am shivering from within. I am anxious. How am I going to give an atmosphere of health or fullness to the other, right? It's only when I don't have to care too much about myself because my internal complexes have been more or less sorted, that I can put the other before me, ahead of me. Because now I don't have to worry about myself. I'm okay, I'm fine. Not absolutely, maybe, but relatively to a great extent. And when I don't have an inner mess to deal with, only then I can pay attention to the other situation. If I am suffering, if I am a patient, and that too A mental patient myself. How will I heal the other? Healing is far fetched. How will I even know the true condition of other? Most people are too suffering within to be able to truly look at anything outside of themselves. They are caught in their own inner distorted mirrors and their own inner echo chamber. They do not hear anything outside of themselves. Relationship then becomes a shack. Damn, that's it. You don't even know the other. How can you have a relationship you

[B]

don't even know yourself? Right? So one out of two teenagers in America have mental health issues. Anxiety, depression. Are you seeing that in India as well? Are you seeing that in other countries?

[A]

Yes, yes. It's a worldwide trend. It's a worldwide trend and it's due to the proliferation of objects that we have. You see the current generation and the one that's coming after that, the alpha one, they have more choices than the previous generations ever had. Now that's a wonderful thing in life to have choices, but that can also be potentially very unnerving, very unsettling, because now you have an entire universe to choose from. People from the last century never had so many choices. Life in that sense was simpler for them. And if you look at the medieval times or the ages before that, the choices were even fewer. Now, since there are so many choices, so there is a greater expectation and there is a greater internal pressure to make the right choice because the life duration hasn't risen by so much. You still cannot live for 500 years, right? You have some 70 or 90 or some years to live. And it is within those years that all the choices have to be exercised and the number of objects available to you has exploded. How do you choose now? I don't know who I am. How do I make a choice? I don't know. Now the kid is in a shop containing like 10,000 items on the menu. And the kid has been told that you have just 30 minutes to consume whatever you want. The thing is, all those items carry sugar. And the kid does not like anything that carries sugar. But the kid does not know that because the kid has never really bothered to know herself. And the kid is being told, here is the entire universe of sweetness in front of you. Come on, satisfy yourself, feast yourself on it and you will be fulfilled. Now kid tries, one thing fails. The hollowness remains, no fulfillment. The kid tries something else, hops on to the next relationship. Next course, next genes, next car, next bike, next ideology, next hair color. And there is so much of it available now. And the clock is ticking. The clock is ticking. You don't even have to die. You simply have to get a little older. And that's such a threat to the young ones. They say, you know, so much has to be done before we turn 30. So much has to be done before we turn 35. And the clock is ticking and the universe is offering itself, and the one who is receiving the offer does not know what he wants. And that raises anxiety levels madly. I am free to do this, I am free to do that. Now we have legal systems that promise all kinds of freedom. Liberty is galore. Nobody can stop you from doing whatever you want to do. External freedom in almost absolute measure available. But inner freedom is missing. I do not know what drives me. So am I free. Inwardly, I do not know where my passions come from. I do not know where my desires and fears come from. Inwardly, I am not at all free. Externally, society, culture, law have given me all kinds of freedoms and I'm stuck. I don't know what to do with that freedom. In fact, that freedom is proving counterproductive. Freedom in itself is wonderful. But what if the one exercising freedom is not internally free? Now, this teenager should have been helped earlier. Education should have included education of the self, but it didn't. Now he's 18, 20, 22 something, and he knows of quite a few things in life. Except the knower. Except the knower. We are working on that. We have a program of mass education of the self. And we use wisdom, literature from the past, from all streams, all over the world, as a means to help people look into the mirror, to face themselves, to challenge their situation, to diagnose their own internal state. And it's happening. It's happening. And a lot of those who enroll with us are youngsters, teenagers, Gen Z, or people in their 30s or 40s from all walks of life, everywhere.

[B]

Nice. We'll include a link to that program in the video. I've never heard of internal freedom. So in America, when people think of freedom, I think a lot of people equate it to wealth and money. Right?

[A]

Right. And that is nice. That is nice. Poverty is in no way a virtue or a blessing. One needs to. One needs to have technology, one needs to have economic prosperity. All that is wonderful. But what if I do not really know what to do with my money? What if I do not really know where to drive my car to? And the swanky new car EV with bleeding edge technology, I have all of that. But what do I do with it? So external freedom is wonderful. We need legal protection. Yes. Nobody should be able to come to Me and force me to act per his wish. Even the state should not be able to dominate me. So all that is obviously needed. But the one entity you always live with is yourself. Others do not oppress you. That's wonderful. But what if you are oppressing yourself? Laws can protect you from being oppressed by somebody else. But what kind of law will protect you from oppression against yourself? What if you become your own oppressor? Now? To not to become, that is called internal freedom. To be good to yourself by knowing yourself, by knowing your true nature, that is internal freedom. To not to remain a slave of conditioning. To not to remain a slave of history. To not to remain a slave of other people's opinions and influences. To not to. To not to even know whether you are a slave or not, that cannot be good. So to know what is going on in the inner life, that is internal freedom. And when you have that, then you can use money, technology, knowledge, all the things that you have for a better purpose, in a non violent way, in a way that is fulfilling to you and kind to others. And then again, and then, then gaining money or accumulating other kinds of accomplishments does not become neurosis. Because if you do not know what to do with money, any amount of money will not be sufficient, right? I do not know what to do with money. Then money is an infinitely growing number. It never ends. And I'll think, okay, maybe money is not satisfying me because I have only only six digits on that, on that number. Maybe if I have seven or eight, then I'll feel satisfied. What you're not seeing is that the dissatisfaction does not have much to do with how large, how expanded that number are or how big are your attainments. It has to do, first of all, knowing what you truly want. And that is missing. And by that I in no way mean to say that one must renunciate everything. That the house is not needed, that the watch is not needed, that the car is not needed, that education is not needed, knowledge is not needed, relationship is not needed, money is not needed. No way. I'm not saying that. I'm saying we must know who we are, how much of what do we need, and then when we have it, how to use it, Right?

[B]

Yeah. A lot of people lose their money when they make it because they don't know how to use it.

[A]

And just as the attainment of money could not fulfill them, similarly blowing up money does not fulfill them. Most of us remain as hollow as ever, whether we gain or lose.

[B]

I fell for the trap. You Mentioned earlier, I thought when I became a millionaire, I would be happy, but it lasted like five minutes, and then I was still depressed, you know, doesn't work.

[A]

Unfortunately, it is for. For those five minutes, sometimes not even for five minutes, sometimes for. For something like 15 seconds, that we. That we do things that become kind of irreversible or leave their stains and scars behind or do damage that will be very difficult to contain later on. Think of, for example, something like one's dietary choices, right? One decides what's to be there on the plate, just as one decides on everything in life. So the one making the decision is much the same, right? If I have been someone who runs purely on impulses or on external pressure, or simply follows the crowd or says, oh, such has been my inherited culture, so I'll operate this way. So it's the same way I'm going to decide what's going to be there on the plate as well. You said five minutes. A life lying dead on your plate satisfies you for what, for 15 seconds? Not even five minutes. But then, just as the entire life has gone unexamined, that plate also remains unseen unexamined. Again, I'll clarify. I'm not being puritan here. I'm not coming up with a. With a rule or law pertaining to food or dietary habits or cultures. I'm rather coming up with something regarding seeing. Honesty in seeing. I want to look at every aspect of my life. Then how do I not look at what is there on my plate? And if I refuse to look at that just for the sake of 15 seconds of sensual experience on my tongue, it will be very difficult for me to look at other areas of my life and the center of my life with any honesty.

[B]

Right? Yeah. You believe there's an energetic component to the food you're eating, right?

[A]

Not that way. See, again, I repeat, it is less about the food and more about seeing what that food is actually like to you. It's not prima facie mercy towards the animal that I am advocating. My position is different. What I'm saying is. What I'm saying is, do we really know why we chose to have that life sliced in front of me? Do I honestly understand the relationship between this living being and that living being? And if I understand that if I am conscious of what I am doing, what I am eating, and if I still want to choose to eat this or that, I am all for it. See, See, the field of wisdom is not about imposing one's thoughts or opinions. It is not about any rules or regulations whatsoever. It is the field of freedom and liberation, but it is the field of honest freedom and liberation. That is not just a wild impulse. Liberation that comes from awareness. So it is awareness that I am talking of. Do we really see the whole process through which this thing comes to my plate? And do I know the center from which I decide to consume what is there in front of me? That's what is. That's what is often conveniently left unseen. And that's the problem. You leave this unseen and you'll have to leave a lot of other things unseen and they will bite back.

[B]

Said Acharya, thanks so much for your time today. Where can people support you, find you, learn from you and yeah, where can people find you?

[A]

Please repeat that. I didn't get you. You want to know how, how, how people can find me? Simple. Website, Google Search, Wikipedia. So any place, just, just google my name and you'll come to my website and several other links, some affiliate links as well. And I would welcome you to download the app that goes by my name, Achary Prashant app and that has a lot of stuff you find yourself heartily interested in. So, so, so welcome. Welcome everybody.

[B]

So we'll include a link to everything in the video. Thanks for coming on.

[A]

Thank you.

[C]

Thank you so much.

[A]

Basic conversation if you learned anything from

[B]

this episode or got any value at all, please share this episode with a friend. It helps us grow the channel, it helps us grow the podcast and it means a lot to us. Thank you so much.