Transcription
Um, my question is, uh, man is typically a social animal. We seek to, to actually coexist with society, right? And to, to do that, I'm a vegan, and, uh, you know, many people around me are not, and it's a difficulty for me, you know? Very most often, I want to speak out my thoughts, uh, most of, and I want to, let's say, go into animal activism. But then this fear of, you know, if I, if I speak out, this, I'm anyway kind of seen as an outcast, and if I speak out, I may be, you know, more farther away from being accepted by my friends or other family. So this fear kind of stops me in, in doing what I want to really do, express myself.
U, how do you think that I can, you know, be devoid of this fear and be kind of free of this?
Let me understand what you're saying. You're saying you love animal activism, but you cannot openly speak of it because of peer pressure. Is that what you're saying?
Uh, kind of, sir. So I, I, I mean, I'm trying to say that, uh, I mean, I, I, I would like to express my thoughts. I would want to do animal activism or any other, other things. But then out of not only peer pressure, out of the fear that, you know, if I speak out, I, I'll be judged even more because I'm not doing the other activities that my peers are doing. Uh, out of that fear, I'm really not doing so, uh, like going forward. So that fear kind of stops me from.
See, this is the typical nature of the ego mind. It wants to change things with the things remaining within its old, unchanged structure paradigm. I will explain, don't worry. So you have a structure, and what is that structure? You are there, and you are surrounded by your peers, your, your friends, your family, h, your social media network. That's what surrounds you. Right now, you want to bring about a change. What's the change you want to bring about? In the middle of this structure, there is you. You who is not an animal activist currently, right? You want to change the center. You say, "I'm not an animal activist, but I think it's the right thing to do. So I'll be an animal activist. I'll change. I'll change the center." Even as you want to change the center, you want to keep the entire structure intact and unchanged. You want to say, "My friends will continue to be the same. My peers will remain the same. The ones I speak to and share thoughts with will remain the same. All that will remain the same." With all that remaining the same, I will change. Now, how is that going to happen?
You really want to change, or are you conspiring against change?
Cuz I want, uh, I want to change.
Yes, sir. If you want to change, then why do you want to keep the structure intact? How many people do you know of? Maybe 20, maybe 200, maybe 2,000. That is the upper limit. Why must you speak of, uh, cruelty towards animals and other things that are valuable to only these 20 or 2,000 people? The world has 800 crore people. But you want to retain this little group, this little gathering, this, this, this quota of 20 or 200. Why do you want to retain them? Because you're identified with them. But the thing is, if your surroundings and your meta structure remains the same, then you too will remain the same. That structure will not allow you to change. It's these very people who are so aversive to listening to anything worthwhile that they have struck fear in your mind. Your cause is worthy. You're standing for something worth it. But see how afraid you are. You are saying, "I cannot open up in front of them." Think of the quality of these people that you cannot open up on worthy topics in front of them. And if that mockery at your, yeah, of course, they will mock you. They will jeer and sneer at you. But if that's the quality, my question to you is, why do you want to retain them? Why exactly do you want to talk of these important things to only this small group of people? The, the world is your playground. I'm not saying that you break up with them or you just kick them away. Nothing so dramatic. But right things must be done at the right places.
Do you, are you a student?
Yes, sir. I am pursuing my MBA, uh, in IIT Bombay, in first year.
So you are pursuing MBA? Do you, do you start talking of normal and poison distribution with your family, with your aunts and uncles? No. You talk of these things to them. So everything has a right place. If you don't do it or take it up at its right place, then you don't want to do justice to that thing, right? Would you, would you sit with your mother and discuss Kotler? You won't do that, right? And then come complaining, "My mother doesn't appreciate Kotler." That's, that's not the place where these things ought to be taken up. So don't be so particular about moving only within your pre-existing circle. If your cause is worth it, show some courage and move out. If you, if you have a tender and precious sapling in your palm, would you plant it in a desert? No. You'll search for the right place to plant it. So, search for the right place where people are receptive to your thoughts, ideas, and actions. Start there.
Thanks, thanks a lot. So I greatly, uh, I want to know, as we have disc, been discussing about mind and thoughts, so, uh, the diet which we follow, either vegetarian, non-vegetarian, or even veganism, uh, does it have any connection, uh, I mean, does in any way it impacts our mind? Or I have done vegan after coming in contact with you, but I want to know this, how does it impacts us?
The, the connection is the other way around. Your mind decides your diet. So when you look at your diet, you come to know of your mind. Lot of people talk of the impact of the diet on the mind. I don't think that's a very useful way of looking at it. When you look at your diet, it's not your diet you're looking at. It's your mind you are looking at. A diet is a choice, right? The chooser is the mind. Just like all your choices, what you eat reflects who you are. So use your diet to know yourself.
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