[0:00]Hey Kapil, I just have one question. Uh, why we as humans seek so much external approval?
[0:14]Now what you may want to ask is what has that gotten you?
[0:20]Um, so I've tried reading uh, you know, the books for example, uh, I mean, regardless of the names, I've tried reading the books that are recommended by people and uh, you know, at some point I would read them uh, because I was genuinely pulled by it.
[0:42]But recently, I've come to a realization that it is uh, it is merely like intellectual entertainment of sorts that I indulge myself in.
[0:58]So, uh, you know, when I realize that, uh, the, the main question is like, where do I go from here? Because what I thought was genuine interest from my side looks like, uh, you know, a sort of fallacy now.
[1:20]So I have this conflict where like, you don't, you don't need to speak any further. The I think, well, you have raised a very, very sincere question.
[1:35]And, um, I, I would say that there are millions and millions and millions of people who do what you do.
[1:46]And I would say that maybe one has come to this realization.
[1:55]And the question that you ask follow up, where do I go from here?
[2:02]I think the, the answer is not instructive, the question is constructive, is instructive.
[2:13]The answer is the question.
[2:16]When you say, where do I go from here? That's exactly the point.
[2:25]When you living in the world, you are exposed to all the things of the world, right? You have the experts and the books and the media.
[2:34]And the social media influencers who recommend their top 10 books and all this stuff.
[2:40]And you live in that, you live in that soup, like if that's a newspaper, you live inside the newspaper, right? Literally you're inside it.
[2:51]And so you're bombarded by left and right and up and down, read this, do this, five ways for this and six steps to this.
[3:00]And someone could say, okay, well then if you don't like it, don't read it.
[3:10]And, but when you live in a world, when you live in a place in which that literally is the only thing, that's like saying don't breathe air then go breathe air off of planet Mars.
[3:26]You don't live on Mars, you live on Earth.
[3:29]So there's no part of Earth that you can go to breathe non-Earth air.
[3:36]Because that's the only you have one option, that's it.
[3:42]So it would be, it would be reasonable to ask that question of, um, then don't, don't do it, do something else, if there was something else.
[3:54]But there isn't. So then your only option is, if you're not going to watch the media and you're not going to watch the news and you're not going to read the books and you're not going to listen to the influencers.
[4:06]And you're not going to listen to the podcast, and you're not going to listen to the self-help, and you forget all about spirituality.
[4:11]Well then you might as well forget about people too because people are always talking about those things.
[4:16]Why? Because they breed the same air you do.
[4:19]They live in the same earth.
[4:22]So then you might as well just put a blindfold on and put cotton in your ears, go to a cave and then seal the door.
[4:32]Put a big rock in front of the cave and live in darkness because, because that literally like there is nothing else, right?
[4:43]So you don't have to go live in a cave, but I'm, you know, you you understand my metaphor.
[4:47]Um there is nothing else.
[4:50]So that's why I said, you're, you're, your question is the answer.
[4:56]The, it isn't you're asking, um, so then where do I go from here and the answer is, oh, you go over here.
[5:04]No, that's exactly the point, where, where can you go?
[5:08]And the fact that you figured out that it is all just intellectual gymnastics, it's just a way to keep busy.
[5:16]It's no different than going to the amusement park, right?
[5:19]So aside from like non-technical things where you're trying to fix an engine or, I mean, those are technical and those things can be instructive and those things can be prescribed and reading a book or watching a video can absolutely be productive in helping you with technical things.
[5:38]But non-technical things, it's all, there's it, it, those that's just, it's just entertainment, like you said.
[5:47]And there's nothing wrong with entertainment, but as you said, you didn't approach it to get entertainment.
[5:55]Yes. You, you approached it to get something like the guy who reads the engine book and he finds the way to fix the engine.
[6:04]And that's, that can be absolutely instructive.
[6:07]Um, but you, so that's how you approached it.
[6:10]Okay, well, I'm going to read this self-help book and I'm going to look at the influencers and see what books they recommend, and I'm going to read the top five thing about this and that.
[6:19]And because it's going to definitely create consistent change in my life or benefit me in this way or that.
[6:27]And you found that it was just, it's just entertainment.
[6:33]And so then your only other option is to go to a different form of entertainment.
[6:39]Because there's no one speaking the truth in the world.
[6:43]And the reason for that is because humans are utilitarian and to some degree intelligent.
[6:52]And there's some degree of intelligence realizes that why would they try to promote something which doesn't have an audience.
[7:05]There's no audience for truth.
[7:10]You know, there's what, 70 people here, whatever it is, right?
[7:14]And like it's a, it's a, it's a small pebble in a big pond.
[7:19]So there's no audience for it, you can't scale it, there aren't enough people who want it.
[7:26]So it is kind of foolish to create something around something nobody wants.
[7:33]Um, so number one, and number two, even if there was an audience, the amount of time and sincerity and seriousness it takes to find truth, requires a transformation of one's DNA, which one's not going to be able to do.
[7:49]So unless they're born with that DNA, um, even then it'll take 20, 30, 40 years.
[7:57]So it's a no, it's a no win, right?
[8:02]So it's understandable.
[8:05]But then if somebody and and what you have just said is something I've said often times in in podcast and writings and Twitter posts, is that like, the person who wants truth, you're on your own.
[8:16]If you want the entertainment, in some ways you're lucky because you will have many things to just to to keep you busy.
[8:26]If you don't, it in some ways it's, it's kind of unfortunate that you saw through it, right?
[8:31]In some ways it's kind of unfortunate that you saw, that you saw that it was all intellectual entertainment, because now you don't know what to do.
[8:41]There's nowhere you can go.
[8:44]And so it would be lovely to buy more books, because a new one comes out every day.
[8:49]And the new influencers are always recommending a new book and a new podcast, and a new five ways, and a new hack, and a new this and that.
[8:59]So you have a lifetime to keep you busy, but when you see through something, it's a double-edged sword.
[9:04]Um, on the one hand, you have nothing, you, you have at least the opportunity now to pursue the truth and to see what things are, how things really are.
[9:14]And to see the world for what it is, and to see that everything is cosmetic and superficial, and therefore that provides you an opportunity to turn away from the world and pursue the truth, which might give you something permanent.
[9:28]On the other hand, um, that really is your only other option, because the world has nothing to offer you.
[9:40]If you see through the world, if you, if if if the door, if you open the door and nothing's inside, you, you can open the door, like there's no, you won't be interested in opening that door anymore.
[9:54]And in some ways it's kind of unfortunate, right? Because now, what, what do you do?
[9:58]So, I don't know if you want to look at that as unfortunate or fortunate.
[10:04]Um, me personally, I think it's fortunate to some degree because, um, it allows you to turn towards the truth.
[10:11]But the reason I say, I keep saying unfortunate is because the DNA that has to be there to want to pursue truth is very, very, very rare.
[10:22]And, but having said that, the fact that you saw through the intellectual, uh, the, the fact that you saw through it that it was intellectual gymnastics and entertainment means that, you know, maybe you have that DNA.
[10:37]Mhm. Can I ask a follow-up? Sure. Um, but again, there is this conflict where how can I abandon the, you know, like the very road I took to get here.
[10:54]It's I don't know if you understand that, but the thing, the very things that I did genuinely are now you know, it looks like entertainment, but how can I abandon that because that is exactly what that has gotten me to this point.
[11:15]Are you saying the entertainment got you to where you are?
[11:19]And number one, number two, what do you mean by where you are?
[11:24]you know, in a place of, uh, like I don't know where to go.
[11:32]And to the, uh, you know, entertainment point, partly yes and partly no, because honestly, I don't know.
[11:46]It, it really, it, so all things are about the truth, period.
[11:54]They're not about opinions or beliefs, or five-step plans, or social media influencer book recommendations and, um, it isn't those, as you said, those are all intellectual gymnastics and entertainment, and there's nothing wrong with that if one chooses to do that.
[12:12]Quite frankly, it's better to pursue that form of entertainment than it is to go drink alcohol, right?
[12:18]So at least that's it's, it's better to do that, um, than go to a bar.
[12:25]So, but if, if one really wants to get somewhere in their life, if one really wants some kind of permanence in their life, then it's only about the truth.
[12:37]But the truth isn't some kind of new kind of flavor of self-help, it's just what is true.
[12:43]It just, it is what is real.
[12:47]And that it isn't a recommendation from my part to seek that, because, um, because you do kind of have to turn away from the world.
[13:00]The world has to be disinterest, disinteresting to you, because you find that nothing out there is true.
[13:09]So you kind of have to have that DNA.
[13:13]So, but I can't tell you where, where to go, I mean, I, I could say you could pursue truth, but that's up to you if you if you want, that's all that all there is.
[13:23]What I can say is, is as long as you continue to follow self-help and spirituality, you will never find truth, because, because that's not what it is.
[13:34]You can't find something if that's not what it is.
[13:37]That's not why it was invented.
[13:40]It wasn't invented for truth. It was invented to keep you busy and doing stuff, and make you feel like you're doing something, and it's, it's and it's not evil, and it's not wrong, bad, and it's not like this terrible thing.
[13:53]No, it's, but it's not true.
[13:56]Then the only question is, what do you want? Right? You have an apple and you have an orange.
[14:02]The Apple isn't bad and the orange isn't bad.
[14:05]The, you know, but what do you want? Do you want the apple or do you want the orange?
[14:08]Without any kind of browbeating that you should want the apple versus the orange, whatever it is.
[14:15]But that's what these things are, humans don't know what the world is, right?
[14:19]Humans don't know what self-help is.
[14:23]They don't know what spirituality is.
[14:26]They don't know what the experts are, they don't know anything.
[14:30]They just know what everyone says, they don't know what it is.
[14:35]And truth is about learning what something is.
[14:40]And that's why for someone who's sincere and serious and isn't interested in playing nonsense games and wants to put an end, end to their suffering, and they want freedom, and they want something that's actually real.
[14:52]And they want to stop dancing around stupidity and nonsense, and there are a handful of people in the world who are serious, and those people tend to do great things in their career.
[15:05]And then the problem is, when they come over to the land of spirituality, they fall hook, line and sinker for the garbage.
[15:10]And all the things that they did in their career to become great, are what they exactly abandoned when they fall hook, line and sinker when it comes to this domain.
[15:20]All things are about truth. Good luck to you. Thank you.
