Question: Acharya Ji, why do I slip back to my old habits even after an intense camp with you?
Acharya Prashant Ji : The momentum of your tendencies is still very strong. You will need to be careful for at least a few months, and you will need to reboot the entire system again and again.
This is your reboot camp.
Questioner: Why does this happen Acharya Ji? What is the reason?
Acharya Prashant Ji: Just come to a standstill, a total conclusion. It happens because you do not allow it to.
“Why do I do that? Why don’t I allow it to come to an end?”
(Referring to his body) Because of ‘this’. What is ‘this’?
Questioner: Body.
Acharya Prashant Ji: What to do? It’s such a bad companion.
Questioner: Is it biological, or is it psychological?
Acharya Prashant Ji: Psychology riding upon Biology.
First of all the brain is hard-wired in a particular way. It’s the brain that is conditioned to seek security, pleasure, continuation. And then there are the various social influences: college, peers, media and such things. Those influences ride upon the hard wiring, and what you get is the ‘double-whammy’.
Questioner: Initially I could make decisions related to what I want, the power to choose between wrong and right. It was easier for me to make choices. But slowly…
Acharya Prashant Ji: There is confusion.
Questioner: Not confusion, but unconscious going with the flow.
Acharya Prashant Ji: That was happening. Had you been totally unconscious, you would not have been able to be even at the first camp. Had you been totally unconscious, you would not have opted for the camp in the first place.
In fact, life will become tougher for a while for you. So many things that appeared instinctively right, would now appear hazy, debatable. There would be confusion where you earlier assumed clarity.
This will happen for a while. Not for too long, for a few months may be. That’s your recuperation period.
Hold on. There will be temptations. Old habits, old environments will beckon you, but stand still and strong. Don’t give up. It’s a battle worth fighting and worth winning. Don’t lose this one. If you can win this one, then in all the forthcoming battles of life, victory is guaranteed. Just win this one.
