How do I get confidence? || Acharya Prashant, with youth (2013)
Question: How do we have confidence in us?
Speaker: We are born confident. Do you know that when you were a small child, you were so confident? Ever seen a kid; six months, one year, two-year old? Look at the level of confidence he has. That kid hardly ever has any doubts. If the kid wants to slap you, he will slap you; immensely full of confidence. There is no guilt, no complex in the kid. You may be wearing the best of the clothes, finest quality of suit, just acquired from the market, if the kid thinks that your suit is better suited to be his diaper, he will use your suit as a diaper. With no remorse, it will use your suit, color it. Yellow and black and whatever and then laugh at your face.(Laughs) Ha! Ha! It won’t even bother to say sorry to you. Right? Nobody is ever born with fear. None of us were born afraid. Today we are afraid. Is that not so? Fear is not our nature. Fear has been given to us. We have picked it up. From where?
Listeners(everyone): From outside.
Speaker: So, now the kid is growing up. And what does the mother say? (Speaking in Hindi) ‘So jaa, nahi to baba aa jaayega’ (Sleep, otherwise the bad man will come). Do you remember Gabbar Singh? What did he say? (Speaking in Hindi) ‘Yahan se 50 kos tak jab koi baccha sota nahi hai to maa kahti hai. (Asking the students) Kya kahti hai?(Students speak in chorus) ‘So jaa nahi to gabbar aa jaayega.’ (Whenever a child does not sleep, the mother threatens him by reminding Gabbar’s name). Now fear has started coming. Now, confidence is being lost. Fear is given to you by the family, by the society, by the education, by the media, by the friends. Fear is not your nature. Fear is implanted into your mind.
