E55 Inspiration & Success

E57 Wisdom for Life

Live in London 2026 00:00 Wisdom for Life (Recording of live session with young professionals in London – May 2026) 54:20 Q&A Q1: Can use of the intellect lead to “overanalysis”? 56:00 Q&A Q2: We may doubt our own ability to make a good choice due to the inherent uncertainty of future events. How does one manage this? What is the role of “gut feel”? 57:56 Q&A Q3: Can contentment lead to complacency? 1:00:16 Q&A Q4: If we suffer from high anxiety, we are often told not to analyse our feelings or make sense of them. Instead, we should try to do some breath work to calm down. Could you comment on the efficacy of this advice? 1:03:25 Q&A Q5: Can therapy help address the root cause of anxiety? 1:04:20 Q&A Q6: If one is able to reach a state where negative emotions don’t affect us, does that also mean that we won’t enjoy positive emotions?

E56 Intelligence is not Intellect

00:00 Intelligence is not Intellect 54:01 Q&A Q1: Can the intellect also be a function of our vasanas? Are some people born with a stronger intellect than most others? 54:55 Q&A Q2: What does intelligence quotient (IQ) mean? As IQ measurement instruments stand today, are they measuring intelligence or intellect (as defined by Vedanta)? Is there any overlap of IQ and intellect? 56:07 Q&A Q3: Is there a semantic problem? Intelligence in the military sense is knowledge, but in the academic sense, it is the processing power of the student. Is intellect therefore a synonym for academic intelligence? 58:05 Q&A Q4: How do we train for emotional intelligence? 1:00:03 Q&A Q5: The intellect seems to have two roles. One is the ability to discern and discriminate. The other is to control the mind and ensure we act according to our obligation. It seems reflection can help with the first, but how can we work on the second?

E55 Inspiration & Success

00:00 Inspiration & Success 51:58 Q&A Q1: Is it possible to work by initiative alone? Can we get rid of incentives altogether? What about a paycheck? 56:48 Q&A Q2: One of the ways to have more initiative is to work for a higher ideal – something beyond our selfish desires. But when you work for a larger cause, since it affects more people, could that create more anxiety? 59:00 Q&A Q3: When we achieve a goal, our mind will then immediately want something higher. Since this is never ending, will we always feel a lack of contentment?

E54 Relating

00:00 Relating 52:50 Q&A Q1: How is making an effort to relate to people different to letting people treat you badly? 58:02 Q&A Q2: How is assessing and relating different to manipulation? 1:00:30 Q&A Q3: Do parents require a special formula for relating to teenagers? 1:03:48 Q&A Q4: In an area where emotions are involved, how do you know if you are accurately assessing the other person?  1:06:27 Q&A Q5: What do you do when your assessment of a person is proved incorrect and you are not sure how you got it wrong? What do you need to do for a new assessment in order to relate?

E53 Objectivity

00:00 Objectivity52:59 Q&A Q1: How do I know whether I am being objective as opposed to being indifferent or giving up?55:15 Q&A Q2: In areas where we have strong attachments, when something negative happens, it is often difficult to remain objective. For example when a loved one is hospitalised or is in danger. In such situations, what can one do to return back to objectivity or minimise the damage caused by our lack of objectivity?57:45 Q&A Q3: Is the disarray in the world because there are too many objective people in the world or too few?59:05 Personalisation leads to lack of objectivity