On Advaita Vedanta: If you are to be loyal to the Truth, learn to be disloyal to yourself

The following excerpt is from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

Questioner (Q): I see myself rooted in habit, and I procrastinate real work by thinking that the real happens on its own. Please talk about breaking habits and living a more aware life.

Acharya Prashant (AP): Habits will remain. As long as you are alive, habits will remain. Do you know what is your most primitive habit? The breath, the heartbeat — these are the most primitive habits. They will remain.

Why did Prakriti (physical nature) give habits to us? It gave habits so that certain things can happen without thought. It is for the sake of efficiency. Habits in Prakriti are a time-saving measure. There are so many things that you do out of habit. If you do not do them out of habit, you will have to think over them and that will waste your time. That is the logic of Prakriti. Prakriti says, “Because these things have to be anyway done, why mull over them? Why keep pondering? Why involve decision-making where there can be only one decision?”

So, Prakriti has given you habits. She has given you habits so that you continue physically. But do look at the rationale of habits again: where there can be only one good decision, why spend time…