The real meaning of 'God helps those who help themselves' || Acharya Prashant (2014)

Question: ‘God helps those who help themselves.’ Is there something that I can do? Do I have any responsibility towards helping myself? Is not the act of helping myself against surrender?

Acharya Prashant: A few things need to be clear in this regard. It says, ‘God helps those who help themselves.’ What is coming first here, your attempt to help yourself or the help of God?

Listener: Your attempt to help yourself?

AP: That is the misconception! It is usually construed that when we will help ourselves then God will come to help us. We have then put the action of God in a cause-effect limit. Effectively, we have built a handle upon God. We have said, “I know how to switch-on the act of God. I know how to make ‘Him’ help me.” How to switch Him on? “Start helping yourself, and then He will come to help you.”

Now that makes it very easy; it is programmed and mechanical.

This is exactly how the ego operates. It thinks, it seriously thinks, that it can have a handle upon God as well. It seriously thinks that the beyond will operate as per its wishes. “I will help myself and thereby I will make Him help me.” Now read this whole thing again.