How to become a worthy person?
Questioner: Pranam Acharya Ji. My question is, when I’m doing something, like telling people what is correct or what is not, I’m seeing that deep down there is a desire within me, like an ego tendency, that’s not very like promoting veganism or kind of something. So, when I’m saying to my parents, “Don’t eat milk products,” it’s not about that don’t eat milk products; I just want to gain a kind of respect in the eyes of my parents. So, what I’m seeing is there is a deep ego tendency within me. When I am seeing that, I feel like such a worthless person. So why should I promote the service of truth and all that I’m not worthy of it? I have this kind of feeling when I’m doing these things.
Acharya Prashant: Why should you serve the truth when you are a worthless person? You should serve the truth exactly because you are a worthless person. How else will you become worthy? One becomes worthy by committing to the right thing. What else is the definition of worth, value? Value is always in the context of the evaluator, right? A thing holds value to you, when that thing can raise your consciousness.
Elevation of consciousness is the only real value addition. All else is just accessories. Right? And only the pursuit of truth can elevate your consciousness. So, if you feel that inwardly you are at some lowly point, it becomes even more important for you to chase the truth. What does it mean to chase the truth? Is the truth hidden somewhere, some kind of treasure hunt or something?
What do we mean by chasing the truth? Identifying the false and having the courage to drop it. Chasing the truth is not like a treasure hunt; It’s not like chasing a job, money, or something else, right? Remember Vedant proceeds through neti-neti, through negation. So, chasing the truth means not chasing the false. Identify what is false in your life, what is deceptive in your life, and then like a man, drop it.
What is the definition of falseness? That which is not what it appears to be, is false. That which is not what it appears to be is false.
Does falseness lie in the thing?
I think this object is a rocket launcher and then you come and convince me that this is just a humble pen. So, should I vent my rage on the pen and destroy it because the pen was false and fooled me? Does falseness lie in the thing, in the object that you perceive? I thought this is a rocket launcher; who should be destroyed — this thing, the desire-driven perceiver? I’m fond of space travel, so even a pen appears like a rocket or something.
Are you getting it?
My desire is skewing my vision, totally distorting it. Anything that I see is just not what I take it to be. Things are not to be blamed. So, when we say, ‘‘Chase the truth,’’ we mean identify the false and drop it. What is to be dropped? The one within, that just cannot see the reality of things. See how we are our own enemy. See how we create castles out of thin air and when they collapse, we curse the world. Most of the castles we build in life have no foundation at all. Any wonder they collapse! but we are so fond of castles, we just build them. If I can’t have it, I can imagine it.
I want a divine fairy in my life. So, what do I do? What do I do? I closen on the next-door girl and declare her to be the divine fairy, and then I’ll say, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and love is blind and such things.”
If I can’t have what I want, I’ll imagine it. That’s my state; that’s called dishonesty. That’s what is falseness; that’s what needs to be dropped. The girl next door might actually be a nice human being, but she is in no way the fairy of your dreams. However, if you can drop the fairy obsession, you might get a decent friend in her.
Are you getting it?
Dropping the false is not about playing morally superior, and breaking up with all, and suddenly saying, “I’m on a mission to drop the false, after all, I’m a spiritual person. Acharya Prashant told me to drop all falseness, so I’m dropping my mother, my scooter, my hen, my pen. I’m on a dropping spree. Everything has to be dropped.” Drop everything, but do not drop the one who drops. Nice! Things are just things, people are just people, they are not the meanings that you assign to them and remember the meanings that you assigned to them hardly arises from those things of people or objects. The meanings arise from your own desirous state. When desires are not fulfilled, who do we blame? The objects, but the object never promised on its own that it’s the thing that you want. You kept telling the object, “You are my fairy.’’ In fact, the object was always a bit puzzled, ‘‘Fairy? Me? Really? But then she accepted and fine, it’s like a gift in love and sounds nice — fairy. After a while, in her own eyes, she became the fairy.
Inquire, inquire, drop, drop. Drop what? Not the things in your life, but your perception of them. Just as there is nothing worthy of being attached to, equally and obviously, there is nothing that deserves your hatred, and it’s obvious that attachment and hatred are close cousins.
You don’t have to be attached to anything. Equally, you don’t have to despise anything. Just know what that thing really is, and then there is the right state of living. You can even call it love.
Are you getting it?
Don’t go home and start quarrelling with your parents, Maa and Papa are false. They are people. No object is false; an object is just an object. Know them for what they really are and then you’ll be unable to hate or despise, just as you’ll be unable to be attached. Attachment will drop and so will aversion.
