Your Interests Are Not Yours

Questioner: My question was regarding Vastavik Ruchi (real interest), okay, which means relevant interest. Now, I find it very abstract to put it in my head — what does Vastavik Ruchi mean? More so, you’ve also explained that ruchi stems from the ego, and you should choose something that you know is beneficial to all of mankind or this world. How do you submit yourself to a task that is beneficial to all of mankind or something that is indifferent to your interests? Thank you.

Acharya Prashant: See, we’ll have to get the framework right. What we call as our interests, or the usual quick, unconscious choices, where do they come from? In a macro sense, they come from our bodily composition, right? In a very macro sense.

For example, you can choose to have this kind of food or that kind of food, or that kind of food. In that, you can have a choice, but you will never choose to have five-hundred kilograms of food. You can choose whichever type of food you want, but you will never choose five-hundred kilograms of it. Would you? Because that’s not something that your body will allow.