Acharya Prashant explains that people often remain ignorant, either deliberately or unknowingly, about their true intentions. We profess intentions that are not authentic and do not truly know where we are coming from. For instance, one might claim to be a well-wisher while their actions are evidently harmful to the other person. Yet, we manage to remain confident in the piousness of our professed intentions, fooling ourselves. To discover where you are really coming from, you must impartially observe the result of your action. The outcome will accurately reveal your real intention. The speaker provides an example of a person who claims to be going for a jog to lose weight but ends up at a sweet shop. They justify eating sweets as a reward for their effort, but the result is weight gain. This outcome reveals that the real intention was not to gain health but to indulge, and the professed intention was a self-deception. Similarly, someone might give money to a beggar, believing their act is desireless. However, if they feel hurt or disappointed when the beggar is ungrateful or abusive, it reveals a hidden desire for gratitude or respect. This feeling of being hurt shows that the action was not truly desireless; the ego wanted to enjoy the feeling of being a great donor. The result of the action, and our reaction to it, exposes the hidden, often carnal and mean, desires that truly guide our actions. We are morally bound creatures who use a moral veneer to cover our hideous intentions, unwilling to admit them even to ourselves.
