Acharya Prashant explains Ramana Maharshi's statement, "Karmas carry the seed of their own destruction in themselves." He begins by defining Karma as action, noting that we do not just act, but act with the intention of obtaining a fruit from the action. This process involves an actor (the doer or 'Karta'), the action, and an anticipated result. The actor, driven by personal intellect, desires, and calculations, speculates that an action will yield a lucrative result. However, the fundamental pursuit is not for the result itself, but for the contentment, completion, and finality that the actor imagines the result will bring. The speaker then introduces what he calls the "disappointing part": the results of our actions are never as we anticipate. He presents two scenarios. The first, which is "bad," is when the action fails to produce the desired result, leaving the actor without contentment. The second, which is "worse," is when the action succeeds and the wish is fulfilled, but the actor still does not find the sought-after contentment. In this case, the actor is left "high and dry"—high from achieving the result, but dry because it does not suffice. This cycle of action and frustration reveals that the actor is inseparable from his actions. The pain and repeated failure are the very seeds of destruction within Karma. This constant disappointment eventually forces the actor to realize that he himself is the source of his suffering, which leads to the dissolution of the actor. Therefore, the actor (Karta) carries the seed of his own destruction, and by extension, so does his Karma. The seed of destruction is the inherent futility of action in providing ultimate contentment. The more one acts, the more one discovers this futility, which brings one closer to the destruction of the action and the actor. Acharya Prashant also discusses a quote by Jim Carrey about everyone getting rich and famous to see it's not the answer. While agreeing with the sentiment, he calls this an inefficient approach. Fame is exclusive, so most who seek it will never reach the point of verifying its emptiness. Similarly, wealth is largely subjective and relative. This path of experience is long, costly, and inefficient, and there are more direct ways to the same realization.
