Acharya Prashant explains that, according to the Upanishads, one must be very cautious of what one is attracted to, feels pulled towards, or takes as their God, because one will inevitably become that. You will have no option but to become that which you are attracted and attached to. For instance, if you feel attracted to a little kid, you will find yourself behaving like a kid. If you are psychically attracted to an elephant, you will slowly become an elephant. This principle is illustrated in Indian scriptures through the analogy of the Bhringi Keet, a mythical insect that is said to assume the name, shape, and form of the object it constantly looks at. You are no different from that which you take as the highest, so you must be very mindful of your gods. If you feel attracted to something or someone bodily, it becomes a compulsion for you to assume a body to interact with it. To enjoy material things, you must be material. The speaker explains that the individual self (Jiva) is fundamentally immaterial, its truth is formless, and it is firmly anchored to this Truth by an unbreakable bond. However, the Jiva has its back to the Truth and faces the world. The mind is an expanse between two poles: the silent Truth and the noisy, glitzy world. The mind is continuously fed material information by the senses. The situation of the Jiva is that even though its truth is immaterial, its bodily senses all open into the material universe, and it is continuously fed material information. This is why the human being perceives diversity in the world. If you were devoted to one single thing, you would not perceive diversity. The world appears diverse because you are not devoted to one single entity. You are never fully contented with one single thing, so you have no option but to project a diverse and divided world. The universe appears infinite because your thirst is infinite. This constant movement from one object to another, driven by dissatisfaction, is the root of neurosis and mental illness. As your priority list changes, so do you. To know your identity, you just need to look at your to-do list, which reveals what your mind is busy with.
