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Does self-improvement lead to worldly success? || Acharya Prashant (2019)
Acharya Prashant
2.4K views
6 years ago
Self-improvement
Ego
Success
Yogi
Transcendence
Spirituality
Adhyatmopnishad
Liberation
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that the self, which is often perceived as needing improvement, is the same entity that determines one's ideals of success. He argues that if the self is flawed, its concept of success is also inherently faulty. Using the analogy of a faulty GPS, he illustrates that following the ego's directions leads to wrong destinations, regardless of whether the ego certifies them as successes. Therefore, the only true success is the correction of the self, which is the fundamental goal of spirituality. He emphasizes that once the self is corrected through scriptures and right understanding, its actions naturally become right. Discussing the nature of a yogi, Acharya Prashant states that the mind perishes when it stays continuously in the self. A yogi realizes that behind the infinite variety of worldly desires lies one fundamental desire for fulfillment or salvation. Instead of wandering through miscellaneous desires, the yogi goes directly to the source. He describes spirituality as the process of transcendence, which means going beyond the material dimension entirely. While worldly transcendence might involve moving from the city to nature, spiritual transcendence involves moving beyond the entire material world into the dimension of the divine, achieving total liberation.