Carrying Responsibilities

The following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

Acharya Prashant (AP): Most of the times what people call as their responsibility is something that has been just taught to them. If you take them aside and ask them, “How do you know that you are responsible for such a thing?” they will have no answer.

“I must be successful; it is my responsibility towards myself.”

“I must have a great career; it is my responsibility towards myself.”

“I must have a house; I must be able to bring up my kids in that way.”

How do you know that all this is your responsibility? I repeat, how do you know that you must do it?

Had our responsibilities been genuine, then fulfilling those responsibilities would have been a source of great joy to us. The very fact that our responsibilities are a burden to us proves that our responsibilities are false.

Real responsibility is real delight. Responsibility can arise only from self-knowledge. If I know who I am, then I will know what I must do, and that which I must do is called my responsibility. I cannot be responsible unless I have self-knowledge.

But people act very, very responsible without having an iota of self-knowledge. How is that happening?

Watch the full video here.

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