How to know one’s calling in life?

Questioner: How can I understand my ‘calling’ in life?

Acharya Prashant: What do you mean by ‘calling’?

The question is: “How do I understand my ‘calling’? How do I decide what to do?”

Do you mean in terms of profession, or career? Are you already not confused about whether to do this or that? Are you asking from clean slate?

Q: I am confused.

AP: If you are confused, that means you already attach importance to two or three options, right? And you are confused only because you cannot choose from in-between those options. That is your confusion. Correct?

Q: Yes.

AP: Right?

Q: Yes.

AP: You are confused because you cannot choose between Wine, Vodka, Gin, or Whisky. And even when you want to ask regarding your calling, you want me help you, put your finger on one of the four bottles, right? Wine, Vodka, Gin, and Whisky.

That is the reason behind your confusion. What is the reason? You have these four options. Now where is the apple juice? Where is the apple juice? Unless you first remove these four, would apple juice ever figure in your mind? That is what is meant by — asking from a clean slate.

Whenever you ask a question, you already have a set of ready-made answers. All you want from this speaker to do, is to help you choose from A, B, C and D (Wine, Whisky, Gin, and Vodka). Now had these A, B, C, D not been already there with you, you would have anyway not asked the question, because there would have been no confusion.

Instead of trying to know your genuine calling, just remove all the options that are there in your mind. Just remove them.

Now that appears so dangerous. You will say, “I am anyway not able to figure out when I have four options. How will I figure out when I have zero options?” But that is the beauty of the game.

With four options, all you get is — confusion. With zero options, all you get is — direction.

The solution to the confusion that four options cause, is not a fifth option, not a sixth option; not eight options.