Planning is good, but what are you planning for?

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

Questioner: I have listened to some of your talks where future planning has been treated as a form of insecurity. Although I am working now, there is no pension later on; so definitely, I need to plan the expenditure after my retirement. This makes me feel guilty that I don’t have the faith or the guts to walk on the path of truth. So is it that I am making a mistake by saving the money?

Acharya Prashant: The question is not that you are not planning, the question is what are you planning for? What are you planning for? Are you planning to take care of your usual expenses? That amounts to nothing. Or, are you trying to take care of your usual expenses so that you can dedicate yourself to something lofty? These are two very different things. I am saving for old age — Statement one, I am saving for old age so that I can take care of my expenses. Here the thing is, I need to provide food and other logistics to the soldiers. Not because they have stomachs, but because they have weapons. Feeding the stomachs means nothing but feeding the stomachs of those who are fighting for the right thing means everything. So, feed not their stomachs but their weapons. What are you planning for?