Should I take care of myself, or help others first?

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

Questioner: Pranaam Acharya Ji. First of all tonnes of gratitude, Acharya Ji. I never thought that there would be such deep knowledge in the Upanishads. Thank you so much! When you were saying that sages went out and stayed in the forest for self-realization — Is it not selfish?