To know your intentions, watch your actions || Acharya Prashant (2017)
Questioner: Yesterday we did this play on –‘What is the intention?’ So we live in more of a conscious mind. So we can figure out some conscious things. How then can we go deeper and know what the real intention is?
Acharya Prashant: From the conscious, you will know the sub-conscious, the unconscious, everything.
What else is the function of the root? It shows up as the fruit. So go and look at the fruit and you will know the root. Fruit is nothing but an extension of the root.
So, if you can look at the conscious, you will find that it is just an extension of the unconscious.
The conscious mind is only an expression of the unconscious mind. It is not different. If you are not careful enough, you will start saying the fruit is different from the root. They are not different. They are organically linked.
The root is becoming the fruit. Similarly, the unconscious is showing up as the conscious. So, pay attention to the conscious.
Pay attention to whatever is going on and you will figure out what is hiding.
So, just keep looking at your thoughts-actions, and you will know your intention. In fact, it was a very nice revelation in the first scene of your play, you (pointing to one of the listener) were there and you come in and ask him, “What is the intention? What is intention?” After you ask him three or four times, he starts getting irritated.
So, it is exposed what the intention is; the intention is self-preservation. Because you are asking him, “What is the intention?” Then he is getting irritated. Don’t you see what he is trying to do? He is trying to defend himself, to protect himself. That exposes the intention, the intention is to protect oneself. Full stop!
So if you just look at how we behave, react, respond, these little things then you will know what is lurking within, what is trying to hide.
That is why facts are important. See where you spend your time; that will tell you of your intentions. See where you spend your money; that will tell of your intention. Money is a very important indicator. See where you spend your money and where you do not spend your money. See where you want to cut corners and see where you want to be lavish.
Have you not heard that little phrase, ‘Put your money where your mind is’? Money really goes where the mind is. If you want to know where somebody’s mind is, see where his money is going. He will not be prepared to spend his money on spirituality; there he will want to cut corners. But on other matters, he will want to be very generous, throw away money. That will tell you what your real intention is.
See where somebody is spending his time. These are the two things that you very greatly value, don’t you? — Money, time. And if you can be a little more observant, see what is going on in your mind. See, what circulates in your mind, that will tell you of your intention.
Actions! Actions! Actions! Look at your actions. Don’t look at the intentions, you avow. Don’t look at the intentions you claim and profess.
Look at your actions, they will tell you of your real intentions. Otherwise, we all carry professed intentions. They are hollow claims.
Your actions, your thoughts, they tell you of where you are really headed to, what you really want to do.
Let there be a sync between these two. That is why somebody like Kabir would always talk of –‘having a sync between Kathni (Utterance) and Karni (Deed)’. That is the same as saying, ‘To put your money where your mouth is.’
Kathni (Utterance) and Karni (Deed); put your money where your mouth is.
Just see what you say and just see what you do. You say that you are a devotee but when it comes to putting the money on the table, you are the most miserly person in the world.
Kathni Karni ko bhed (Discrepancy between utterance and deed).
That will help you to discover ‘*Irada*’ (Intention).
