Acharya Prashant (AP): Ashish wants to understand failure and success, and the relation between them. When do you call something a ‘success’? You call yourself to be successful when you have a goal, and you reach it. And the attainment of that goal, you name as ‘success’. Right?
Now, we know how confused we often are. We know how divided our minds are. What kinds of goals will come from a confused, divided, dependent mind? Confused, divided, and dependent goals.
A confused mind can only have confused goals.
Now, can the achievement of these confused goals be called as ‘success’? When the mind is confused, obviously the goals are confused. And how can these goals constitute your success? That is your definition of ‘success’. Right? “I target something, I get it, I say ‘success’. And if I do not get it, I say, ‘failure’.” But your targets themselves are dependent on somebody external on some external force or situation. How can the attainment of these targets be ‘your success’? How?
Are you getting it?
First of all, my targets must be my own. If my targets are not my targets, how can that success be mine? Are my goals ‘my’ goals or are they mostly the result of some influence upon me, something that I experienced, read, heard, or saw?
