The real meaning of inferior and superior || Acharya Prashant (2016)

Question: Why has man labelled things as superior and inferior. Why does this division exist?

Acharya Prashant (AP): This division too can be false, useless or a very relevant division. Usually tasks, activities are divided into superior and inferior based on convention, morality, things that have nothing to do with the facts of living. But there is another way, another criterion on which this division, distinction can be made, which is: “Anything that pushes you deeper in suffering is inferior and anything that brings you out of the daily heaviness and suffering is superior” — That is the only worthy distinction that can be made.

But we don’t do that. We decide on something as superior because everybody has usually taken it to be as superior. There is no sense of intelligent discrimination that we apply to it, Vivek (intelligent discretion) is missing.

But when it comes to your life use this as the criteria:

If it pushes me deeper into suffering, if it pushes me further away from my essential peaceful nature then it is an inferior activity, then it is an inferior companion, then it is an inferior society; whereas whatever relieves my suffering and brings me closer to my peaceful nature is superior.

Listener (L): But as Kabir