How do we give up selfishness ? I'm so much absorbed in thinking about myself. How do you give up thinking about yourself and what you want and what you feel ?

Answer by HH Radhantha Swami

icult circumstance in life, simply accepts it as the mercy of God and is peaceful, grateful and happy. A person who has an uncontrolled mind, even when everything is very nice, still he’ll find something to be in anxiety about, something longing for, something to lament over. So if you are so busy trying to solve other people’s problems, then what happens? You have no time for your own problems. Correct? If you don’t have any time for your own problems, what does that mean? You don’t have any problems. If we’re always thinking how I can help others to solve their problems, then we don’t have time for our own problems. That means we have no problems. The way to give up our selfishness is that whatever our present state of consciousness, we should really strive to concern ourselves with the welfare of others; and work and give our time to help them, to understand them, to console them, to uplift them, to enlighten them, to bring them closer to God. I guarantee you, you will find plenty of people who need your help. If everyone in this world was God-realized, who would you have to talk to? Fortunately, we don’t have those problems, or maybe unfortunately. You see, we must always be seeking to uplift, to help, to show our concern for others. Through that process we become free from all of our problems. Of course, the more we have, the more we can give. Therefore, by purifying our own life, by finding the riches within our own heart, by asociating with spiritually-minded people, by following the regulative principles of a godly life, by chanting the Names of God, by understanding the great philosophy of life, we enrich our own consciousness. Then how much we have to give to others. I remember one time, I approached my Guru Maharaj and said, “Sometimes, I feel like I just do not even have any desire to become God conscious. I don’t really mind being in this material world.” He said, “Who cares what you think? What about everybody else suffering around you? Do you not want to help them? If you don’t become God conscious, there’s nothing you can do for them. If you have nothing, there’s nothing you can give to them.” Therefore, the purification of our hearts and the purification of our lives, even if we are not concerned with our own condition of life, we should be willing to take this challenge. We should be willing to walk this path so that we can do real service and express real love for those who are near and dear to us and for all creatures of this world. That should be our motivation.