Selfishness is a single word with wide and complex explanation. The word defines the quality of thinking only of your own advantage, caring only about what you want or need without any thought for the needs or wishes of other people. The means the person who is selfish is devoted to or caring only for himself, concerned primarily with his own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others. No doubt it is a word that is hated and disliked ostensively by all for its mean and narrow outlook.
Now, the questions comes what kind of act or action is considered as selfish act and what not. The opposite meanings of the word Selfishness are kindhearted, altruistic, generous etc.
As a broad angle, we hate selfish people, and justify ourselves as kindhearted and generous, but we all are selfish. We maintain a parallel characteristic of ours showing sympathy to others distress and thinking of our own interest. Our hearts cry whenever we find an old aged man begging or any handicapped person staggers for alms. We cannot but put our hands into the pocket for the money purse.
Evidently we all dislike selfish people and try to avoid such people. Our minds, hearts don’t support us to be mean minded and so we act generously. We listen to our hearts and do accordingly. We work generously because of our own interest and to keep our minds at peace. To give a small amount of happiness to our generous minds, we pay the beggar, help the handicapped. To give a little bit joy to our hearts we spend huge amount at restaurant, buy costly dresses. We buy luxury furniture, valuable jewelleries, go for world travel, stay at exotic hotels, and spend money at Casinos. Everything we do is ONLY for our own interest. Even if we say we help the beggar as a generous kindhearted person, the question arises, what if we would not have helped the beggar? The obvious answer would be that as we are generous, kindhearted, we cannot tolerate seeing the destitute of the beggar. Our hearts compel us to help the beggar. If we would not do that, our hearts would be full with sorrow or grief. To bring happiness to our heart, we help the beggar, to keep our mind fresh and active we pay alms to the beggar. Whatever we do, we do for our own shake, our own interest. If we listen music or watch television, that too is for our own interest. We are selfish and all kinds of acts we do throughout the day are all selfish acts. We do what our hearts want. Sometimes we do some tasks being under pressure where our minds don’t support us. Still we do such work, because we know the consequences of not being obedient. To avoid such untoward situation, to give a relief to our heart we do those work. We don’t want to give any pressure or pain to our hearts and so do such heartless work. We can do anything; go any stage of extremism just to please our hearts, our minds and above all for our own happiness. Does not prove that we are selfish?
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