An 18 feet deep crater suddenly opens up on a road after heavy rainfall and puts nearby houses at risk. We can blame the rain, bad roads or the authorities. But maybe there is a deeper issue that we don't want to look at.

Imagine a government employee taking money meant for building roads and using it to pay his son's college fees.

He may think, "I am doing this for my son."

His son may also think that his father is making sacrifices for him.

But what about the young people who may lose their lives because that road was not built properly?

This is where Acharya Prashant's teaching becomes uncomfortable. The ego can make selfishness look like love, especially when it is for someone we call our own.

A father may think he is securing his son's future, while his actions may be causing suffering to someone else's family.

Then how can we call it love?

If my child's comfort comes at the cost of someone else's suffering, is it really love? Or is it just attachment and self-interest being called love?

**Maybe the real question is not, "Am I doing this for my family?"**

**The real question is:**

**"If my love for my own requires me to harm others, can I still call it love?"**

**And if protecting our loved ones means creating suffering for someone else's loved ones, what kind of love are we actually teaching them?**

When Love Becomes Violence