Question: How does one know if he is attending to his soul's mission or simply satisfying his vanity?

Sri Chinmoy: One can distinguish between the two only when one works without being motivated by desire and without being affected by the results of his actions. When one is in that state of consciousness, one can easily know whether one is attending to one's soul's mission or just satisfying one's vanity. Work done in self-dedication leads the aspirant toward the fulfilment of his soul's mission. Work done for self-gratification drives man toward the pleasures that end in self-annihilation.