Acharya Prashant explains that the Atman cannot be attained through intelligence, study, or hearing, but only by the one who chooses it alone. He clarifies that human choices are typically driven by hope and the desire for something beyond the object itself. When we choose, we are not choosing the thing itself but a promise or a story that we hope will lead us to a final destination. However, this process is a deception of the ego, which uses hope to continue its own existence and avoid its own annihilation. The ego seeks its own end because its existence is suffering, yet it lacks the courage to disappear, choosing instead the 'hope' of disappearance through various mediums.