Acharya Prashant explains the formation and sustenance of the ego using an analogy. Just as the body grows through food, drink, air, and water, the individual soul, the 'I' or ego-sense, also grows. Whatever enters the body becomes the body itself; for instance, after eating an apple, you cannot distinguish the apple from your body as it becomes a part of your eyes, hair, and everything else. The entire body is something that was once eaten. Similarly, it becomes impossible to differentiate between the body and the substance it has consumed. The same is the case with the ego. A state of non-difference arises between the ego and what it has held onto. The ego forgets itself to such an extent that the thing it has grasped becomes its identity, its life, its very existence. The speaker emphasizes that this process begins with 'Sankalp,' which means intention or desire. This point is crucial because it introduces responsibility. The ego is not helpless; it becomes attached because it wants to. This attachment is a result of one's own intention. Therefore, just as one gets attached through intention, one can also detach using the same intention. One should not consider oneself a helpless victim of circumstances, like a fallen leaf blown by the wind. Whatever happens is due to your intention. Even if you were unconscious, you are never completely so. There is always a sliver of consciousness, and thus, a sliver of culpability. This very sliver of consciousness is also the hope for freedom. The same consciousness that leads to bondage can be used for liberation. The process of bondage is reiterated: a wrong intention leads to a wrong relationship with objects through the senses (touch, sight, hearing), which in turn leads to delusion and attachment. The speaker notes that the soil of the mind is such that wrong things, like weeds and poisonous trees, grow easily, whereas growing something meaningful requires great effort. The solution is to be aware and careful. Meditation is nothing but being careful. The danger is all around, so one must keep their eyes open. All problems in life arise from seeing, hearing, and interpreting things wrongly, which all stem from a wrong intention. Therefore, the entire landscape of life can be changed if your intentions change.