Acharya Prashant explains that all words, whether from a child, a madman, or a wise person, are essentially the same. He emphasizes that no human being has the inherent ability to change another's mental state; rather, it is divine grace that acts. He clarifies that a guru is not a specific person or an intellectual, as intellect is worthless in the realm of wisdom. Instead, the source itself is the only true guru, and it can manifest through anything—a dog, a pothole, a girlfriend, or a corpse—depending on the situation. He asserts that the source does not tolerate middlemen and must be approached directly through a personal relationship. He further explains that nobody is truly blind or imperfect; such perceptions are merely illusions arising from separation from the source. Searching for an external guru often leads to further separation from the real guru that is always present and closer than the closest. Acharya Prashant rejects the idea that facilitators or teachers 'show the way' or 'give light.' Instead, they are merely parts of life’s situations that might prompt someone to wake up. He notes that in the Uddhava Gita, even a snake or a prostitute can be a guru because life itself is the teacher. Finally, he defines being a guru as a state of mind rather than a qualification or a physical identity. A guru is anyone whose mind is immersed in the source. He warns against the 'personality cult' and the tendency to personify the guru, stating that the guru has no personal agenda and does not 'do' anything. It is the presence of the source, not the actions of a person, that creates an effect. He encourages moving beyond the image of a person to understand the guru as the ever-present source.
