Acharya Prashant addresses a questioner's conflict between attending spiritual sessions and fulfilling job responsibilities. He explains that whether one attends or not is a matter of their own free will and what they prioritize. If someone chooses not to come, it is their own decision that something else is more important, and he cannot do anything about that. He advises that to understand one's true needs, one must first understand who they are. He illustrates this with an analogy: if a person has only one hundred rupees and is both sick and hungry, with hunger being more tormenting, the choice between medicine and a burger is not easy and depends on what they deem necessary. Responding to a question about Guru Nanak Dev's teaching to live in 'Hukam' (divine will), Acharya Prashant clarifies that the word of the true Guru is the 'Hukam'. He cautions against mistaking one's own will for the divine will. For the common person, their own desires and ego are the ultimate authority, which they treat as their god. Therefore, one must first be saved from their own 'hukam'. He refutes the common misinterpretation that 'Hukam' means passively accepting whatever life brings. If that were the case, he argues, the Gurus would not have fought righteous wars or made sacrifices. True 'Hukam' is about siding with liberation (Mukti) and Truth in every situation, which may sometimes mean going with the world, sometimes against it, and sometimes having no relation to it at all. This path of liberation is also known as surrender in the language of devotion and devotion (Bhakti) in the language of love. Acharya Prashant further elaborates on the concepts of 'Naam-Sumran' (remembrance) and 'Shabd' (the word). He describes remembrance in layers: it begins with action (karma), deepens into thought (vichar), and then into feeling (bhavna). In its most profound state, active remembrance is no longer necessary, as it becomes a constant, effortless state, quoting Kabir to illustrate this. Similarly, he explains that the meaning of 'Shabd' is not fixed but depends on the listener's state of being. For a machine-like entity, it is just sound; for an information-gatherer, it is knowledge; for a disciple or a lover, its meaning is entirely different. The nature of the 'Shabd' is determined by who the listener is.
