Acharya Prashant explains that Vedanta is an austere and direct path that does not engage in beliefs. It begins with the indisputable fact that the sufferer and the experiencer exist. He argues that if a mind is suffering, its thoughts, suggestions, and beliefs cannot be considered reliable or authentic. Therefore, Vedanta gives zero respect to personal thoughts or beliefs, acknowledging only the individual's actual condition. He compares the sages to compassionate doctors who ignore a patient's delusions to focus on their actual illness. A doctor who treats a patient according to the patient's fancies would be a poor physician; similarly, true spirituality must look past the ego's traditions and tribes. He further clarifies that any religious stream operating on belief is not leading one to the Eternal Truth. If a scripture requires belief as a prerequisite for being a follower, it is essentially taking the words of a 'madman' seriously. Acharya Prashant encourages individuals to investigate for themselves whether a preacher or a book is rooted in belief. He asserts that being committed to something without direct proof is actually a commitment to the ego rather than the truth. Such commitment to the ego is defined as unrighteousness, whereas true righteousness involves moving beyond the fancies of the ego to address one's actual state of suffering.