Acharya Prashant explains that Nature (Prakriti) has designed humans in two specific ways. Firstly, it has designed us to remain in its clutches, which means we are designed to fail in the spiritual cause. Secondly, Nature has designed us to operate on probabilities and not to persist in a failing cause for too long. This mechanism of quitting after a certain number of attempts is a prerequisite for physical survival, common to all organisms. If an animal doesn't find food in one area, it moves on; it doesn't die trying in the same spot. This design is practical for survival. This inherent design creates a conflict on the spiritual path. Nature has not only designed you to fail at being spiritual but has also designed you to quit your spiritual attempts when you inevitably fail. You are designed to fail, and you are also designed to quit when you fail. This is illustrated by how an ape moves on when it can't find food, or a tiger gives up on prey that is too fast. Similarly, humans are designed to quit their spiritual efforts after repeated setbacks. The speaker frames this situation as a choice between two kinds of defeat. The first, or "small defeat," is the failure in our spiritual attempts, which is inevitable due to our design by Nature. The "bigger defeat" is to succumb to our design and quit the spiritual path altogether. While the small defeat is unavoidable, the bigger defeat is a choice. He advises that one must accept the small, inevitable defeats and not let them become too significant. To avoid the bigger defeat of quitting, one must learn to take the small defeats in stride and brush them aside. If one is too disturbed by these small failures, they will not be able to persist on the path. The ultimate failure is to stop trying altogether. Therefore, the speaker encourages listeners to stay put, take the blows, and continue their efforts, emphasizing that it is better to have a "bleeding nose" from trying than a "bleeding heart" from giving up.
