Acharya Prashant addresses the question of reconciling the teaching that the Absolute is not in any object of Prakriti with the common religious saying that God is omnipresent, or "Kan-kan mein Narayan" (God is in every particle). He begins by clarifying that the Gita, philosophy, and Vedanta have nothing to do with God; they are in search of Truth, and these are two different concepts. He explains that when we look at the objects of the world, we are looking at them in search of something, specifically in search of the Truth or the Absolute. In this sense, one could say they are looking at everything in search of the Absolute. To the ego, everything carries a promise or a possibility of the Absolute, which is why the ego keeps running from pillar to post in this world. However, this does not mean that the objects themselves contain the infinite or the Absolute. The idea that God is in every particle is described as folk wisdom, not philosophy. Acharya Prashant deconstructs this idea by pointing out that the particles are perceived by the individual's consciousness. If that consciousness changes, the particles disappear. Therefore, to honor these particles as the Absolute is, in fact, to honor one's own deluded consciousness as the Absolute, which makes no sense. He uses the example of a simpleton disciple told by his teacher that God is in every particle. When a mad elephant rushes towards him, the disciple sees it as God and doesn't move, getting thrown aside. His teacher later explains that God was also present in the people who were shouting to get out of the way, and asks why he didn't listen to that God. This story, often narrated by Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, illustrates that such sayings amount to nothing philosophically. However, the speaker concedes that the saying has a practical utility. It helps one develop a certain respect for Prakriti (the material world), which is the universal set of all particles. This respect is important because one cannot misbehave with Prakriti. India, he notes, has respected Prakriti like no other culture. The correct approach is to respect Prakriti because it is the only medium through which one can transcend it. One must ask Prakriti to show the way beyond itself. While everything should be respected as a medium, it should not be considered the highest or the Absolute. The highest is a singularity, a rarity, not something found in every particle.
