Acharya Prashant explains that the root of fear is a lack of love, which stems from a lack of self-knowledge. He states that when a person ties their sense of existence and identity to something unreliable and external, they will inevitably be afraid. This is likened to putting one's heart on a table where anyone can take it away. Fear arises when one's very existence is subjected to something not in their control, something that will definitely deceive them at some point. He elaborates that if one's sense of self-worth comes from external sources like money, physical appearance, or societal praise, fear is a certainty because these things are transient and can be taken away. This is the functioning of the ego, which is a fundamental sense of incompleteness. To feel complete, the ego associates itself with anything possible, but these things are unreliable as they belong to the world and time. When your identity is tied to your image in the eyes of others, you live a cursed life, constantly afraid because that image can be distorted or disappear at any moment. Acharya Prashant distinguishes between love and interest. He asserts that fear and love cannot coexist; if you are afraid of losing something, you will be violent towards it, not loving. This dependence is often confused with love. He describes 'interest' as a flimsy, conditioned concept, given by one's body, environment, or random chance, and it changes over time. He advises against placing a premium on interest and instead suggests figuring out what one can truly love. One cannot find love, but one can do the homework of clearing the mental clutter—the garbage of interests, greed, ignorance, and delusions—to prepare a clean, honored space for love to arrive.