Acharya Prashant addresses the argument that since plants also have life, there is no difference between being a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian. He begins by explaining the crucial distinction between being alive (jeevit) and being conscious (chaitanya). The primary importance is given to consciousness, not merely to life. He illustrates this with the example of a person in a coma, who is alive but has very little consciousness, hence described as being in a 'vegetative state'. The hope for a comatose person is that they will regain consciousness; without this hope, their life is not valued as highly. This demonstrates that the value of life is intrinsically linked to the presence and potential of consciousness. Delving into the biological differences, Acharya Prashant explains that consciousness, which encompasses the ability to think and feel pain, requires a nervous system. Plants, while possessing life (pran), lack a nervous system, a brain, and specific sensory neurons called nociceptors, which are necessary for pain perception. The experience of pain is processed in the brain, not at the site of the injury. Therefore, without a brain, plants cannot experience pain in the way animals do. This fundamental difference in the capacity to suffer is central to the ethical distinction between eating plants and animals. He further refutes the argument that killing a plant is equivalent to killing an animal by extending the logic: if life is the only criterion, then killing an animal would be equivalent to killing a human. The reason we do not kill humans is their higher level of consciousness. Similarly, animals possess a higher level of consciousness than plants, which makes killing them a more significant act of violence. The speaker also points out that the argument of 'Sanatan Satya' (eternal truth) being that every creature eats a smaller one is a misinterpretation. He clarifies that 'Satya' is that which is beyond nature (Prakriti). Nature is characterized by change and unconscious movement, whereas Truth is changeless. Humanity evolved by transcending nature, not by blindly following its patterns. Acharya Prashant also discusses the symbiotic relationship in vegetarianism. Many plants, like fruit trees, want their fruits to be eaten to disperse their seeds. The tree offers its fruit, and eating it helps the tree propagate. This is in stark contrast to killing an animal, which offers no benefit to the animal and ends its existence. While acknowledging that some minimal violence is unavoidable even in a plant-based diet, such as uprooting a vegetable, it represents the least possible harm necessary for survival. He concludes by criticizing the dishonest use of spiritual teachings to justify the craving for meat, stating that such arguments are not born of compassion for plants but from the tongue's lust for taste.