Acharya Prashant explains the Ashtavakra Gita's teaching that one is neither the body nor is the body one's own. He describes this as a dual attack on human illusions: first, that the body cannot be our identity, and second, that we do not need to possess it. He points out that the body is composed entirely of external elements like food, water, and air, and is governed by the laws of physics and material chemistry. It is essentially a programmed machine with limited objectives focused on sustenance and procreation. Because the body is material and lacks understanding, it cannot be the same as the conscious entity that observes and understands it. He further argues that identifying with the body is an insult to a wise person because the body's priorities—security and reproduction—are not the priorities of a conscious being. A wise person values truth and love above physical survival, as evidenced by figures like Shri Ramakrishna, J. Krishnamurti, and Jesus, whose bodies suffered from disease or injury while their consciousness remained distinct. The statement 'I am not the body' is both a factual observation and a rebellion against the mechanical tyranny of biological urges and hormones. Since the body operates on its own independent dynamics and eventually dies regardless of one's will, the wise man concludes that the body is not his and maintains a state of aloofness toward it.