Acharya Prashant explains that the ultimate reality is beyond the farthest reaches of one's imagination. We need something beyond imagination because, no matter how far imagination goes, it only brings back garbage. Whether Brahman (the ultimate reality) is true or not, it is necessary for us because everything else, which is within the realm of imagination, is not proving to be of any use. Brahman is only for those who have realized that everything other than Brahman is of no use. If you find satisfaction within the realm of your imagination, you do not need to transgress its limits. The speaker uses the concepts of 'anu' (the smallest particle, atom) and 'mahat' (the vast expanse) to define the spectrum of imagination. If you find satisfaction within this spectrum, you do not need to go beyond it. The need for that which is 'smaller than the smallest atom' arises only when one has searched everywhere within the imaginable and still not found peace. Brahman is for the one who, after searching every nook and cranny, every atom, for that which will bring peace, finds nothing and says, 'It is not found.' This is a scientific approach. One who believes cheaply or follows hearsay is not a true seeker. A true seeker is one who has thoroughly searched and found nothing. The speaker gives an analogy of a servant who, instead of searching for a lost ring everywhere, dishonestly claims it must be in the unsearched lawn, thereby preserving a false hope to avoid the effort of a complete search. People avoid a complete search because if they find nothing, they will have to change, to be annihilated. It is easier to live with the false hope that the treasure is somewhere in the unsearched territory. The Upanishads' role is to make one disillusioned with the false. They do not take away your real treasures; they reveal that what you considered a treasure was never real to begin with. They break the illusion (Maya). When you realize that the ring is not in the lawn, you become free from the illusion of the ring. Similarly, when you realize the nature of the world, you become free. The world is a projection of the subject; as you are, so is your world. If you are false, your world is false. To change the world, you must change yourself. When you become true, a true world will appear.
