A chief priest of a temple, who also practices astrology, asks Acharya Prashant how to deal with people who come to him for superstitious reasons like ghosts, witches, and captivation spells. The priest knows these beliefs are false but finds that people are not receptive to the truth. To prevent them from going to other exploitative gurus, he operates on their level of belief, feeling a sense of compassion. He asks for psychological methods to guide them towards true knowledge. The priest shares examples of his methods. For instance, when a family brought a woman they believed was possessed, who had been physically abused by another practitioner, he knew she needed a doctor. However, the family wanted him to beat her with a chain. Instead, he performed a small ritual with a lemon to convince them the ghost was gone and then referred them to a psychiatrist. In another case, he helped young women obsessed with their ex-boyfriends by prescribing a 51-day process of distraction, which included blocking the boys and posting happy statuses, helping them to eventually move on. Acharya Prashant acknowledges the priest's good intentions and courage but warns that using such methods is like walking a tightrope, as the means can destroy the end. He explains that all methods are a form of cleverness, a lie used to deal with the mind, which is itself a lie. He uses the analogy of Shri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, who uses Arjun's identity as a warrior to motivate him, which is a method. However, he cautions that methods can be misused and become a new problem. Acharya Prashant emphasizes that giving a method is a great responsibility because the karmic consequences of the follower's actions fall upon the one who provides the method. He likens the priest's solutions to painkillers that offer temporary relief but are not the real medicine. The real cure, he states, is knowledge and understanding. He advises that while methods are sometimes necessary, they are also a form of trickery and must be handled with extreme care. He encourages the priest to use his unique position and the people's inherent respect for religion to turn his temple into a center for true religion, knowledge, and devotion. He suggests using the local language and idioms to convey the truth, just as saints have done. The ultimate goal should be to provide not just temporary relief but a permanent solution by guiding people towards spirituality. He advises the priest to think about how to bring the Gita and the simple truths of spirituality to the people who come to him.
