Acharya Prashant explains that while the West used thought and philosophy to explore existence, leading to the development of science and technology, India discovered the ultimate truth beyond thought very early. This discovery, made by a few sages, was handed down to the masses. However, the common people misinterpreted the sages' state of being. Instead of following the arduous process of using the mind to its fullest potential to reach its limits, the masses simply emulated the end result of dropping the mind. This led to a culture that values blind belief and superstition over logic, rationality, and critical thinking. He further elaborates that by prematurely abandoning the mind, Indians did not become liberated sages but instead fell into a state of ignorance. He describes three levels of consciousness: the savage, the commoner, and the sage. Both the savage and the sage do not use the mind, but the sage has gone beyond it while the savage has never utilized it. Because Indians bypassed the mind, they lost the ability to be original, leading to a reliance on copying Western ideas, technology, and culture. This neglect of the mind and body, justified by a superficial understanding of spiritual concepts like not being the body or the mind, has resulted in societal issues such as malnutrition and a lack of intellectual property. He emphasizes that to go beyond the mind, one must first use it to its maximum capacity.
