Acharya Prashant uses an analogy to explain a spiritual concept. He describes a person who was holding his own pajama string but thought he was holding a rope. The speaker advises that one should not get carried away in the flow of nature by relying on their own pajama string. If your connection is to the shore, you can frolic, bathe, and jump around in the river of nature, and you will still be saved; you will not die or be swept away. However, if the rope you are holding does not reach the shore but only goes as far as your own pajamas, then you will feel like you are holding onto someone, but the one you are holding onto is even more helpless than you. You at least have some consciousness and can do something. If you are being swept away, you will shout for help, and someone might save you. You will move your hands and feet. But imagine your pajamas and its string being swept away; they are completely helpless and cannot even cry for help. So, are you living your life relying on something that is even more helpless than you? This is called duality (Dvaita). You are relying on your pajamas, and your pajamas are relying on you. This is the greatest illusion and sorrow. The one you have created for your protection is dependent on you, so who will save you? To illustrate this, the speaker quotes Sant Kabir: "First the son was born, then the mother," and "The Guru touches the disciple's feet." This is to show that the usual order of things is being inverted. The disciple is the ego, and the Guru is the Truth. The Guru is bowing down to the disciple, trying to persuade him. The speaker explains that the laws of the universe are the laws of consciousness. The world you experience is a projection of your own mind. Therefore, relying on the world for security is like relying on your own shadow for protection. This is why saints have said not to trust the world, calling it a "paper packet that dissolves with a drop of water." It has no substance. You will be deceived if you rely on it, and you will not find any security there.
