Acharya Prashant describes a person who is internally at peace, rest, and in bliss, and externally, is very difficult to defeat. He explains that such individuals cannot be defeated because losing is always a voluntary choice, and they have already decided not to lose. He contrasts this with the common person, whose life lacks anything certain or unshakable. He points out that even our most profound relationships and claims of love can be shattered by doubt, as the foundations of our lives are weak. He urges one to have at least one thing in life that is beyond any doubt, something that cannot be shaken by any circumstance or evidence. He elaborates that once the fundamental questions of life are settled, one no longer needs to think about them. Using the analogy of a journey, he says that one can think about minor details like where to stop for food, but if the destination itself is undecided, life becomes hell. This inner certainty, however, should not be rushed. Like a fruit that needs time to ripen to become sweet, this state must be allowed to mature naturally. If one tries to attain it prematurely, it will only lead to bitterness. The fruit he refers to is the state of being where what needs to be thought has been thought, and what needs to be decided has been decided. Acharya Prashant refers to the state of a sage as being like one who is "dead while living." This is because the usual signs of life, such as tension, internal conflict, and the constant need to make choices, are absent in them. For them, action flows effortlessly from their being, without the ego's intermediation. He quotes a Buddhist sutra, "Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha," to describe this state of having gone completely beyond. He also quotes Sant Gorakhnath, who speaks of a sweet death, which is the death of the ego. The speaker explains that for the common person, consciousness is identified with tension and conflict, so a person without these appears to be dead. He clarifies that being "settled" is not about having a permanent physical address but about finding an inner, unshakable foundation. This is the real settlement. Once this foundation is established, one can enjoy the fluctuations of the external world without being disturbed. The journey to this state is one of continuous self-inquiry to find that one thing in which you have absolute faith and which you would never compromise on, no matter the price. He concludes by quoting Kabir Saheb, emphasizing that the mind has many colors that change moment to moment, but rare is the one who stays in one color.
