Acharya Prashant explains that whatever the reason for studying anything, including science, it is a reason born of the ego. Even if someone studies science out of a childhood interest rather than for a job, that interest itself belongs to the ego. Therefore, such knowledge will not lead to the annihilation of the ego. He contrasts this with true knowledge, which he describes as a strange magic where the ego, filled with a sense of its own futility, joyfully enters into suffering to annihilate itself. This, he states, is a very different matter. The speaker elaborates that a scientist operates from a dualistic perspective: "I am here, the world is there, and I want to know about the world." This entire framework is dualistic. In this scientific approach, the fundamental questions of "Who am I?" and "Why do I even exist?" are missing. He asserts that even the greatest scientist, who operates by accepting the self and the world as real, is at a lower level of consciousness than an ordinary seeker (mumukshu) who asks, "What is this 'I'?" The person who takes even one step on the inward journey has accomplished a greater, more difficult, and more necessary task than a scientist who takes ten thousand steps outward. The inward journey is the most difficult and essential. This lack of self-inquiry makes even great scientists vulnerable to superstition. Acharya Prashant clarifies that superstition is not merely believing in things like flying snakes; it is also holding false notions about oneself. The biggest superstition is the belief, "I know." A scientist who has not inquired into the nature of the ego is superstitious about themselves, which in turn makes them susceptible to external superstitions. He gives the example of scientific models failing to predict the pandemic's trajectory, with scientists adjusting their models rather than admitting they were wrong, due to the ego's insistence, "I made the model, so it must be right." To avoid being stuck on a wrong belief, one needs an ego that possesses humility, which comes from spirituality. A spiritual person, through self-inquiry, understands that the ego is a bundle of mistakes. It arises from the body, which itself is a collection of errors; its cells are imperfect, leading to aging and death. Therefore, the ego born from this flawed body and brain must also be flawed. Such a person is quick to admit their mistakes. In contrast, someone who has not undertaken this self-inquiry stands firm in their beliefs, thinking, "I am right because I said so," and consequently becomes a cause of harm to themselves and others.
