Acharya Prashant addresses the fundamental question of identity by establishing a simple criterion: anything acquired from the outside cannot be the true self. He explains that just as one does not identify as their clothes, wristwatch, or even a surgically implanted pacemaker because they are external, one should not identify with other acquired attributes. This includes one's name, religion, nationality, and even the physical body, which is built from external elements like food, water, and air. He emphasizes that even the biological functions of the body are not under personal control and are part of an external system. Furthermore, Acharya Prashant asserts that the contents of the mind, such as beliefs, concepts of career, money, and education, are also external as they are inherited from society rather than personal investigation. He distinguishes between the ability to record or analyze data, which machines can do, and the capacity to understand. He argues that while everything else is given by external sources, the capacity to understand and intelligence are entirely internal and cannot be given or taken away. This intelligence is what truly defines a human being, and without its awakening, one does not truly qualify as human.