Acharya Prashant addresses a question from a listener who, despite following his teachings for a year and a half and seeing initial improvements, is now relapsing into old habits. The speaker explains this using the analogy of driving a car up a steep incline. He states that we are at a low point, while Truth is at a height. The spiritual journey is this uphill climb. He advises that one must keep moving forward without stopping, just as one would drive in first gear on a steep slope. If you stop on an incline, you will roll backward, and it becomes very difficult to start again. The listener's relapse is because they stopped their spiritual ascent. The speaker emphasizes that on the path of Truth, there is only one option: to keep moving forward. Stopping is not merely pausing; it is falling back. He questions the listener's pace, asking how many spiritual camps they have attended or how many times they have sat in his presence, implying that passive listening is not enough. The journey towards Truth is a steep climb, and if one moves too slowly, the vehicle will stall. He clarifies that he is not a storyteller but a warrior in a battle, and his listeners should not be mere spectators but active participants in his work, which is to spread Truth. Responding to another question about dealing with people who instill fear, referencing a verse by Kabir Saheb, Acharya Prashant distinguishes between a 'nindak' (critic) and a 'peedak' (tormentor). Kabir Saheb advised keeping a critic close because their criticism is meant to purify you. However, a tormentor's criticism stems from their own selfish interests and only causes pain. One should not heed the words of a tormentor. He further explains that one's self-interest is attached to the tormentor, which is why one cannot leave them. He advises the listener to seek the counsel of the wise, like the saints and scriptures, rather than those who are themselves entangled in worldly matters. He also addresses the question of free will versus being controlled by nature (Prakriti). He states that the ego, the 'I', is a lie. As long as one identifies with this false 'I', one is merely a puppet of nature and has no real choice. We are like unconscious beings floating in the stream of life. True choice belongs only to the one who has awakened to the fact that they, as a separate ego, do not exist. Such an awakened person is the true doer, and their choices are always directed towards the dissolution of the ego. This awakening is the real birth; otherwise, the body is born and dies, but the person is never truly born.