Acharya Prashant begins by stating that everyone has already decided what happiness is. He illustrates this with examples: for India, New Zealand getting out cheaply in a cricket match is happiness, while for New Zealand, it is sorrow. Similarly, if one friend tops the class, it is happiness for her but sorrow for her friend who was also competing. From this, he concludes that for us, happiness is only that which boosts our ego. The mind only likes what reinforces its existing notions, and we laugh at and seek things that take us further into our ego. Consequently, sorrow is when the ego is hurt, and happiness is when the ego is strengthened. Acharya Prashant warns against valuing this ordinary happiness, as it leads to a downfall. The more one chases this happiness, the more one arranges for their own hell, not in the afterlife, but in the present moment. He explains that this happiness has a peculiar quality: you experience as much of it as the sorrow you endure. To illustrate, he uses the analogy of wearing tight sandals all day; the relief felt upon removing them is happiness, but it's only possible because of the preceding sorrow. Therefore, to get more happiness, one must first collect more sorrow. This is the 'hell of happiness'. Acharya Prashant then introduces a third state beyond happiness and sorrow, which can be called fun (mauj), ecstasy (masti), or bliss (anand). These are not the same as happiness (sukh). This state does not depend on prior sorrow, is not obtained by getting something, and does not strengthen the ego. It is a 'purposeless smile'—a good mood without any external reason. It is a feeling of gratitude without a specific giver, a sense of having received so much that one wants to share it with everyone, which he calls love. He advises seeking this state of ecstasy and bliss, calling ordinary happiness a lowly thing.