Acharya Prashant explains that fear is not a mystical phenomenon but a material and chemical reaction within the body. He describes fear as an end product of specific reactants, conditions, and triggers, much like a chemical formula. He suggests that by analyzing the components that lead to fear through self-observation and thought experiments, one can understand its cause and become free from it. He emphasizes that fear always arises from the 'known'—even when we fear the unknown, it is because we have projected our known imaginations onto it. If the future were truly left as unknown, fear would not exist. Addressing the topic of sexual energy, Acharya Prashant asserts that sex is not the fundamental problem; rather, the core issue is an existential emptiness or an 'ontological void.' This emptiness is constant throughout a person's life, but its expression changes according to one's physical state and life stage. A child seeks toys, an adult seeks sex, and an elderly person may seek respect, money, or religious assurance. All these desires stem from the same source of emptiness, which is essentially the ego or existential ignorance. He concludes that unless this fundamental emptiness is understood and addressed, the mind will continue to demand different things based on its changing circumstances.
