Acharya Prashant explains that modern issues like depression, suicide, and climate change stem from a lack of self-knowledge rather than material progress itself. He argues that tendencies like fear, greed, and consumption should not be suppressed but understood as indicators of the inner self. Fear and greed are never satisfied by external objects because the object is not what the 'I' truly desires; the object is merely a temporary substitute for a deeper, unfulfilled urge. By observing these tendencies, one can begin to understand the invisible 'I' that exists in every thought and action.