Acharya Prashant addresses the question of how to measure one's spiritual progress. He advises starting with the common afflictions (taap) or disorders (vikaar) mentioned in spiritual texts. Spiritual progress, he explains, means abandoning falsehood to move towards Truth. It is about leaving behind internal falsehoods, delusions, and false conditionings to progress towards liberation. The internal disorders manifest in various forms, and one can measure spiritual progress by observing these manifestations. To measure this progress, Acharya Prashant suggests using the framework of the 'Shadripu' (the six enemies). He lists these as six criteria: lust (kaam), anger (krodh), intoxication/pride (mad), jealousy (matsarya), greed (lobh), and fear (bhaya). One should ask oneself if these tendencies have increased or decreased. He clarifies that the number six is a convenient starting point and not an absolute rule, as some texts mention five or eight. He likens this to how one measures physical health using various metrics like weight, BMI, and vitamin levels; similarly, these are the parameters for spiritual health. Acharya Prashant issues a strong warning against using false indicators to measure spiritual progress. He states that spiritual advancement has no connection to having special experiences, a mistake many people make. He dismisses claims of seeing special lights, levitating, the subtle body leaving the gross body, or seeing auras as childish and absurd. Other false metrics include being able to hold a yoga posture for longer, chanting a mantra more times, or visiting numerous pilgrimage sites. The only true indicator of spiritual progress is one's life itself. The real questions to ask are whether afflictions like jealousy, ego, delusion, and arrogance have diminished. The mind is sick, and its diseases are these very afflictions. Therefore, spiritual progress is measured solely and exclusively by the reduction of these mental ailments, not by any external or experiential phenomena.