Acharya Prashant explains that human actions are generally not free but are programmed, automatic, and externally designed. Using the analogy of a fan or boiling water, he illustrates that most individuals act without real independence, driven by physical constitution, genetics, and external stimuli. This lack of freedom is evident in how advertising, politicians, and priests can easily manipulate human behavior by triggering pre-scripted patterns and tendencies. He emphasizes that as long as one operates as a machine or a false actor shaped by circumstances, true yoga remains unattainable. The speaker identifies two interrelated forms of bondage: the inception of action and the attachment to its results. He argues that the false actor always acts out of a sense of incompleteness, hunger, or insecurity, hoping to find fulfillment in the future. However, in the inner world, the beginning and the end of an action are identical; if an action arises from fear or incompleteness, it will inevitably result in more fear or incompleteness. Therefore, all methods, techniques, and external pursuits are doomed to fail if they start from the assumption that the individual is lacking or incomplete. Acharya Prashant describes a yogi as someone who has realized that yoga is their inherent nature and not a skill to be acquired. The yogi is centered in their being and does not identify with the periphery of life, such as nationality or social roles. This state is described as being simultaneously as empty as the sky and as full as the ocean, making the yogi impervious to external changes or promises of improvement. By remaining seated at the center, the yogi relates to the world without seeking any fruit or gain from relationships, living in total security and fearlessness. Finally, the speaker challenges the concept of free will and the ownership of thoughts. He asserts that choices and thoughts are dictated by external factors like life history, environment, and even biological stimuli. Using the example of monkeys on a bridge, he demonstrates that thoughts are often situational and beyond personal control. The yogi is one who has moved out of the delusion of thought, recognizing that thoughts do not define their being. True freedom comes from realizing that one is already whole and cannot be improved or compromised by the world's promises.
