Acharya Prashant clarifies the distinction between different levels of spiritual understanding, specifically addressing the worship of Shri Krishna and Shri Ram. He explains that while Shri Krishna states in the Bhagavad Gita that those who perceive Him only in a physical form are deluded, figures like Meera Bai and Tulsidas are often seen worshipping a manifest form. He emphasizes that there are four levels of understanding the Divine. The lowest level views the Divine as a historical or physical person, such as the son of Dashrath. The second level sees the Divine as the consciousness within every living being. The third level encompasses the entirety of nature, both the observer and the observed. The fourth and highest level is the attributeless, formless Truth, often referred to as the 'fourth plane' or 'Shruti'. Acharya Prashant notes that while saints who operate on the second or third levels deserve immense respect compared to the average person, their teachings are not the ultimate truth. He uses the analogy of stairs, explaining that a lower step is meant to help one ascend, not to be a permanent resting place. He compares different spiritual figures to rockets: a Diwali rocket and an ISRO rocket both go into the sky, but their reach and purpose are vastly different. Similarly, while Meera Bai's devotion was extraordinary for her time and social context, her focus on a physical form is a stage that must eventually be transcended to reach the highest realization. He warns against the tendency to treat all spiritual texts and figures as equal, stressing that true discernment involves recognizing the depth and level of the truth being presented.
