Acharya Prashant addresses a question about the caste system in India. He begins by asking the questioner to define what caste means in practical, real-world terms. He guides the audience to recognize that caste manifests as a sense of superiority of one group over another, a lack of interaction between groups, and restrictions on inter-caste marriage and dining. He points out that in conflicts, people tend to side with their own caste members, regardless of the facts. Acharya Prashant then explains that this phenomenon of division is not exclusive to India but is present everywhere in the world, just under different names like class or race. He states that this division is a universal human problem. He identifies the root cause of all such divisions as the ignorance or "fog" within the human mind, which loves to create boundaries and partitions. He asserts that this is not just an Indian problem but a global one, and its root is the human mind's need for boundaries. He further elaborates that the period of deep-rooted casteism in India coincided with its economic, military, and scientific decline. He argues that all these problems stem from a common source. He criticizes those who blame scriptures like the Upanishads or the Gita for societal ills like the caste system. He calls this a double mistake: first, not reading the scriptures, and second, blaming them for the problems that arise from not reading them. He clarifies that the Upanishads teach that caste belongs to the body, which is insignificant, while the true self, consciousness, has no caste. By reducing identification with the body, one can overcome caste-based thinking. The only way to remove the division of caste is through the wisdom of the Upanishads, which is the only "diamond" in a house full of garbage. To throw out the Upanishads in the name of cleaning the garbage (casteism) is a grave mistake.