Acharya Prashant explains that understanding is not possible in a climate of expectation, laziness, greed, or fear. When someone tells you good news, like you will get a contract, you are inclined to believe them because there is pleasure in it. This is the entire principle of hope, and it's why the world runs on hope and is duped by hope. People tell you what you want to hear because they can see your desires. They know you want to hear that the contract is coming your way because you are carrying that desire, and desire is greed. They know your desire, and therefore they are able to fool you. Understanding is one's nature. If understanding appears to be absent, it is because a lot more is needlessly present. The speaker cites Shri Krishna, who tells Arjun that the truth is covered, just as fire is covered with smoke. What covers the truth is 'Kaam,' or desire. Using the example of someone saying, "Nice to meet you, let's meet again sometime," the speaker questions why they don't say, "I hate you and would never want to meet you again." It is because that person knows you want to hear that you are likable and that the relationship is not being snapped. They fulfill your desire, and as Shri Krishna says, the truth remains shrouded beneath desire. If you have ever been fooled, it is not others who fooled you; it is your own desire that has fooled you. We wear our desires on our sleeves for the entire world to see, and therefore the world uses our own desires to make a fool of us. Man is potentially intelligence personified, but in actuality, he is often idiocy. There is a world of difference between man's potential and man's actuality. This is because man is only potentially intelligence personified, while in reality, he is often nothing but idiocy. The speaker advises looking at the presence of desire in your day-to-day life impartially. See what desire wants and where it comes from. Then, it will not be easily possible for the world to exploit you using your own desire.
