Acharya Prashant addresses the question of how to discern the reality of things, which often reach us in a disguised or deceptive manner. He advises that one must know the true nature of whatever one perceives and not get stuck on the surface. Things are often not what they appear to be, and one must learn to decode them. The first step in this decoding process is to not give undue importance to words. The speaker asserts that words are more often used to conceal than to reveal. They are superficial, and one must develop the capacity to read and listen beyond them, to perceive the silence and the source from which they originate. We spend a large part of our lives entangled in and relying on words, which is a significant source of confusion. The second deceptive element is form, or the visual appearance of things. Sensory experiences, including sight, sound, and touch, are described as tools that conceal more than they reveal. Form can be enticing, causing one to get stuck on the 'envelope' without understanding the 'message' inside. Our internal system is conditioned to perceive through the senses, but to see the truth, one must find another way of perceiving. The speaker states that those who see only with their eyes see nothing, and those who hear only with their ears hear nothing. Acharya Prashant explains that 'decoding' is the constant, subtle awareness that truth lies beyond sensory perception and thought. It is not about solving a puzzle to find a secret, but about understanding that what appears is not the final reality. One must remain alert, especially when something seems overwhelmingly important, as this is when one is most likely to be trapped. Even the highest ideal, if clung to excessively, can lead to a fall. Using the example of a story about Ramana Maharshi and an enlightened cow, the speaker illustrates how we get caught in narratives and concepts. He points out that the story itself is just a story and should not be given more importance than it deserves. Our tendency to project ideas of hierarchy and specialty, such as considering the cow special, is a trick of the mind. Ramana's compassion was for all beings, not just one. This illustrates how we get trapped by words and the stories associated with them, reacting based on pre-conditioned notions rather than seeing the reality behind them. The fundamental mistake is not in the past but in the present moment's lack of awareness.