In response to a question about the 'braid-cutting ghost', Acharya Prashant explains that both the one who grows the braid and the one who cuts it are ghosts. He states that everything is a ghost. He questions who taught girls to grow braids and boys not to, identifying the source of this teaching as the ghost. Acharya Prashant defines a 'ghost' (bhoot) as that which has passed, the past (ateet). He elaborates that all our actions are based on what we have learned from the past. For example, a girl is taught from birth that she must have long hair. He asserts that everything we do is taught by ghosts, and questions if anyone does anything new or original. Our teachers, he says, are all ghosts, spirits, and witches from whom we have learned. We are merely repeating what has been happening for ages, even from the time of historical figures like Aurangzeb. To illustrate his point, he recalls a visit to a government office where the official language and titles were remnants from the time of Todar Mal, Akbar's finance minister. He explains that the 'ghost' of Todar Mal, from centuries ago, still dictates the administrative system today, showing how we are all operating based on the teachings of ghosts. Whatever we do, we do it based on the teachings of ghosts. Furthermore, he explains that the one who cuts the braid is also a ghost, because the ghost of the past sometimes changes its name to 'future'. He gives an example of a traditional girl with long hair, controlled by the 'ghosts' of tradition. When she moves to a modern city, she is told to 'look forward to the future' and encounters a different set of ghosts who influence her to cut her hair. This 'future' then determines her appearance and conduct. The tragedy of human life, he concludes, is being controlled either by the ghost of the past or the ghost of the future. A person is either operated from behind by the past or from the front by the future.
