Acharya Prashant responds to a 22-year-old IIM Calcutta student who, despite his achievements, feels restless and competitive. The student asks how to be externally engaged yet internally centered, a state he describes as being 'established in nature' externally and 'established in the Self' internally. Acharya Prashant begins by stating that there is no formula for this, but what the student is doing—listening to his words—is an important step. He advises keeping the right company and not allowing the external world to determine one's center. He specifically addresses the environment at institutions like the IIMs, warning that much of what happens there is designed to become one's internal master. The system itself, he explains, is constructed to enslave individuals both externally and internally, wanting them to accept it as their ultimate authority. Recounting his own experience at IIM Ahmedabad, Acharya Prashant shares that his greatest achievement was to "defy the system." He clarifies that this defiance did not mean being a poor student; he was a good student who did what was required but did not let the institution become his soul. He advises the student to follow the external rules of the system but to prevent it from entering and dominating his inner being. This requires vigilance and a form of passive resistance. He warns against letting companies and placements become one's god, as he has seen happen on campus where even an ordinary HR executive is treated like a deity. One must maintain their dignity and not bow their head, spine, or gaze to anyone. He emphasizes that one should go to such places to learn, not to be sold. Most people, he notes, are concerned with the admissions and placement offices because their primary goal is to be sold at a high price, and their interest in the classroom is limited to what helps them achieve that. He urges the student to have a private, inner space untouched by the world and not to make everything a public commodity. He concludes by reiterating that the purpose is to express what is true and necessary, not just to gain worldly benefits. He shares that his involvement in theatre was a medium to express the important things that needed to be said.
