Acharya Prashant explains that understanding is not a mental accumulation of information or thoughts. He asserts that the mind is constantly changing, and therefore, any claim of 'having understood' something is merely the creation of a mental image or a concept. True understanding is not something that can be reasoned out or conceptualized; rather, it is characterized by the absence of disturbance and agitation. When the mind is in a state of understanding, it is relaxed and floating freely, which is the only symptom of being in a right state. He emphasizes that awareness cannot be known through logic or cause-and-effect reasoning, but only through the presence of calmness. He further discusses the limitations of science in determining the causes of events, noting that science operates within closed systems and assumptions. In life, there are no boundaries, and every event is the result of an infinite chain of occurrences spanning the entire universe. Therefore, one can never truly know the absolute cause of any situation. Acharya Prashant highlights that understanding is always total and holistic, unlike scientific knowledge which can be fragmented. In life, one cannot understand one aspect, such as love, without understanding another, such as joy. The only true proof of understanding is one's state of being and the presence of peace, rather than words, confidence, or intellectual conviction.
