A questioner asks Acharya Prashant about his statement that there is no ultimate liberation while alive and that even awakened people must remain constantly vigilant, otherwise they can become victims of illusion (maya). The questioner has seen many so-called awakened people slip and is afraid for Acharya Prashant. They ask him to explain how one would know if he himself were to slip. Acharya Prashant appreciates the direct question and explains that maya is that which shows you what is not and hides what is. The very existence of the ego is maya. It is easy to be swayed because maya makes you experience things about yourself and the world that are neither factual nor true. Maya works on gurus by making them feel they are extraordinary beings with special, divine powers, which they are not. This is an intoxication, partly self-induced and partly reinforced by devotees, where they start believing their own specialness. The mind's nature is such that if you hear a lie a thousand times, you start believing it. He then lists the signs of a guru slipping. If he starts making claims of being a special incarnation, that his 'darshan' (sight) can wash away sins, or that his touch can heal broken bones, it means he has slipped. If he claims to be the Atma (Self) and can leave his body to be in multiple places at once, he has fallen. He emphasizes that he too is a being of the earth and will return to it, and forgetting this is the work of maya. Such gurus make foolish and deceitful claims with great confidence, which the superstitious and timid public often believes without question. Acharya Prashant advises that the test for a true teacher is to see if they speak against the laws of nature and science. Anyone who does so is in a great delusion, believing they are above nature. He urges listeners to question everything. The tradition of Vedanta is one of dialogue and discussion, not blind faith. He points out that modern gurus use a whole ecology of effects—elaborate sets, music, grand clothes, stories of divine experiences—to hypnotize the audience. If a teacher asks you to believe something just because they said it, or claims to be a new avatar with a new religion, one should walk away. The relationship should be based on mutual respect for intelligence and consciousness, where the listener is encouraged to understand before believing.