Acharya Prashant responds to the question of whether one should stop enjoying life due to the fear of death. He sarcastically agrees, pointing out that the questioner's face does not reflect joy. He clarifies that spirituality is not about spoiling fun but about attaining the "ultimate fun" (param maze). Spirituality exists precisely because people are unable to find true joy, as evidenced by their miserable faces. If they were truly happy, the sages would not have needed to write voluminous scriptures. He defines a sage (Rishi) as one who seeks tremendous fun, a level of joy we are unaware of. We mistakenly think sages renounce fun, but they experience a much greater pleasure. He calls spirituality the "science of supreme pleasure-seeking." The joy of a sage is so profound that it cannot be described by ordinary words for happiness like 'khushi' or 'harsh'. Instead, scriptures use terms like 'samadhisth' (attained samadhi), 'atmasth' (established in the Self), and 'anandit' (blissful) to describe their state. Our happiness is mere 'bhukti' (consumption), while theirs is 'yukti' (union). The speaker explains that the sages' immense joy comes from remembering the very truths that make ordinary people uncomfortable, such as the transient nature of the body. He is not trying to take away small pleasures but to offer a much greater joy. Our current state is one of receiving a little fun followed by a lot of punishment (saza). Therefore, what we are truly getting is not even a little fun, but punishment. Remembering death is the way to this ultimate joy. It is not a threat but an awakening. Death is certain, and its timing is unknown, which means it can come at any moment. This constant awareness makes one live with alertness. It compels a person to do only what is most important and discard all trivialities. Instead of living as if one has thousands of years and postponing joy, one lives as if only two moments are left. This leads to desireless action (nishkam karma), where one finds joy in the present action without attachment to future results. To attain the highest, one must pay the highest price in one go, which means renouncing all inner bondages. This one-time payment frees one from the cycle of karma.
