Acharya Prashant explains that one cannot run away from nature (Prakriti) and the world (Sansaar). However, nature and the world cannot be the ultimate thing for you. You can neither escape them, nor can they be your final destination. You cannot escape your body, so how can you escape the world? Your body itself is the world. Anyone who thinks they can renounce the world is essentially saying they can live outside their body, which is impossible. This is the human condition: you cannot get out of the body, and in the body, you find suffering (dukh). For this reason, a profound truth has been stated. There is something—call it the source (srot), the origin (udgam), the Self (Atma), the Supreme Self (Paramatma), or Truth (Satya). The entire stream of time and the world emerges from it and dissolves back into it. It exists even when the world has not manifested and will exist even when the world dissolves. This is the real thing, and its name is liberation (mukti) and peace (shanti). Peace is not found within the things of the world; this is your practical experience. When you seek peace in worldly things, you face disappointment. However, it is not said that the Supreme Self is somewhere outside or far away from the world. It is said that it is in every fiber of the world—in the beginning, the middle, and the end. Liberation and peace are not in the things of the world, yet they have a very strong relationship with the world. You will find liberation either by reaching the beginning of all things in the world or by reaching the end of all things in the world. The world is not useless; it should be used as a medium, like a bridge (pul). You don't build a house on a bridge. On one hand, you must disdain the bridge, saying you won't build a house on it. On the other hand, the bridge is the most useful and respectable thing because you can only cross it by using it. Life is like that bridge; it may be long, but it is not infinite and will break one day. Use it quickly to get to the other side. If you build a house on the bridge, you will regret it. There are two mistakes one can make. One is to forget that you are trapped on the bridge and start building a house on it. The other is to keep complaining that the bridge is terrible and never use it to cross. Both lead to death. The world is where you are trapped, but it is also the path. The world is like a bridge; whether it is good or bad depends on you. If you know how to use it, there is nothing better than the bridge. If you are a fool, there is nothing worse. The journey of life is purposeful. It is a journey of liberation. You must not stop until you reach the end—the end of your pain, suffering, and afflictions. That end is also called Paramatma. Believing in the end of your suffering is theism (aastikta).
