Acharya Prashant addresses the common misconception that spirituality requires sacrificing material desires and living an ascetic life, which deters many people habituated to consumption. He clarifies that spiritual terms like renunciation, sacrifice, and asceticism do not mean giving up what is genuinely useful for one's wellness and upliftment. Renunciation, he explains, is about letting go of what is not helpful, while sacrifice is the act of giving up something of lower value for something higher. Asceticism is the wisdom to not possess what is not useful for reaching one's goal. He uses the example of a petrol vehicle not consuming diesel to illustrate this point, noting that even an unconscious machine knows the basics of asceticism. The speaker argues that the problem is not consumption itself but "mad and blind consumption" of things that offer no real benefit. Since the material body requires sustenance, consumption is unavoidable. The critical questions are what to consume and how much. Spiritual wisdom, described as elevated common sense, guides one to avoid consuming things that are poisonous, even if they appear attractive. When understood correctly, these spiritual concepts are not threatening but inviting and smart, with sacrifice being a wise investment in one's higher self. Acharya Prashant further explains that the issue of consumption has two dimensions: external and internal. The external dimension relates to environmental problems like climate change. Even if technology could solve these external issues, the internal problem would persist. This internal issue is the false belief that consumption can resolve inner disquiet, a belief that keeps one inwardly sick. Since all consumption is ultimately for one's welfare, the focus should be on measuring welfare itself, not just the quantity of goods consumed. He criticizes the tendency to measure economic growth by consumption levels without questioning whether this consumption truly benefits people. Finally, he introduces the Vedantic perspective, which centers on the fundamental question, "For whom?" All actions, including production and consumption, are performed by the 'I' for the sake of the 'I'. Therefore, responsible consumption and production necessitate knowing who this 'I'—the consumer and producer—truly is. This inquiry is Self-knowledge (Atma-gyan). Without this core understanding, global initiatives like the UN's sustainable development goals are bound to fail because they do not address the central question of who is responsible and for whose welfare. The allure of the consumed object often makes one forget to look at the consumer, which is oneself. True responsibility begins with knowing the self.
