A student expresses his lack of courage and fear, which he believes stems from an inferiority complex about his short stature. This feeling originated from his inability to join the army due to height criteria, leading to a deep-seated body-consciousness. He asks for practical ways to overcome this and to ensure his social choices are conscious decisions, not driven by fear. Acharya Prashant explains that the body is merely a covering of dust or matter (Prakriti) over the Self (Atma). The root of all fear is this very body-consciousness. To be fearless, one must be free from this identification with the body. Body-consciousness is synonymous with materialism and a tendency for indulgence. The more importance one gives to external matter, the more one values the body, and where there is attachment to the body and indulgence, fear is inevitable. The speaker points out that associating self-respect with the body is a mistake because the body, like all matter, is transient and ultimately insignificant. He gives the example of a tall person stooping with age. He states that all material things, whether it's one's height, bank account, or car, are fundamentally on the same plane of matter, which can never be truly 'big.' The punishment for identifying with matter is to always feel small and lacking. He also distinguishes between attraction and beauty, stating that true beauty lies in auspiciousness (Shivatva), not in the physical form. A face might be attractive, but it is not beautiful without this inner quality. He compares this to a venomous snake, which is often very colorful and attractive, urging the choice of beauty over mere attraction. For practical steps, Acharya Prashant advises diminishing the body's importance. When the body makes demands for sleep, decoration, or indulgence, one must assert their separateness and tell it to be quiet, declaring, 'You (the body) are not me; I am different from you.' The relationship with the body should be one of utility, not identity. The body is a cage, and one should not be sad that the cage is not attractive. The world is like filth; one should have a functional relationship with it but not place it on a pedestal. The head should only bow before the Truth, not before anything in the world.