Acharya Prashant addresses the question of why lust (Vaasna) is condemned in spirituality, even though it is the process through which everyone is born. He begins by deconstructing the assumptions hidden within the question. The first assumption is that physical birth is an inherently auspicious event, and the second is that we are our bodies. He explains that the questioner's logic is based on these flawed premises: since we are not wrong, and we are born from lust, then lust cannot be wrong. The speaker clarifies that the body is born of lust, but we are not the body. The belief that 'I am the body' is the fundamental cause of suffering. He contrasts the worldly perspective with the spiritual one. For a worldly person who identifies with the body, the most significant event is the physical arrival of a being, their birth. However, for a wise person, the truly auspicious event is not physical arrival but mental departure from the world, which is liberation (Mukti). Spirituality is not about celebrating arrival but about striving for a final farewell from the cycle of birth and death. The worldly, body-identified person remains trapped in this cycle, driven by nature's impulse to propagate the species. Spirituality, on the other hand, recognizes this cycle as flawed and seeks a way out. The speaker uses an analogy to illustrate this point: the body is like a car, and consciousness is the driver. Lust is the obsession with the car (the body) while forgetting the driver (consciousness) and the destination. A person suffering from the disease of lust sees only the body, not the consciousness within. The body is merely a vehicle, and the driver must use it to reach the destination. He further explains that any desire for material things is a form of lust, which is the belief that matter can provide ultimate fulfillment. The problem is not the body itself, but considering it the ultimate reality. Ultimately, Acharya Prashant asserts that we are not the product of lust. The body is born of lust, but our true self, the Atman or consciousness, is unborn and undying. He quotes the Upanishads, 'Aham Brahmasmi' (I am Brahman), to emphasize that the Atman neither takes birth nor dies. Therefore, what is born is not our true self. The excitement over the body's birth is misplaced. A truly awakened society would celebrate not the birth of a child, but the moment an individual attains understanding and liberation. In a society that worships the body, those who move towards liberation will face obstacles, not congratulations, because the worship of the body is in opposition to the Atman.
