Acharya Prashant explains that if a situation truly feels bad, one would leave it. He states that no one knowingly does anything that goes against their own happiness. While an observer might perceive someone's actions as foolish and leading to sorrow, the person performing the action believes they are moving towards happiness. Similarly, if one gets entangled with others and is hurt by their words, it is because they are deriving some form of pleasure from it, such as a sense of companionship. When one stops finding pleasure in such dynamics, they will naturally be free from them. The speaker emphasizes that these are matters of personal choice. He dismisses the need for various methods, using an analogy of a person who has eyes but dishonestly pretends not to see a handkerchief right in front of them. For such a person, the issue is not a lack of ability but a lack of right intention, or dishonesty. He argues that most spiritual methods in the market are merely ways to hide one's bad intentions. People use these methods as an excuse, claiming to be trying to overcome flaws like greed while continuing to indulge in them. This allows them to enjoy their vices and simultaneously gain the pleasure of being seen as a seeker, thus avoiding moral guilt. For such dishonesty, Acharya Prashant asserts that knowledge is useless; what is needed is a jolt, which he metaphorically calls a 'stick' (danda). He claims that most people are not blind but dishonest, not asleep but pretending to be. The role of a true teacher is not to offer more methods but to make one aware of their actual suffering. Spirituality is for those who realize that the entire game of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain is flawed, as pleasure and pain are inseparable. He advises that by being cautious of one's pleasures, the associated sorrows will automatically diminish.
