Acharya Prashant explains that the ego persists because we identify with it as our very self rather than seeing it as external filth. We fear that if the layers of ego are removed, we will cease to exist, much like peeling an onion until nothing remains. This fear of non-existence compels us to cling to the ego. He distinguishes between 'incomplete ego,' which seeks to attach itself to things for security, and 'complete ego,' which is self-contained and does not feel the need to cling. Our attachments are like a magnet and iron—joined on the outside but maintaining separate identities, always capable of being pulled apart. True love and transformation, he argues, require dissolution rather than mere attachment. He uses the analogy of breath: some air enters and leaves, maintaining its separate identity, while another part stays and becomes life-force (prana). To truly live, one must be willing to dissolve and lose their separate identity. He warns against the hardness of the ego, which acts like a shield against life. While we think being 'tough' protects us from betrayal, it actually makes us brittle like glass. He encourages being like water—flexible and soft—so that even if struck, one remains unharmed and whole. He concludes that it is better to be cheated or hurt multiple times than to lose the capacity to trust and remain open to life.