Acharya Prashant explains that it is a fallacy to think we perceive the world as it is, for instance, just seeing a tree, a car, or the color green. He states that we do not see things; we see meanings. This happens because we sense a certain meaninglessness about ourselves, an inner emptiness that we do not like and want to fill with meanings derived from the external world. The speaker clarifies that the world in itself has no inherent meaning. The grass is just grass, and the sky is just the sky. We, as perceivers, imbue, load, and superimpose meaning onto objects. This meaning is not an inherent property of the object but is projected by us. If we were to admit that an object has no meaning, it would become useless for our psychological needs and lose its attraction. Therefore, it becomes critical for us to keep assuming that meaning resides in the object, which he calls a 'self-hatched conspiracy against the self.' Consequently, the world itself is not the cause of misery; rather, our perception and interpretation of the world are. Citing the sage Ashtavakra, he explains that it's not about finding a better interpretation, as any interpretation is self-serving. The very act of interpreting is harmful because it arises from our need to seek fulfillment through an object. This need stems from the root delusion of 'I am incomplete.' When our defining statement is 'I am unfulfilled,' we will inevitably use the world to seek fulfillment, projecting meanings onto it that reflect our own inner emptiness.