In response to a question about who God is and why He created the world, Acharya Prashant explains that while people may not be interested in Truth or Brahman, everyone is interested in God, and religion is often associated with this concept. The common definition of God is the one who created the creation. However, Vedanta immediately asks, "For whom is this creation?" The creation exists because "I" experience it. Therefore, the creation is for the one who experiences it. The speaker clarifies that creation comprises two aspects: the seer (drashta) and the seen (drishya), or the experiencer (anubhokta) and the object of experience (bhogya vishay). The collective term for these two is Prakriti (Nature). The only law that governs Prakriti is causality, the law of cause and effect. There is no external controller of Prakriti. The speaker asserts that the creator of the world is not God, but the ego (ahankaar) itself. The world is a projection of the ego, which is why everyone's world is different. The ego is the doer (karta) and the creator. The concept of God as a creator and controller is a psychological invention born out of fear and a need to blame our actions on an external power. In contrast, the ultimate reality, Truth (Satya), is beyond creation and action; it is silent and complete. Acharya Prashant redefines a theist as one who is loyal to Truth, and an atheist as one who lacks curiosity for Truth, noting that many conventionally religious people are, in this sense, atheists. He connects this to the path of liberation (mukti). The ego, as the doer, performs actions (karma). An ignorant doer's actions are driven by desire (sakam karma), leading to bondage in the cycle of existence (bhav-chakra). Conversely, a self-realized doer performs desireless action (nishkam karma), which leads to liberation. Therefore, liberation is ultimately attained through the path of knowledge (gyaan). The highest spiritual ideal is not heaven or post-death salvation, but liberation in this very life (jivan-mukti). The worship of God or the Goddess (Devi) is essentially the worship of Prakriti, which means to understand life and its workings closely. True prayer is simply silence.
