Acharya Prashant addresses the question "Temple or School?" by stating that the questioner is forcing a choice. He explains that he follows the Upanishads, which teach that for a human being's complete progress, both 'Vidya' (spiritual knowledge) and 'Avidya' (worldly knowledge) are necessary. He defines 'Vidya' as the knowledge through which one understands the reality of one's mind and life, the inner truth, and the reasons for the mind's sadness, longing, and restlessness. This, he says, is the domain of the temple, which is a gateway to go beyond, where spirituality, whose external form is Dharma, flourishes. 'Avidya' is defined as the knowledge of external, material, and worldly subjects like mathematics, science, sociology, physics, geography, languages, and economics. This is what is taught in schools, colleges, and universities. Quoting the Upanishads, he states that a person engrossed only in 'Avidya' will fall into deep darkness. However, one who worships only 'Vidya' will fall into even deeper darkness. The Upanishads further state that one who knows both 'Vidya' and 'Avidya' together crosses over death through 'Avidya' and attains immortality through 'Vidya'. This means both are needed. Therefore, both temples and schools are necessary. Physical knowledge cannot be obtained from a temple, and spiritual knowledge cannot be obtained from a school. The two factions, one advocating only for temples and the other only for schools, are both mistaken and do not understand the matter. If there are only schools and no temples, a state of great distraction will arise because the citizens produced will know much about the external world but will be ignorant of their inner selves. Their lives will be staggering, blind, and full of tension. Conversely, in societies where temples are emphasized but not schools, the teachings in the temples will not be understood by anyone. This is because to understand spirituality and one's own life and mind, one must first understand the objects of the mind, which is the world. Without understanding the subjects of the mind, it is very difficult to understand the mind itself. Acharya Prashant concludes that a healthy society requires both. A temple should be such that it uses the physical knowledge from schools to advance spirituality, and schools should be based on the values provided by temples. He laments the current tragedy where these two fields are separated. This separation has created a situation where people in high positions are spiritually uneducated, and those in the spiritual field are often uneducated about worldly matters, leading to the spread of superstition. This division is harmful to both the individual and society.