Acharya Prashant explains that the individual soul (Jivatma) is endowed with nature (Prakriti). To be endowed means to be in union with. The individual soul is in union with the three-gunas (qualities) of nature. Therefore, the individual soul is endowed with the gunas. If the individual soul is the ego (Aham), then the ego is an element of nature. This concept is most beautifully discussed in the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, where Shri Krishna explains the three-gunas of nature and states that the ego is also an element of nature. Using an analogy, the speaker describes nature as the mother and the universe as her house. The ego is the child born in this house. The mother's wish is for her child to go beyond the house—that is, beyond nature—and achieve something higher, which is liberation (Mukti). Through the child's liberation, the mother, nature itself, also finds liberation. Nature is a good mother who wants her child to go out and achieve something great. However, the child, having been raised in the comfort of the house, becomes accustomed to its wonderful things. The child, which is the ego, becomes addicted to the things within the house, which are the three gunas: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Instead of using these gunas as a ladder to transcend nature, the child refuses to leave, saying, "Mommy, I won't go out. It's fine here." This is the condition of all of us. We are enjoying ourselves in nature's house, indulging in Sattva in the morning, Rajas in the afternoon, and Tamas at night. We are like the unworthy son who, instead of seeking liberation, remains confined. By forming a wrong relationship with the elements of nature, we turn nature into Maya (illusion). Nature itself is not Maya; we make it so. The body is a special room given by nature for the development of consciousness, a tool to go beyond. Time is constantly passing, like a drumbeat of departure. The speaker quotes Kabir and Pink Floyd's song "Time" to emphasize that the signal to start the journey—the starting gun—has been given, but we have missed it. He also refers to the mystic poet Lalleshwari, who expressed the urgency of earning the fare for the boatman to cross over before the day of life ends. This highlights the need to use our time and resources to achieve liberation, which is the very purpose for which nature created us.
