Acharya Prashant begins by asking the young audience whether they want to be ruled by the world or live free lives. When the audience chooses freedom, he explains that this very freedom is at the core of Vedanta. The goal of Vedanta is not happiness, pleasure, riches, fame, or social acceptance, but freedom. Such pure and absolute freedom is called liberation. He states that one cannot be liberated without self-knowledge. The speaker then connects this lack of self-knowledge to the problems people face, such as toxic relationships and being hurt by others. He explains that when we are hurt, bloated up, or punctured by others' words or actions, it is because we lack self-knowledge. For instance, an entire day can be ruined by an offensive message. Similarly, people choose bad courses, get into shady jobs, or end up in bad relationships because they listen too much to others. This listening becomes a compulsion when one does not know oneself, just as one is forced to ask for directions when lost. He gives an example from his own JEE counseling day, where students, unsure of what to choose, would simply follow what others were doing. Acharya Prashant further elaborates that being vulnerable to praise makes one equally vulnerable to insults. Praise acts as a password, opening the doors of the mind to all kinds of influences. If someone can lift your mood with praise, they have also been licensed to sink your mood with insults. He advises that if someone praises you beyond your worth, you should become cautious, as they are not your friend. A true friend would stop you if you are doing something wrong, not support you. To be insult-proof, one must first be ignorance-proof. Self-knowledge is the fundamental requirement for every normal person. Without it, one is like a dead object or a puppet controlled by circumstances and societal forces. A truly alive person has an unchangeable inner core—the Self, the Truth, or Atma—that remains untouched by the external world.