Acharya Prashant explains that since the root of everything is the same, any genuine inquiry, regardless of its starting point, will lead to the root. He chooses to begin with the topic of humor and laughter, explaining that there are two distinct types of laughter that arise from two different points within us. The first and more common type of laughter arises when one is pleased and one's desires are fulfilled. This is the laughter of the ego's satisfaction. The ego, feeling incomplete and hard-pressed, gets a temporary impression of fulfillment when something happens, and then one laughs. The second type of laughter, however, arises not from the fulfillment of desire, but from observing desire itself. It is a laughter that comes from seeing the contradictions and absurdity of the desirous life. This requires a certain distance. The speaker notes that jokes are a factual representation of our life, which is the biggest joke. One finds it difficult to laugh when the joke is on them because it becomes humiliating rather than pleasing. The first kind of laughter occurs because one is attached to oneself, while the second kind occurs because one is witnessing oneself. This second laughter is purposeless, reasonless, and detached; it is a laughter in freedom from oneself and a laughter of gratitude, not dependent on satisfaction. In this state, there is no difference between laughter and tears. It comes from the right center. The speaker mentions that the expression of a saint is either a gentle smile or gentle remorse, neither of which is for himself. He is not burdened by personal concerns but by the state of the world, as exemplified by Kabir Saheb. A smile can be a deadly weapon, a smirk that wounds, or it can be a balm that heals. Therefore, one should not worry about what is happening through them, but rather about where they are located. If one is at the feet of the Truth, whatever happens through them will be the right thing. The more one is occupied with self-concerns, the more it is certain they are trying to manage on their own, which is a sign of being separate from the Truth.
