Acharya Prashant explains that pleasing oneself is not an example of self-love, but rather an example of a lack of self-knowledge. He asserts that one cannot have self-love without self-knowledge. It is a great misconception that making yourself happy is an act of loving yourself. Love does not bother with happiness; it bothers with rightness and elevation. Self-gratification fattens the self, whereas self-elevation dissolves the self. Using an analogy, he explains that a fat man might not mind getting a little fatter, but would be angered if told to lose a significant amount of weight. Similarly, while we understand the need for reduction when it comes to the body, we do not appreciate that it is mostly important to reduce the ego, which always wants more accumulation. Self-love is described as an exercise in reduction, not further accumulation. This principle applies to love for others as well as for oneself. Real love is always tough, while false love is lucrative, charming, and romantic, but it is hardly love. Real love is likened to a sculptor carving a beautiful work of art from an unseemly rock; the rock must suffer the hits of the sculptor's tools to be transformed. Helping one's own life or another's take a beautiful shape is the essence of love. One must clearly appreciate the difference between pleasure and welfare. That which pleases you is not necessarily in your welfare; mostly, it fattens, spoils, and degrades you. One must be very cautious of pleasure and its 'elder brother,' happiness. Pleasure is defined as receiving very physical, carnal gratification, which animals also experience. Happiness is a little higher than pleasure; it is experienced when one's aims are achieved or when something happens according to one's desired image. However, neither the pursuit of pleasure nor the chase of happiness can be called self-love, as they are never sufficient or final and always leave you craving for more. Self-love is an exercise in intelligence. It involves asking what will provide deep, long-lasting contentment and what will elevate you from the desire for the futile. Self-love is about gifting yourself the highest possible, which is not contained in pleasure or happiness.