Acharya Prashant explains the spiritual progression through four stages: listening, thinking, meditation, and concentration (samadhi). Listening is defined as the physical and sensual act of receiving words and their import. Thinking involves critically examining what has been heard to ensure it is logical, factual, and consistent with reason. Once a concept passes the test of reason and becomes indubitable, it leads to meditation, which is the exclusive attention of the mind on the truth. He emphasizes that truth requires one's total resources; even a small distraction can abort the pursuit of truth because truth demands everything, whereas worldly matters can survive on very little.
