Acharya Prashant explains the Upanishadic verse, "Nayamātmā balahīnena labhyo," which means the Self cannot be attained by the weak. He asserts that strength is essential because, without it, one will be swept away by Prakriti (nature), which he likens to a powerful storm. A person without strength is like a straw, tossed about aimlessly. This is not just about external nature but the inner Prakriti, one's own Maya (illusion), which has immense power and has been dictating the course of one's life since the beginning of time. If one does not exhibit strength, this inner nature will continue to control them. For Prakriti, an individual is like a single drop in a vast ocean; the ocean does not care for the individual wishes of the drop. Since birth, a person is caught in the cycles of their human qualities and will live and die according to them, just as billions have before. This is the relentless flow of Prakriti. For those who lack the strength to counter this flow, only a natural, animalistic existence is possible. The Upanishads state that the Self is not for the weak. For those without strength, there is no Self, only the body and its related tendencies. The strength required is not merely physical or intellectual but an inner mettle, the strength of the Self (Atmabal). This is the power that enables one to swim against the current of Prakriti and reach the shore, which represents the Self. This is why one who is established in the Self (Atmastha) is also described as being detached or neutral (Tatastha), meaning one who stands on the shore, separate from the flow. Acharya Prashant distinguishes between willpower (ichha-shakti) and the strength of the Self (Atmabal). Willpower is used to fulfill desires that exist within the flow of Prakriti. In contrast, Atmabal is the strength to recognize the futility of these small desires and move towards something greater, to break free from the flow of Prakriti itself. Spirituality, therefore, is not for the weak, timid, or cowardly. It demands immense valor (parakram). A spiritual person must be so powerful that their inner weaknesses, their inner enemies like lust and anger, tremble before them. A coward is one who does not even enter the battle against their own nature. The one who conquers their own nature is truly victorious (Indrajit).