Acharya Prashant addresses the question of whether science or the Upanishads can best explain human existence. He clarifies that science does not even look into these questions, as its domain is exclusively the objective world. Science is concerned with the object, not the subject. The subject, he explains, is the ego or the 'I'. All existence is for the ego, for the one who experiences its own existence. To illustrate this, he uses the example of being in a coma or unconscious. In such a state, the body, as an object, is still functional, and others can verify its existence. However, the person themselves does not experience their own existence. This shows that existence is fundamentally tied to consciousness. At the center of all consciousness is the 'I-sense' or the 'I-ego'. Since science does not investigate this 'I-ego', it is futile to expect it to answer questions about the purpose of existence or the cause of human restlessness. The Upanishads, on the other hand, are the definitive source for these answers. The ego is the central topic of their inquiry. Even though the knowledge contained in the Upanishads is called 'Brahmavidya' (knowledge of the Absolute), they essentially explore the nature of the Self. He concludes that while science is indispensable for understanding the material world and one's surroundings, if one is interested in knowing oneself and leading a healthy, liberated life, it is the Upanishads that one must turn to.
