Acharya Prashant addresses the question of why people engage in self-harming behavior even when they are aware of the consequences. He begins by stating that nobody engages in self-harm knowing fully well that the action will lead to harm. Whatever a person does, they do it for the sake of happiness or pleasure. This is the fundamental nature of human beings. The idea that someone is fully aware of the negative consequences and still proceeds is a flawed premise. The speaker explains that the words "must" and "should" do not work in the domain of nature (Prakriti) and the body. The body has its own ancient mechanism and design, which we share with the jungle, like monkeys and bananas. We are quite helpless when it comes to this design. However, human beings have a peculiar consciousness that not only seeks liberation but can also attain it within their lifespan. What is called self-harm is actually just an attempt towards liberation that has gone wrong. The person was trying something they thought would work out, but it didn't, and it resulted in harm. Acharya Prashant expands the definition of self-harm beyond just visible actions like substance abuse or staying in toxic relationships. He explains that self-harm is making a bad choice thinking it is good, or entering a harmful relationship in the first place. It is having a borrowed concept of life. The realized ones have said that self-harm is taking birth as a deluded human being. We are born greatly vulnerable to self-harm, and the usual decisions we make will be towards it. Sometimes the bitter consequences are revealed, and sometimes they remain hidden until death. Patronizing one's ego, false freedom, or saying "I know what to do" are all forms of self-harm. Being a slave to others' opinions or even to one's own thoughts and desires is also self-harm. The actor is always consciousness. The crucial question is who or what is counseling that actor. If consciousness appoints the body, conditioning, education, past experiences, or its own fancies as its advisor, then it will choose wrongly, and that is self-harm. Spirituality calls this state "impure consciousness" or "conditioned consciousness," which is consciousness fettered to the body. To know if one is in bondage, one can look for signs like repetitive behavior, having urges similar to animals (for food, shelter, pleasure, sex, territory), or experiencing suffering. Acknowledging this suffering is the first step. The solution lies in good companionship, being with wise people and good books, and seeing how their way of life differs from one's own. This comparison reveals one's bondages.