Acharya Prashant explains the paradoxical nature of the divine as described in the Isha Upanishad, which states that it is both far and near. He clarifies that these are not mere poetic flights of fancy but profound observations of human life and consciousness. Something appears 'far' when it demands constant effort, time, and method to reach, yet remains perpetually unreachable. He points out that human life is a continuous movement of chasing goals, yet even after achieving material success, the individual remains hollow and thirsty. This indicates that what we truly want is not what we are chasing; we are merely pursuing proxies and substitutes like degrees, money, or relationships that fail to deliver lasting fulfillment. He emphasizes that the Rishi of the Upanishad speaks from a state of honest observation and a still mind, rather than mental imagination. The mind's habitual pattern of running and wanting prevents it from seeing that the goal is already present. Acharya Prashant suggests that the sense of 'farness' is maintained by the ego, which seeks the credit of achievement and the pleasure of the chase. When the mind pauses and stops its restless movement, it finds that what it sought was never distant. He concludes that while animals live in a state of natural settlement, humans live in self-imposed stress and inadequacy. The choice of whether the ultimate truth is near or far depends entirely on the individual's willingness to stop the chase and be honest with themselves.