Acharya Prashant comments on a Zen story about a nun named Eshun who, after receiving a secret love letter from a monk, openly challenges him to embrace her in front of everyone. He explains that this story is about acknowledgment. He posits that there are two fundamental approaches to life and spirituality: attainment and acknowledgment. The path of attainment is based on the belief that you lack something and must go after it. In contrast, the path of acknowledgment is realizing you already possess what you seek, and all that is left is to acknowledge it. Using the analogy of a diamond, he illustrates that one can either feel it is lost and search for it outside (attainment) or realize it is already in the house and simply acknowledge its presence with gratitude. The entire game of suffering and the thirst for spiritual attainment is about this acknowledgment. We do not need to find, realize, or attain anything; we just have to say, "Yes, I have it." This is not a mere verbal statement but a loud, internal declaration. However, there is a taboo against saying "I have it," as it is often mistaken for ego. The speaker asserts that the spiritual one is the most arrogant, declaring not just "I have it," but "I am it," referencing the Upanishadic statement, "Aham Brahmasmi" (I am Brahman). He further explains that love, realization, and other matters of the heart are not meant to be hidden; they demand expression. He quotes Kabir Saheb, who said that while the Lord is in every body, he bows down to the body in which the Lord finds expression. The purpose of life is not attainment but expression of the Self. To block this expression is to block the heart itself. If love is real, it will naturally express itself through one's entire beingātheir glance, walk, choices, and actions. To live a double life or to be afraid of expressing what is true within is hypocrisy. The declaration of what is true within is the only thing that matters, and this declaration itself brings the sureness that one seeks.
