Acharya Prashant explains that every human being is born 'little,' meaning they are born into a state of mental conditioning and automaticity. For the first several years of life, a child lacks an internal locus of control or the capacity for self-observation because the brain is not yet physically mature enough to support a watching consciousness. During this period, one cannot be blamed for being conditioned. However, as the brain matures around the age of eight to ten, the capacity for free will and self-reflection emerges. From this point onward, an individual becomes responsible for their own liberation. While we are born with a tendency to accumulate further conditioning, the failure to strive for freedom is a personal responsibility.