Acharya Prashant explains that in spirituality, knowledge specifically refers to self-knowledge, which is the understanding of one's own consciousness. He notes that while worldly ignorance is the absence of information, spiritual ignorance is actually false knowledge—the incorrect belief that one is the physical body or the five elements. This false identification is the root of all bondage. He argues that if humans were merely physical bodies, they would find complete satisfaction in animalistic functions like eating and sleeping. However, the human restlessness and the constant urge for liberation and progress prove that the self is distinct from the material body. The speaker describes the Vedantic process of negation, where one systematically rejects identification with the physical and mental realms. Since bondage exists only because the mind accepts it, liberation is achieved by withdrawing that acceptance. When a seeker asks what remains after negating the elements, Shri Ashtavakra defines the self as the conscious witness or pure consciousness. This state of being is independent and does not rely on any external objects or associations for its existence. To be liberated is to realize oneself as this non-dual, pure consciousness that remains unaffected by the material world.