Acharya Prashant explains that shame is not a biological trait but a taught phenomenon unique to humans, arising from the creation of a 'God concept' within consciousness. While other creatures exist in harmony with their essence because their 'God' remains deep and unapproachable, man attempts to unearth this essence and bring it into the realm of thought and imagination. By doing so, man creates an idealized, special version of God based on human dimensions like achievement, power, and beauty. This idealized God becomes an impossible benchmark against which man constantly compares himself, leading to an inevitable sense of failure, frustration, and shame. Acharya Prashant argues that the harder one tries to reach this self-defined, infinite target, the more one feels defeated, as the margin of defeat remains infinite regardless of effort. The speaker suggests that all human systems, including education and civilization, are built on this foundation of comparison and competition with the divine ideal. This rivalry, often mistaken for devotion, prevents true relaxation and meditation because it keeps the mind occupied with a shallow, superficial version of God. He posits that shame is essentially an imagined feeling of smallness that arises only when compared to a gigantic, imagined perfection. To be free from shame, one must abandon the God concept and the quest for perfection, accepting that the 'imperfect' is already perfect in its own way. He emphasizes that man should live as a 'leaf'—flexible and temporal—rather than trying to possess the immortality or firmness of the 'roots.' Finally, Acharya Prashant warns against the use of spiritual jargon like 'supreme bliss' or 'immortality,' as these terms often become objects of sensory gratification for the ego. He explains that true enlightenment is a disappearance of the self, not a fulfillment of desires. By trying to define or experience God through the senses and words, man creates a barrier to the truth. He concludes that one should leave God alone and focus on living authentically in the present. When man stops trying to contain or define the divine, godliness naturally reveals itself, much like roots supporting a tree without needing to be seen or unearthed.
