IndiaPosted at: Oct 26 2026 4:59PM


‘Fear of being called ignorant runs deeper than fear of death’: Acharya Prashant

New Delhi, Oct 26 (UNI) People fear being exposed as ignorant more than they fear death, philosopher and author Acharya Prashant said during an interactive session on the Katha Upanishad at the KCC Institute of Technology and Management in Greater Noida, arguing that the ego is more concerned with protecting its image than the body.
“The biggest fear in life is that in someone’s eyes we may be called ignorant, a fool. The biggest fear is that someone may say, what have you achieved in life?” he told participants during a discussion that examined the relationship between knowledge, action, and the human ego.
The session centred on a verse from the Katha Upanishad that describes the Brahmin and Kshatriya as food and death as the condiment accompanying it. Acharya Prashant offered an interpretation that located these references within the individual rather than in the ancient social hierarchy.
“Brahmin here is the symbol of the claim ‘I know’. The Kshatriya is the symbol of the second claim, ‘I can do’,” he said, describing scholarship and doership as the ego’s two major afflictions.
“These are the ego’s two biggest diseases. So if anyone says two varnas are being spoken of here, tell them they are being spoken of as diseases,” he added.
The discussion unfolded over more than 90 minutes through a question-and-answer format inspired by the Vedantic method of neti-neti, or “not this, not this”. Participants were first encouraged to present popular interpretations of the verse, including readings that portrayed it as describing an external supernatural power or endorsing caste distinctions. Acharya Prashant challenged these interpretations before presenting his own.
“The benefit lies in cutting through your own beliefs. There is no benefit in getting the right answer. The benefit is in knowing how wrong I am,” he said.
Explaining the method later, he said, “First, we understood the distortions. Then we discounted them, removed them. Then we said, now we will understand what its real meaning is.”
He also questioned the tendency to equate knowledge with accumulated information, memory and assumptions. According to him, a weakening ego allows work to happen without the individual claiming ownership or credit.
“Work will happen, but there will be no claim,” he said.
The philosopher argued that spirituality was not about imagining truth or liberation as something distant, but about recognising and moving away from one's present psychological bondage. He cautioned against becoming preoccupied with anticipated outcomes while undertaking meaningful work.
“If you are doing the right work, never think about what its outcome will be. The work will stop,” he said, adding that what people describe as fear of the future often reflects their unwillingness to confront their present circumstances.
The session also examined the role of technology in spiritual learning. Some participants had consulted AP Mirror, an artificial intelligence application developed by the PrashantAdvait Foundation (PAF) using his body of work, to understand the verse beforehand.
Light-heartedly cautioning against using the tool as a shortcut, he called it “a toy of the ego”, saying, “This mirror you have been given will hide your ignorance from you.”
“The game is to expose ignorance,” he added, warning that forcing existing beliefs onto a scripture could create an illusion of understanding. “Not understanding the mantra is a small thing. Not seeing your own dishonesty is the real mishap.”
The programme also featured an online interaction with IIT Bombay faculty members, including cognitive scientist Professor Rashmi Gupta and virologist Professor Kiran Kondabagil, on the mental health of young people. It was Acharya Prashant’s sixth interaction with students of the institute.
An alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, Acharya Prashant founded the PrashantAdvait Foundation and has authored more than 200 books. His work focuses on self-understanding and the contemporary application of Vedantic philosophy.
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