Dr. Baba Steve Bedi explains that the biggest prison a human being can live in is the conditioning of the mind. From childhood, we are told who we should be, how we should think, what we should achieve, and even what we should believe. Over time, these external voices become our inner voice, and we begin living life not from awareness but from fear — fear of judgment, failure, or rejection.

This, he says, is the birth of Conditioned Consciousness — a state where our actions and emotions are driven not by truth, but by patterns and programming. We stop responding to life; instead, we react automatically. Our mind keeps replaying the same stories of pain, ego, and ambition, creating a never-ending cycle of dissatisfaction.

Dr. Bedi beautifully notes, “The more we live in the mind, the less we live in consciousness.” In this state, we seek happiness in things outside of us — in possessions, people, or positions. But external happiness fades quickly, leaving behind emptiness.

The real suffering, he says, comes not from the world, but from our identification with the false self — the ego, the conditioned “I.” We have forgotten that behind all these layers of identity lies an ocean of peace — our true Self. Healing begins the moment we become aware of this prison and choose to step out of it.