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## The Fourth Stage
This story should be told with diligence. Just as a physician, knowing the disease, diagnosis, medicine, and its application, treats a patient and quickly relieves him, similarly, if a Ganī, seeing his own strength in the subject, engages in debate, he will surely succeed.
Before engaging in debate, one must carefully consider the nature of the assembly where the debate will take place, their beliefs, and the deity they worship. One must also ascertain whether the person with whom the debate will take place is knowledgeable or merely argumentative and stubborn.
One should engage in a debate about a region only when one has a thorough understanding of all the factors related to that region. For example, one should know the quantity and type of food available in the region, the amount of water available, and whether it is pleasant or not.
In a debate, knowledge of the object is crucial. Here, the word "object" refers to a specific person. For example, before a debate, one should know how many Āgamas the person with whom the debate will take place is familiar with, whether they are a king or a minister, whether they are benevolent or cruel and cunning, etc. By thoroughly understanding these aspects and their emotions, one who engages in debate will surely succeed. If one begins a lecture or debate without understanding the emotions of the other person, they may not agree with your views and act like Skanda Acharya or a guardian priest. Therefore, one should engage in a religious discourse or debate only after considering all the aforementioned factors. The word "object" also refers to things. Therefore, one must have a complete understanding of the object for which the debate is being initiated. One who engages in debate without knowledge of the subject may be attacked by stubborn people, and they may even lose their life. However, remember that life has no value in the face of Dharma. If someone threatens to take your life to make you abandon Dharma, it is better to abandon life than Dharma. As Gaj Sukumara and others have illustrated.