Family

We want to do good to the ones we are related to and we have long stretches of memories with all kinds of identifications. I fully appreciate that. But I also know that it doesn't always work this way. Sometimes what works better is shifting of focus to more appropriate areas. Remember, nobody can be helped beyond their consent. That's the nature of life.

Those who want to travel long distances and fight important battles, they don’t carry baggage - they travel light. You must know which responsibilities rightfully belong to you and which ones you must disown. You are not obliged to fulfill all the so-called traditional responsibilities. Therefore, you’ll need a total revolution in your inner world before you can fearlessly do something in the outer world.

Acharya Prashant: Socially, we have been trained to visualize the happy family as a kid with his two arms being held by two people of opposite gender. That’s really not needed. The kid is already being held in the palm of his real Father. The real Father is not even

Acharya Prashant: I was six years old. My sister Pragya was three and my younger brother was being born, mother was in the maternity ward. So, we two kids were having good fun. We had been relieved from school for a month because mother had gone to another city to

Acharya Prashant: If you will observe, you will find that people who are living most contented lives do not find it necessary to intrude in the lives of their kids, their sons and daughters. Because they are complete and satisfied in themselves. If they have to do something, or get

Questioner: You know, I would just cite this example of people from happy families or normal families, seemingly happy families, whatever, and people who have a bona fide past of a trauma like, you know, domestic violence and abuse and mind games and a lot of lowly things that do

Acharya Prashant: (Reading the question) “Acharya Ji, my concern is about relationships we share with our near ones.

Questioner: I would like to join the army, but my family and friends are not very supportive. They say that when I could easily get a good job in Delhi or Bangalore, what is the point in risking my life as a soldier? What should I reply to them?

L: I feel that I should give all the things to my parents, and everything. I internally feel that. That is nothing coming from the society. I feel that they gave me so much so I should give them too.

Question (Q): Dear Acharya Ji, pranam. Since the last few days, I have been sharing my learnings with my parents. Every time I discuss something with them, I have to deliberately attack their conditioned mind to make them aware of their conditioning. I feel sorry for them, and I

What is it that we are usually engaged in? Feeding our stomachs, and feeding the stomachs of those who are related by blood to us. That’s what our life really is: fulfill your desires and fulfill the desires of those who are related to you by blood and semen. That’s

Questioner 1 (Q1): I’m a single parent and I have a son. He gets a lot of homework from school, but instead of doing it he likes to just play around. Next day, when his teacher tells me that he hasn’t done anything, how should I react?

Your parents don’t want you to speak, your teachers don’t want you to speak, and religious preachers, obviously, they are very afraid if you speak up. So you don’t ask even the most basic, logical, sensible questions, and you keep accepting even the most amusing kind of trash as if

Questioner (Q): When I used to ask questions to my mother and father, we would have conversations, and our conversations often ended on a bad note. My brother and sister would say, “You better not talk to them like this, because if you are right, then they are wrong; and

Two or three people are discussing some nonsense, and three more will join in, and then probably three more. What connects them? What makes them relate to each other? Nonsense. That’s the benefit that nonsense gives you, and that’s why you remain steeped in nonsense: it helps you feel connected

Questioner (Q): Where do we draw the line between responsibility and love towards family members or relatives or friends? How do we know what is responsibility and what is really coming from love? Because of the conditioning, there is partiality involved, we see people with different ways.

Questioner (Q): Acharya Ji, how should I deal with my anger, especially with my kids? I always get annoyed very easily and it bothers me a lot. Kindly help me to get rid of this tendency. Thank you, Acharya Ji.

Acharya Prashant (AP): You see, the kid has stolen a…

Questioner: Acharya Ji, I have noticed that people who know me since childhood are now facing difficulty in understanding what I am doing. For instance, it took me two years to convince my wife and relatives, etc., to even allow me to do what I am doing.

Questioning pseudo-science and superstition is the first step toward genuine freedom. Beliefs such as *Vastu, Kundli,* and *Muhurat* should not be accepted merely because they have been followed traditionally. Fear and attachment to privileges often prevent people from questioning authority. A truth-seeker must be willing to challenge age, status, and authority. Human progress has come through curiosity, inquiry, experimentation, and reason—not through blind obedience.

Desires and beliefs may keep changing, but the deeper tendency to believe, think, choose, and seek fulfilment often remains unchanged. Real transformation begins by examining this constant inner pattern rather than changing superficial preferences. Instead of seeking conclusions about greed or desire, honestly observe recurring behavior and support the truth you already recognize. Expressing that truth can dissolve false identities, relationships, and habits, creating space for genuine change.

True love is not a biological instinct, emotional attachment, or social conditioning. Biology and science explain the body's drives, but they cannot explain the self that seeks freedom. Love is the inner restlessness to move from ignorance and bondage toward truth and liberation. Religion is not rituals or inherited beliefs but this personal journey of understanding. Freedom—not possession or conformity—is the essence of both love and religion.

Truth cannot be forced upon anyone, but neither should falsehood be entertained. Genuine love is not about preserving relationships at any cost; it is about helping oneself and others break free from illusion, even if that means risking the relationship itself. Spiritual growth begins by questioning conditioning, examining falsehood without bias, and choosing authenticity over comfort. Real relationships are built on the courage to seek freedom, not convenience.

What is the relationship between quantum physics, consciousness, and the ego? This dialogue explores where scientific inquiry ends and self-enquiry begins. Through Vedanta, Acharya Prashant explains why the ego clings to its own existence, how beliefs and superstition shape our lives, and why lasting freedom lies beyond conditioned thinking.

Women cannot be truly liberated through education, income, or legal rights alone if they remain psychologically identified with socially conditioned ideas of “womanhood.” While external barriers may fall, inner bondage persists through inherited identities, roles, and expectations. Real freedom begins not by rejecting the body, but by seeing oneself primarily as a conscious human being rather than a gendered identity, because lasting liberation starts at the root of self-identification.

Love is not a special emotion reserved for selected people or relationships but a way of relating free from self-interest, possession, and psychological dependence. Most relationships become transactions driven by insecurity, where the ego seeks completion through ownership and exchange. Genuine companionship arises without the urge to control or claim another, allowing affection to exist naturally, freely, and without conditions or expectations.