On YouTube
Queen/prisoner of the house || Acharya Prashant, with DU (2022)
10K views
3 years ago
Women's Empowerment
Conditioning
Domestic Violence
Consciousness
Understanding
Values
Greed
Ignorance
Description

Acharya Prashant addresses the issue of women's suffering, particularly in the context of domestic violence, by explaining that it is a question of installed values. He states that most people, men or women, lack an independent, original, internal center or yardstick to measure the worth of things. Instead, they rely on values supplied and implanted by their upbringing and conditioning, which he describes as a dead process. People learn what to respect, value, be proud of, or be ashamed of from others without questioning. Specifically, girls are taught that maintaining the family is their foremost role in life, a notion presented as a divine, unquestionable axiom. The speaker explains that the idea of being the "queen of the home" is a decorated phrase used to justify a lowly life. He points out the irony that the tasks of this so-called queen are menial and can be outsourced to domestic help for a few thousand rupees. This demonstrates that the work is not of high value. He further elaborates that it is a normal human tendency, not specific to women, to seek maximum comfort with minimum effort. This is a biological conditioning that affects all creatures. The desire for a comfortable life, good food, and relaxation is universal. Acharya Prashant explains the societal dynamic as a market where supply and demand meet. Women possess a unique and attractive asset—their body—and men, who control the vast majority of wealth, demand it. This creates a market where women can have an easy life by using their bodies, for which they are paid in various ways, not just cash but also attention and validation. This is not a gender issue but a human issue rooted in greed and ignorance. The solution is to strengthen one's center of consciousness through understanding. He advises to deepen one's understanding, as consciousness seeks to understand. The body, on the other hand, seeks sleep and favors a lack of consciousness. To counter this, one must nourish the center of consciousness by engaging in discussions, questioning things, choosing reason over emotion, and practicing deep, honest thought, which he equates with meditation. Love and understanding go together; one must love to understand and attend to the Truth.