Acharya Prashant addresses the question of why Indians are so obsessed with lavish weddings. He begins by stating that this phenomenon should not be surprising, as a wedding is the ultimate celebration of a subjugated consciousness. He explains that human beings have consciousness, but it is enslaved by the body, a condition he refers to as body-identification. To understand the craze for weddings, one must first understand this fundamental human condition. He elaborates that we are people with an enslaved consciousness, making us very similar to animals whose lives are entirely driven by bodily imperatives like hunger and sleep. We too live body-centric lives, driven by the pursuit of pleasure, security, and continuity through reproduction. However, unlike animals, we cannot openly admit that we live solely for the body, as it would bring social shame. Instead, we pretend to be higher beings with nobler causes. The wedding, therefore, becomes the biggest festival of the body, a grand celebration of these very bodily drives. The immense importance given to weddings proves that these animalistic concerns are the most significant things in our lives. Acharya Prashant finds the celebration of a licensed sexual union to be obscene and questions what is truly being celebrated. He contrasts this with celebrating genuine human achievements, such as finishing a great book or overcoming a physical limitation, which represent an elevated consciousness and are things that truly separate humans from animals. He finds it absurd to celebrate anniversaries, which he terms the day one got a license for sex. He links this obsession with weddings to societal issues like overpopulation, female infanticide (due to the financial burden of dowry and weddings), and the proliferation of wasteful industries like cosmetics, jewelry, and event management. He concludes that the entire wedding spectacle is vulgar, and a person who genuinely enjoys it is revealing their consciousness to be at an animalistic level.
