Acharya Prashant addresses the question of whether we obey our parents out of respect or fear. He suggests setting aside the specific case of parents, as the matter becomes complicated due to attachment. He then poses a general question: "Why do you listen to anyone?" He explains that a person's actions are driven by two main benefits: either greed or compulsion. The speaker clarifies the true meaning of "respect." He explains that the word "respect" literally means to understand, derived from "re-spect," which means to look again. It is not about superficial gestures like saying "Good morning" or sitting quietly. True respect is to understand someone. If you have understood someone, that is respect. The literal meaning of the word, its etymology, is to understand. It means to keep looking, to keep trying, until you understand. Similarly, the Sanskrit word "samman" means "samyak maan" тАФ to know correctly, to understand. It is not just accepting, but understanding correctly. He states that these valuable words have been corrupted because they fell into the hands of the ignorant, who gave them a very superficial meaning. He contrasts "samman" with "adar" (a form of showing respect), such as touching someone's feet, which he calls a superficial and cheap thing. "Samman," on the other hand, is a very valuable thing. We often show "adar" but not "samman." Acharya Prashant expresses that it is a matter of great regret that hardly anyone among us truly respects anyone, including our parents. He argues that we cannot understand our parents when we do not understand anythingтАФnot day, not night, not our own actions like walking, sitting, eating, crying, or laughing. To respect others, one must first have self-respect. Self-respect means understanding oneself, which is self-awareness. First, understand yourself, and then you will understand someone else. We claim to respect others, but how can we? First, respect yourself, which means to know yourself.
