Acharya Prashant explains that the entire concept of romance is based on feelings and emotions. He questions the origin of these feelings, asking whether they genuinely arise from the other person or are pre-existing sentiments that one projects onto a suitable individual. He points out that both men and women seem to have a pre-scripted understanding of romantic behavior, knowing how to dress, what to say, and how to interpret actions. This prior knowledge makes romance highly predictable and mechanical. If romance were a spontaneous and fresh experience, like a newly bloomed flower, it would be unpredictable. However, it is not. People already know what clothes to wear on a date to please the other person, what words to use, and can even identify a 'romantic couple' from pictures. This is because the idea of romance is already embedded in our minds. The speaker emphasizes that this makes the entire process mechanical. He gives the example of romantic dialogues being repetitive and unoriginal, where a person might say the same words to multiple partners, yet the recipient finds pleasure in them. This is likened to a pre-programmed, robotic exchange, an 'if-then' program where certain words trigger a conditioned response of happiness or excitement. This conditioning begins at a very young age, around three to five years old, through exposure to cultural events like weddings. Children observe the glorified rituals and are conditioned to believe that this is the ultimate goal of life, something to live and die for. Romance then becomes the pursuit of these pre-fed, glorified images. The ultimate image is often the wedding itself, which is presented as the pinnacle of life's achievements. The speaker notes that everything in a wedding ceremony is pre-decided and should be boring, yet people participate with great enthusiasm because they are chasing this glorified image. Finally, Acharya Prashant distinguishes love from romance. He defines love as devotion to the Truth, a sacrifice for what is truly worthwhile. In contrast, romance is making a lie one's life. It is the pursuit of happiness in false, pre-conditioned images. The reason for widespread suffering, he states, is this very pursuit of happiness in these false images, where one ultimately finds only sorrow. The belief that happiness lies in these pre-scripted scenarios is a delusion, a way of closing one's eyes to reality, which inevitably leads to pain.
