Acharya Prashant uses a scenario to illustrate how people blindly accept duties. He describes a father who, with great seriousness, tells his 25-year-old son that his 20-year-old sister, Bindiya, has grown up and they must arrange her marriage. Influenced by the father's gravity, the son accepts this as his duty, leading him to collect a dowry and make his sister drop out of college, resulting in her becoming a mother by 21. The speaker critiques this acceptance, urging one to question the validity of such duties. He asks how Bindiya's marriage becomes the father's or brother's duty when she is an individual who will vote, get a driver's license, and even die on her own terms. Acharya Prashant explains that the root of fear lies in shouldering responsibilities and duties that one has not properly examined. He defines duty (kartavya) as the decision that a certain action is necessary and questions whether people make these decisions correctly. He points out that while people analyze minor things, they often fail to question the most fundamental issues of life, accepting them as 'the way things are'. This unquestioning acceptance of fundamental beliefs is the source of bondage. If one makes a mistake at this core level, minor corrections in life are futile. The speaker emphasizes that the things people believe 'must be done' are often their biggest bondages and the source of their fear. He advises questioning 'why' these things must be done instead of blindly accepting them. He quotes Shri Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita: "Death in one's own dharma is beneficial; another's dharma is fraught with fear." He explains this to mean that one should not follow a path just because others do. Following another's dharma is dangerous. Acharya Prashant further states that a wise person who gets entangled in worldly matters, mistaking them for his duty, suffers immenselyтАФfar more than a worldly person who is simply following his nature. He advises a questioner worried about his son's future to focus on his own state of mind first, as the child is primarily influenced by the parent's being. The core issue is to clearly distinguish between one's own duty and the duties imposed by others, and to stop blindly following the latter.
