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Career or Kitchen? The Working Woman’s Guilt || Acharya Prashant, IIIT Bangalore (2025)
Acharya Prashant
297.6K views
9 months ago
Conditioning
Bhagavad Gita
Shri Krishna
Self-knowledge
Intellect
Household Work
Guilt
Purpose
Description

Acharya Prashant addresses the deep-seated guilt many working women feel regarding household responsibilities, explaining that this guilt stems from primitive conditioning rather than any inherent duty. He traces the origins of the 'woman belongs to the home' narrative back to the jungle, where physical limitations like continuous pregnancy and the need for muscular energy in hunting and gathering made women dependent on men. This continued into the agricultural era, where fixed land led to fixed houses and energy-intensive farming. However, he argues that in the modern world, muscular energy has been neutralized by technology, and the primary source of power is now intellect, where women have no disadvantage. He asserts that the past continues to suffocate the present, leading women to feel they must work 'two shifts'—one at the office and one at home. He further critiques the tendency to over-complicate household tasks, such as elaborate cooking or obsessive cleaning, as a way to justify staying within the four walls of a house. Referring to the Bhagavad Gita, Acharya Prashant emphasizes that Shri Krishna teaches that action should come from deep self-knowledge and clarity, not from primitive conditioning. He compares the home to a warrior's camp—a place meant only for basic recharging and revitalization so that one can return to the 'battle' of life the next day. He warns that a life of luxury and comfort without a higher purpose is a form of 'hell' and encourages women to prioritize their intellectual and spiritual growth over housekeeping, as humans are born to fight for a greater purpose rather than to decorate a camp.