A 56-year-old father, Shiv Prasad Sharma, expresses his distress that his son, after listening to Acharya Prashant for two years, has decided not to get married or take a job. The father, who describes his family as cultured, educated, and with a spiritual bent, is worried about what is being taught to young people. Acharya Prashant responds by first acknowledging that the father has come to him, even if it is through his son. He commends the son, calling him very capable and one in a million. He explains that it is usually the father's duty to guide the son to a teacher, but in this case, the son has brought his father to the teacher, which is a commendable and rare occurrence. He suggests that if the father had also listened to the videos, the situation would be clearer to him. Acharya Prashant addresses the core issue by explaining that a person's life is primarily spent in two places: at work and at home. The choices of a job and a life partner are the two most significant decisions a young person makes, and they determine the entire course of their life. He clarifies that he does not teach people to abandon jobs or marriage. Instead, his teaching is to make these crucial choices with full responsibility and awareness. He emphasizes that one of his fundamental teachings is not to be dependent on others, which necessitates working. Therefore, a young person who listens to him will work with great effort, possibly four times harder than an ordinary person. He suggests the father's real issue might be that the son does not want to do a job of the father's choosing. Regarding marriage, Acharya Prashant states that life is about relationships, and it's impossible to live without them. He teaches how to form the *right* relationships, not to avoid them altogether. He warns that a wrong marriage, one entered into unconsciously or under social, familial, or physical pressure, is the greatest hell. A marriage entered into with awareness, however, will be beautiful. He advises the father to be proud of his intelligent and discerning son and suggests that the father should also listen to the teachings for his own well-being, as his culture, education, and spiritual bent seem to be of no use.
