Acharya Prashant explains that to empower a person, one must first understand who that person is, what power means for them, and why they need it. Applying this to women, he states that a woman, like any human being, has a fundamental desire for freedom and realization, and her fundamental suffering is bondage. Power is needed to change the current situation, which is unacceptable due to this suffering. Without understanding oneself and one's problems, power can be counterproductive. He identifies two domains of empowerment: the internal and the external. The external domain includes institutions like family, religion, law, education, and media, which influence a woman's mind. For example, if religion teaches that a woman's success lies in domestic duties, or if textbooks show gender-insensitive content, her mind is shaped in a particular way. The speaker emphasizes that these external institutions must be reformed. He points out that even the law may not fully protect a woman's interests, citing the example of marital rape. Similarly, the media and social media also shape a woman's consciousness, often in a feeble or distorted manner. The internal domain of empowerment relates to a woman's biological and evolutionary conditioning. For millions of years, humans lived in the jungle, and the body is still conditioned by this past. The woman's body, in particular, has been trained over millions of years of evolution to play a biological role focused on security and procreation. This training cannot be undone in just a few thousand years of civilization. Therefore, even with external freedom, this internal bondage remains, creating an illusion of empowerment. The urges of the body, such as seeking attachment, possession, and reacting with anger or jealousy, are animalistic. True empowerment, according to Acharya Prashant, is understanding and illumination, which comes from self-knowledge (Atma-gyan) or spirituality. This is where wisdom literature like Vedanta becomes crucial. It teaches that one is not the body but consciousness seeking liberation. When a woman knows herself, she understands her legitimate goals. She can then use her body and its faculties—intellect, creativity, strength—for the right purpose, which is to realize her true self. This self-knowledge allows her to see the childishness of being driven solely by biological and social urges and to move towards true freedom.
