Acharya Prashant addresses the question of why modern relationships have become very casual and short-lived. He begins by stating that in the language of spirituality, it is said that only the Truth is timeless and cannot be destroyed by time. The longevity of a relationship is inversely proportional to its degree of falseness. The more false a relationship is, the shorter its duration will be. This can be correlated with the short attention spans people have these days. It's not that the attention spans themselves have become shorter, but the things being attended to have become more and more false. Because the object of attention is so false, it is impossible to attend to it for a long time. Only the Truth is beautiful and can completely enchant and mesmerize you, making you stick to it. You become helpless and cannot let go of the Truth, which makes the relationship long, durable, and sustainable. People relate to someone because they think they will get something. If you get what you want, the relationship is exhausted. Using the analogy of a mango, after you have sucked all the juice from the fruit, you don't carry the large seed around; you throw it away. This is how people are thrown away from our lives after we have taken whatever juice was there. Similarly, using a hot dog analogy, you go to a snack bar, take the hot dog, and walk out. The hot dog has been ingested, and there is no reason to stay there anymore. This is how people walk out of relationships. The entire philosophy of life has become centered on consumption: existing to feed and fatten oneself, believing this will bring happiness. When this is the case, you will only remain with human beings to consume them. This consumeristic mindset, which is a form of exploitation, is a curse to oneself and the entire world. To improve the situation, one's entire worldview and understanding of oneself must change. You cannot remain the person you are and expect to have good relationships. One must first have an understanding of oneself, which is currently non-existent. We don't even value that kind of understanding. For something to come to you, you must first realize its worth. The speaker clarifies that he is not advocating for arranged marriages or being loyal in a conventional sense. He is talking about having an eye for the Truth, for real love. This real love is not available to someone with a rotten, consumeristic view of life. You cannot have good things in life, including good relationships, without first being good yourself.
