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बच्चा पैदा करो, जल्दी! || आचार्य प्रशांत, वेदांत महोत्सव ऋषिकेश में (2021)
124.1K views
3 years ago
Family Pressure
Personal Boundaries
Procreation
Parenting
Freedom
Self-Knowledge
Civility
Relationship
Description

A questioner shares his dilemma about being pressured by his family to have a child after two years of marriage. He and his wife are willing to adopt, but the family disagrees. He feels he tries to stand up to their arguments but ultimately gives in, repeating this cycle daily. Acharya Prashant humorously suggests that instead of trying to stand up, the questioner should simply tell his family that he is 'faulty'. He explains that higher knowledge is needed to cut higher ignorance, but for trivial matters like these, one should not get entangled by trying to teach them scriptures. He calls it a 'design fault' and questions what the questioner would do—teach them the Vairagya Shatakam or the Gita on this matter? Acharya Prashant then addresses the core issue, which is the lack of personal boundaries. He questions how anyone, including parents, has the audacity to interfere in such a deeply personal matter of a married couple. He asks, "What happens in your bedroom, will the world decide that? And the world includes your parents." He asserts that some matters are so personal that no one has the right to speak on them. Allowing such interference is a sign of incivility and bad manners. He states that this problem arises from a lack of self-knowledge, where people do not understand the individual, procreation, or the nature of proper relationships. He advises parents to respect their children's personal space, stating that a parent's dignity lies in remaining silent unless their advice is sought. The goal of parenting, he explains, should be to raise a child who is independent, capable, and possesses the wisdom to make their own life decisions. Parents should take pride in having raised a child who is self-reliant, not one who is dependent and crippled. He mentions that the greatest good his own parents did for him was to never put him in bondage with such questions, giving him freedom.