Acharya Prashant responds to a question about the most suitable profession—government job, private job, or one's own business—for a person who has made liberation their goal. He begins by questioning why the list of options is so limited, asking why unemployment or even theft were not included. He suggests that the questioner is asking from a conditioned center, having presented the three most respectable career options in Indian society. These paths, he notes, are known for securing a good dowry and a desirable wife, but their connection to liberation is questionable. The speaker points out that the common factor among these three paths is the social and material benefits they offer, not their conduciveness to liberation. He is surprised that unemployment was not considered an option, arguing that if liberation were the true goal, any path leading to it would be acceptable. The fact that the questioner has excluded options like unemployment indicates that their real desire is not liberation, but the worldly gains associated with these three respectable careers. He states that to attain liberation, one must first become free from these very paths and the mindset that values them. Acharya Prashant further explains that no scripture has ever prescribed such career paths for attaining Samadhi or liberation. He satirically remarks that no scripture says, "O son, if you want Samadhi, go towards the UPSC building," or that one can attain liberation by clearing the CAT exam or achieving a business break-even. He mentions that if entrepreneurship led to enlightenment, then figures like Jack Ma would be the world's greatest sages. He advises that liberation is about freeing oneself from these very paths. The first step is to look at one's own environment and ask what one's bondages are. Whatever is necessary to cut those bonds is the meaningful effort towards liberation. In certain circumstances, this might mean earning money or changing one's location. The right action depends entirely on the individual's specific situation and what is needed to break free from their personal constraints.
