Acharya Prashant explains that to understand why religious practices might not lead to spiritual progress, one must first understand what a human being is. Physically, a human is an animal. An animal is a being with limited consciousness, content within its boundaries. It is driven by its physical tendencies and has no desire to transcend them. Its consciousness does not dream of flight or the limitless. An animal is a creature trapped within the confines of its life and is satisfied within that confinement. Its ego is tied to its physical tendencies, and it has no desire for liberation from them. While humans and animals share the same physical tendencies—such as birth, the need for safety, and food—the crucial difference lies in human consciousness. Human consciousness has a choice: it can either remain tied to these animalistic tendencies or struggle against them for liberation. The family, the speaker explains, is fundamentally a biological and physical institution, not a social one. It is based on the body and blood relations. Since these physical tendencies are what bind consciousness, and these same tendencies hold a family together, the family itself is an expression of Maya. Maya is defined as that which keeps consciousness in bondage. This creates a paradox when one speaks of a 'religious family.' Practicing rituals like bhajans and kirtans within the very structure of Maya is often insufficient. Maya is not a weak force that can be overcome by token gestures. It is a formidable enemy, like a modern, heavily armored tank, while traditional, ritualistic forms of religion are like bows and arrows against it. Maya is present in every fiber of our being. To fight it, religion must also be modern, sharp, and powerful. Using an analogy, the speaker says if you are drowning in a 100-foot deep ocean, which is the world of Maya, a rope of religiosity that is only 5, 50, or even 99 feet long will not save you. Death is certain. To be saved, your religiosity must be deeper and stronger than Maya's hold. It requires a total, lifelong struggle, not half-hearted efforts. People often see that even those who are very religious are not saved, and they conclude that religion is useless, giving up their own small efforts. They fail to see that the effort required must be total. Finally, a true spiritual family (satsangi parivar) is possible, but its foundation would not be the body. It would be a gathering of people whose primary relationship is with the Truth, not with each other's physical forms. In such a state of being, the bodily identities of husband, wife, and other relations dissolve. Liberation is possible, and after liberation, it is possible for many people to live together, but they will not live like a normal family.
