Acharya Prashant addresses the dilemma of choosing between suppression and freedom in parenting. He explains that the debate should not be centered on suppression versus freedom, but on consciousness. The fundamental principle is that whatever elevates consciousness is right, and whatever degrades it is wrong. The question is not whether suppression is good or bad, but whether it is being used to elevate consciousness. He describes suppression as a tool, one among many resources available for a better life. The purpose of life and all its resources is to rise above inner tension and hell. Therefore, suppression should be used skillfully to elevate consciousness, and there are situations where it is necessary. However, it becomes harmful when it instills fear, as was the case with the questioner's father, who became a frightening figure in her mind. This is an incorrect application of suppression because it degrades consciousness. Acharya Prashant then addresses the other extreme: giving complete freedom. He uses the analogy of a misaligned car. A child is like a misaligned car that naturally veers to one side; giving it complete freedom will lead it into a ditch. Someone needs to hold the steering wheel to guide it. He states that while suppression without consciousness was dangerous, the freedom given to children today is even more dangerous because a child is not born capable of handling freedom. The child has only the body and its tendencies, and freedom in the name of these will only lead to ruin. He emphasizes that the path to true freedom passes through discipline and self-suppression. Freedom is not a free commodity; it must be earned. Only those who have conquered themselves through discipline and practice are worthy of freedom. He concludes that the world's problems today stem from too much freedom in the hands of foolish people. Before granting freedom, one must be made capable of handling it, and that capability comes from discipline.
