Acharya Prashant addresses a student's question about balancing the pursuit of excellence with social life. He begins by challenging the concept that studies and friendships are mutually exclusive things that need to be balanced. This, he says, is a concept one absorbs from somewhere. He asks, "Why can't you have friends who have fun with books?" suggesting that one can hang out with friends and books together. He further questions the dichotomy, asking why it must be either books or friends, and not friends with books, or even finding friends in books. He suggests having friends who are like "books in themselves," meaning they are wise and knowledgeable. The speaker identifies the root of the problem as an "internal fragmentation." He explains that one part of a person wants to delve into the bare, honest facts of science and mathematics, while another part wants friends who entertain with falseness and nonsense. He asserts that the mind that wants to explore the reality of things through the scientific method cannot simultaneously enjoy company that is based on meaningless jokes. This internal conflict leads to the desire for a "work-life balance," which he argues is an attempt to reconcile two incompatible desires. Using the analogy of having one leg in a flight and one in a train, he illustrates that one cannot reach a destination by trying to travel on two different paths simultaneously. To reach your destination, you need to have only one path, and your friends should be on that same path with you. Acharya Prashant strongly advises dropping the word "balance" from one's mind, as it signifies fragmentation, division, and incompleteness. He traces the concept of work-life balance to the Industrial Revolution, where soul-sapping jobs necessitated a separate time for "fun" and leisure, creating a balance between torture and pleasure. He urges the listener not to live a balanced life but an "outrageous," "totally unbalanced life." This means being completely immersed in one central theme, the one thing worth loving in life. Everything else, including friendships and life partners, should be aligned with this central theme. Joy, he concludes, lies in absolute immersion and totality, not in the incompleteness of balancing.
