In response to a question about the deteriorating relationship between a son and his father, Acharya Prashant quotes an old saying: "When the same shoe starts fitting the father and the son, they should get out of their respective identities." He explains that after a certain age, the relationship is between "man and man," not "father and son." Trying to maintain the old pretense creates a "misfitting situation." For a healthy relationship, the son should see his father as a peer or a senior at most, and the father should see his son as a peer or a junior at most. This shift allows for friendliness, conversation, and togetherness. Acharya Prashant elaborates that after the age of 14 or 15, a person's consciousness takes a certain shape that does not fundamentally change much throughout life. The person one is at 15 or 17 persists. He illustrates this by noting that one can easily relate to a school classmate even after many years, despite superficial changes, because the fundamental consciousness remains the same. He states that the person at 15-17 is not very different from the person at 35-37 or 45-47 in fundamental ways. Therefore, a son and father can relate as friends because, despite the age gap, they share a common ground. He gives an example of a 17-year-old aspirant solving a complex problem that a 45-year-old professor might struggle with, showing a commonality at the intellectual level that can bridge the gap. However, friendship becomes impossible where there is a significant power difference, traditional hierarchy, and patriarchal role definitions. People can be friendly, but characters playing roles cannot. If one is just role-playing as a son and the other as a traditional father, friendliness cannot exist. Acharya Prashant advises the questioner to start seeing his father as a man, an individual, rather than just the role he plays. This person deserves respect for his age, experience, and the good things he has provided. When one starts thinking of the father as a person, a healthy relationship can be established. This principle applies to all relationships, including those between mothers and daughters, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, siblings, and spouses. If relationships are power-oriented and driven by patriarchy, friendliness is impossible, even with a brother, let alone a son, because one might assert dominance based on being the elder. True friendship and love cannot exist between characters; they can only exist between individuals.