Acharya Prashant addresses a question about the internalisation of patriarchy. He begins by stating that patriarchy is not just a matter of jest; it's a serious issue. He asserts that it's a mistake to think patriarchy is solely imposed by men on women, as women also have a vested interest in it. He uses the example of the film 'Animal' to show how relationships based on animalistic instincts are widely accepted. The core of his argument is that as long as a woman identifies with her body, patriarchy will persist. He clarifies that he is not advocating for renouncing the body but for putting it in its proper place, as every thing has its own status. Acharya Prashant explains that patriarchy is fundamentally 'deh-bhav' (body-consciousness), which is the identification of oneself with the body, much like an animal. An animal's identity is its body; its entire existence, behaviour, and relationships are determined by its physical form. When this body-consciousness is applied to male-female relationships, it becomes patriarchy, reducing individuals to their physical forms and creating an animalistic relationship. This leads to the assignment of roles based on physical differences. Since the female body has a womb, her role is defined by childbearing. She is told to be a good mother and give birth to brave sons, rather than being a brave warrior herself. Because the female body generally has less physical strength, she is confined to the home while the man, with more muscular power, works outside. He further elaborates on this by narrating a story from a short video where a boy lists his ambitious life plans, and the girl's only plan is to marry him, highlighting the woman's vested interest in the man's success. He argues that demanding equality while being identified with the body is a contradiction, as male and female bodies are not physically equal. The only plane where true equality exists is that of consciousness. Therefore, to overcome patriarchy, one must rise above body-consciousness. The solution is not feminism, which he calls mere sloganeering, but self-knowledge (atma-gyan). The root of being trapped in patriarchy is the attachment to the benefits and identity derived from the body. Women often live in body-consciousness because they treat their body as both capital and a weapon.
