Acharya Prashant addresses a questioner who feels trapped by his family and friends, whom he considers to be wrong and of a lower level. The speaker points out that the questioner is deriving a certain pleasure from this situation. He explains that the same logic the questioner uses is held by those he criticizes, who are also confined in their own rooms of habits and mind. The speaker questions how the questioner is different from them if he continues to live with them. He highlights the hypocrisy in wanting to enjoy the pleasure of feeling superior to others—seeing them as inferior and fallen—while also wanting the pleasure that comes from attachment and delusion by staying with them. The speaker notes that while others might be seeking only one kind of pleasure (the security of their old ways), the questioner is trying to have two: the benefits of staying with them and the egoistic pleasure of looking down on them. Acharya Prashant uses an analogy of a person who complains about a restaurant's poor quality but continues to eat there, suggesting the real intention is to get a discount. Similarly, the questioner wants to stay with his family and friends while also berating them to feel superior. The speaker asserts that if you know a place is not for you, your immediate responsibility is to leave. He asks what is stopping the person, suggesting it must be some greed or fear. He then addresses another person's situation, who is happy in a new place but is being pressured by family to return. The speaker advises that one's home should be where one's joy is. He states that it is a sign of the ego when one's heart is in one place and one's life is in another. He clarifies that he is not referring to the superficial happiness derived from indulgence, but the higher joy that is accompanied by peace and freedom. He warns against the self-destructive tendency of feeling guilty for being happy, a conditioning that makes us respect sad people. The speaker emphasizes that we are not meant to live a sad life. Joy is our right and our duty. He concludes by advising to be joyful and to share that joy with others. He says that a true friend is one who becomes joyful upon seeing your joy, and one should be wary of those who feel threatened by it, as an anxious person will only pull you into their own misery.
