Acharya Prashant responds to a question about the conditioning of women in Indian society. The questioner observes that the women in his family have faced numerous health issues and are more inclined towards shopping and adornment, while men are more involved in sports and physical activities. He links this to a flawed conditioning of women. Acharya Prashant begins by correcting the questioner's use of the word "conditioning," suggesting that what he is referring to is what people call "culture." He explains that the term "conditioning" is a negative word, a complaint, whereas people refer to the same phenomena as "culture" with pride. He points out the irony that an ordinary person would not call the mental state of women "conditioned" but rather "cultured." This is where the whole game is being ruined. The common man will say our women are cultured, not conditioned. He elaborates that what is often called "Indian culture" is actually the result of the last 500-700 years of slavery, poverty, and illiteracy. The culture we follow today is not our own; it is a product of slavery, poverty, and ignorance. He asserts that our culture is not based on spirituality but on tradition (parampara), and we have made tradition our culture and culture our religion. He gives the example of the veil (ghoonghat), which came to India from Islam, yet is now considered a part of Hindu culture. He argues that this culture is based on slavery and is not our own, but has been imposed by invaders, poverty, and ignorance. Spirituality, he explains, states that the sole purpose of life is enlightenment and liberation (bodh and mukti) for both men and women. A true culture (Sat-Sanskriti) is one that is based on spirituality and leads both men and women towards liberation. It would provide ample opportunities for both to break their bonds. However, our current culture, which is based on slavery, poverty, and ignorance, does not do this. He laments that this is the culture we want to preserve, a culture that has arisen from slavery. He concludes by stating that the culture that is being glorified today is based on slavery, poverty, and ignorance, and its greatest victims have been women.
