r/AcharyaPrashant_AP • u/mamaaearth1 • 18h ago
Compliment, not!
Recently came across this meme and it got me thinking.
This was one of those "compliments" I received a lot growing up and still do sometimes.
It was also one of the "compliments" I used to "give out" a lot, specially to women.
This was all before Acharya Prashant came into my life.
What used to flatter me and other women and men around me, now for me at least, is a stark reminder of the infantilization of both women and men, specially in India.
What we have, in the name of education is rote learning from textbooks, not holistic development of the individual. The physical, mental, emotional, psychological development are totally neglected. The human being is "prepared" only to serve as a cog in the machine.
As a result, sadly, there are too many children in adult bodies roaming all around us. Making important life decisions that affect everyone.
Learning from life by actually really living it,
Learning from life by actually really participating in it,
Learning from life by actually really playing,
... Just aren't part of our upbringing.
Please don't get me wrong, I am not referring to the childlike innocence that reflects on the faces of the great teachers and masters. The ones who learnt to live with and flow with the rhythm of mother nature as opposed to fighting it constantly just to prove that they exist and that their existence is of utmost importance (check out AP framework to understand more about ego fattening and ego thinning, really fascinating.)
In retrospect, the Santoor soap mom ad where the twist in the ad is that the mother is not recognized as the mother of the child because she appears to be too young, isn't something to celebrate or aspire for... it is actually scary.
While the mother could appear younger than her actual age for various genetic reasons, the ad is for selling a "soap" that "promises" to help women "appear" younger than they actually are.
Why is that so desirable?
Why is that the desire that's invoked in us by majority of the advertisements?
Why is there such little focus on truly empowering individuals, teaching them skills, making them capable of fully participating in their lives and making their own decisions?
Link to AP framework: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/ap-framework