Any and every image you make of yourself is an ugly image

The following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

Question: How do I find a balance between my personal goals and dreams in life with my family’s expectations from me? How can one fulfill both without compromising on either?

Acharya Prashant (AP): How can I find a balance between my personal goals and dreams in life with my family’s expectations from me? How can I fulfill both without compromising on either?

There is a slave, and there are two men who are fighting over the right to own that slave. The slave is greatly interested in the fight, the slave wants to know who will win. The slave sometimes even wants to support one party over the other. There are these two men who are quarreling, who are fighting, it’s like a tug-of-war, and the slave thinks that he is asking a very meaningful question. ‘Who should be my master? To whom should I be enslaved?’ What would you recommend to that slave?

You have asked, ‘How do I find a balance between my personal goals and dreams with my family’s expectations from me?’ I am telling you that the two masters are trying to enslave you. What must you do? Should you choose one over the other, or rather see that whichever way I go it’s a life of slavery? So if I have any wisdom, then I must not choose…