Friends, jobs and the need for entertainment || Acharya Prashant, with youth (2014)

Questioner (Q): Sir, everyone is expecting something. Parents are expecting something, friends also expect something but sometimes I prefer to be alone. What to do in that situation?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Do you really have a friend? What kind of friend is this who does not like you to do what really gives you joy? If I am your friend and you want to be alone, what am I to do? Chase you? Get stuck to you? Or allow you to be alone? Do we really have friends? What kind of friends are these?

Somebody has said that a person is worth being with if you feel alone in his company. Only that person is worth being with. That’s the test. Do I feel crowded with this person or do I feel peaceful, alone in his company? That’s your real friend; the one who allows you to be alone. Not somebody who starts cluttering your mind. What do your friends do? Ask yourself. Are they a crowd or are they a peaceful influence?

Q: Sir, so a friend should not be entertaining?

AP: What is entertainment?

Q: To do something, so that we get entertained.