The real issue is not about time at all. You are spending time exactly according to your values. Don’t ask how to utilize time. Ask yourself, "Do I know what is truly valuable?" When you are clear about what is truly valuable in life, all your time will be devoted to that. Become clear. Know what is truly valuable.

To date, mass extinction has occurred five times on Earth. Mass extinction means the complete destruction of all living beings. Five times in history, the Earth's temperature increased beyond limits, and life on the planet came to an end.

And now, the sixth mass extinction has begun! The reason for… read_more

What is Dharma According to the Bhagavad Gita?

11 min

Overview

Fighting Duryodhana is Dharma . Fight Duryodhana in the way you can, that is swadharma . Dharma is the same for everybody, but swadharma varies according to your physical, social, temporal conditions.

But remember that swadharma can never be in contradiction of Dharma ; swadharma will always be something… read_more

How to Control the Mind?

13 min

Mind control is not about suppressing the mind; it is about supporting it to take the right route and reach the right destination. The mind does not really need control; it needs peace. But the mind is a little foolish. If the mind were not foolish, why would it leave its peaceful state, which is its natural state?

The Most Famous Verses of the Bhagavad Gita

16 min

Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata abhyuttanam adharmasya tadaatmanaam srujamyaham

Deh Shiva bar mohe ihai (The spiritual battle within) || Acharya Prashant, on Guru Gobind Singh (2019)

1 min

Verse: Deh Shiva bar mohe ihai

देह शिवा बर मोहे ईहे, शुभ कर्मन ते कभुं न टरूं न डरौं अरि सौं जब जाय लड़ौं, निश्चय कर अपनी जीत करौं, अरु सिख हों आपने ही मन कौ इह लालच हउ गुन तउ उचरों, जब आव की अउध निदान बनै अति ही… read_more

Should Women Leave Their Parental Home?

11 min

Your only obligation is your liberation. These are just loveless social customs and economic structures where a woman is seen as a factor of production that produces babies. There’s no need to go to the husband’s place or even stay at your father’s if you are unloved and unwanted. The world is a vast opportunity. Live anywhere, stay anywhere, do whatever is the right work, and fly free—simple.

Acharya Prashant on Osho

19 min

Osho’s defining characteristic was courage. He was a man of deep intellect, prolifically well-read, a genius in devising new methods of meditation, yet above all his other qualities, his courage is his hallmark. Born in a middle-class family in a small city in the deprivation and resourcelessness of pre-independence India, he built himself up all on his own. Books would be his companions. Even as a teenager, he would travel across cities, to various libraries and sources, to look for books and knowledge.

Are You Against Marriage?

3 min

We are all born married to our desires, despair, and desperation. A woman or a man is not responsible for making us feel bonded or suffocated. It is the feeling of attachment, loneliness, and dependency that troubles you. Get rid of these, and then, if someone comes into your life, it’s alright. If you feel like marrying them, do it; if not, don’t.

10 New Year Resolutions Suggested by Acharya Prashant

4 min

Man has always been attracted to the new. But attraction alone is not enough, especially when one is resistant to leaving the old ways. 'New' comes with an opportunity to change, and equally with a responsibility to act upon that change. Bridging this gap between attraction and action, Acharya Prashant guides us with practical resolves that possess the potential to bring real development—if followed honestly!

How to Set Priorities in Life?

9 min

You ask about balancing priorities, but "balance" is a very violent word. It denotes competition. ‘Or’ denotes either this or that — this is conflict. Life does not proceed like this. A polymath, like Leonardo da Vinci, mastered many fields. There was no ‘or’ in his life. His life was full of ‘And’. Most of us live a life of poor man. Life can be very, very, very rich. But not when you say “Either this, or that.” Life is rich when you say, “And, And, And.”

What does “Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya...” mean?

24 min

We love saying, 'Yada-yada hi dharmasya – whenever there is evil, then Krishna comes.' The Lord does not physically drop from the heavens. The metaphor must be understood. It simply means that whenever the ego inflates, it results in suffering, and suffering itself calls for its cessation. This call for cessation of suffering itself is the coming of the Lord.

Is It Passion or Peer Pressure?

15 min

It's difficult to be born in India and have a passion for ice hockey. Few kids aspire to make a career in rugby or ice hockey, while many are passionate about cricket. Passion arises from surroundings, not internally. It may present itself as something internal and heartfelt, but it is as external as peer pressure.

How to Do Career Planning?

7 min

You've heard there's competition and you must plan to survive, but without understanding 'career' or knowing that a mind that is always competing becomes diseased. This fear is also implanted by others. It isn't yours, yet you've imbibed it. Understand the mind, the world. Then you will know what is worth doing.

How Can You Stop Overthinking?

11 min

When you do not have a sense of what is worthy, little things will invade your mind, like germs constantly attacking you. There’s no way to keep them away. Give all your inner space to something that is beautiful to you. Let there be no vacancy. Get a headband — No Vacancy! Or wear a t-shirt — No Vacancy! Occupied. Engaged.

Single women are happier than married ones?

13 min

Question: Sir, I was reading a study in the 'Times of India'. It said that women are happier being single. Now, when I read this as an Indian woman, brought up in the Indian culture, this is very conflicting because women in India are looked down upon if they are… read_more

Krishnamurti and Osho are as different as Truth and Truth || Acharya Prashant (2015)

14 min

Questioner: Acharya Ji, today let’s talk about the two very famous and inscrutable Masters of the 20th century.

Acharya Prashant: (Reading the questioner’s mind)

Yes, you want to talk about Osho and J. Krishnamurti, that whether there is any difference in their method, or they converge at some point.

Q: … read_more

Why Do We Crave Holidays?

5 min

The mind is fed up of its daily, boring, routine, fettered and frustrated life. But it has no faith or courage to break away from this life. It is very necessary for it to keep looking towards the future. Some special day must always lie ahead: New Year, Valentine’s, Holi, your birthday, Diwali and so on. This cycle keeps up the illusion that something great is coming.

How to Be Happy Everyday?

7 min

Happiness is just a glimpse of the absence of suffering. Real happiness comes when you cultivate it, just like a gardener cultivates his flowers. Our normal happiness is ephemeral, preceded and succeeded by sorrow, whereas Ananda (Joy) is freedom from both. Real happiness is freedom not merely from sadness, but also from superficial happiness.

Where Is the Kurukshetra of Your Life?

5 min

Arjuna’s hell was in his daily tasks, and so is yours. Arjuna could sense the evil in what appeared normal to others; you must also be able to sense that there is something extremely fishy in what seems normal to others. Your house, your workplace, your society—these are your Kurukshetra. That’s where you have to fight your Mahabharata. That’s where you need Shri Krishna and the Gita.

What Is Creativity?

4 min

Creativity is the action of a fresh and free mind. With a fresh mind, whatever you do is creative. We have equated creativity with brilliance and dynamism, whereas it can be very ordinary. It’s like love—where something totally new comes from nowhere, where one is not overly concerned about results, and where one is not caught in mundane distractions. It's an expression of freedom and fearlessness.

Alasinga Perumal - Swami Vivekananda's most loved disciple

3 min

We all know Swami Vivekananda. But have you heard about 'Shri Alasinga Perumal'?

Probably not. But if Alasinga Ji had not been there, Swami Vivekananda would never have been able to give that historic speech in Chicago, due to which he brought fame to Vedanta and Hinduism throughout the world.… read_more

Acharya Prashant: The Only Male Spiritual Teacher for Women’s Empowerment

26 min

Real women empowerment isn't about simply making choices, but about making wise ones. If you do not know how to make decisions, autonomy in decision-making becomes a curse, doesn’t it? Today, many teens and college-going girls embrace a radical mindset: 'I’ll live life my own way, I decide for myself.' 'You only live once, my way or the highway,' and similar attitudes stem from the same center of ignorance as previous generations. Now, the exploiter is within, and this false sense of freedom leads to disastrous choices. True women empowerment demands wisdom, not just autonomy. Spiritual education is crucial, especially for girls.

This is Not Love

10 min

Love is great. Love is necessary. Love is beautiful.

But what is love?

For most of us, love is the greatest excitement and comfort—and also the greatest suffering. Whether love has become a problem or something you cherish the most in your life, please go deeper… read_more

How to Handle Criticism?

6 min

The trouble is, we do not use our eyes to look at ourselves. We depend on others' opinions, which are totally external. If you don’t know what you are doing, how will others know? General awareness can be taken from others, but not self-awareness. If somebody comes to you, listen to them, but do not allow their words to become your self-image.

Which is More Important: The Person or Love?

6 min

People come and go; nobody is more important than your peace. You do not want a person so that he may cause disturbance. When you want someone, you actually seek peace and contentment through them. Contentment is more valuable than any relationship. Elevate yourself. Transform yourself. And then see who comes to you, then you will know what love really is.

How to Handle Insults?

20 min

Any kind of harm that comes to you can only come due to a lack of self-knowledge. If you do not know who you are, you will be forced to believe whatever others tell you about yourself. We don’t even realize how big a slavery that is! Every time you allow circumstances to rule you, you are actually acting like a dead object. You are alive only if you have something within that circumstances cannot touch.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Is Flawed

6 min

The way Maslow constructed his pyramid is good, but not very exact. The ladder goes like “Food, security, self-esteem, and only then self-actualization.” No, that is not how it actually is. Self-actualization is not the top of the pyramid; it is the foundation of everything that you do; it is the foundation of your activity even when you are fulfilling your lower needs. Whatever you do, your entire universe, all your deeds, thoughts, purposes, motivations—all arises for the sake of actualization.

Bipolar disorder and other mental issues || Acharya Prashant, at Kedarnath (2019)

4 min

Question: Two years back I got diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. After being under medication for eight months, I realised that I am very much dependent on it. So I skipped the medicines and found a very stupid alternative, which was smoking weed. And then I got dependent on that too.… read_more

Why Do We Celebrate Kumbh?

7 min

The story, the myth, is elaborate, but one word that firmly dictates the narrative of the Kumbh saga is immortality. Immortality is to live deeply, not necessarily long. It is to go to one’s deepest desire, fulfill it, and extinguish it forever. Another Kumbh beckons us. Can we go beyond the ritualistic dip and honestly observe life as it is, within and around us?

Career Anxiety: Follow Your Heart or the Market?

7 min

Work. Where is the time to devote to anxiety? Where is the space to be anxious? If you are anxious about something, that thing is obviously important to you. Else you wouldn’t be anxious and if that thing is important, work. Work for that thing. The thing is not only important but also stands incomplete. That’s the reason you are anxious. Correct? If it stands incomplete, work, bring it to completion. Somebody said action is the antidote to despair. Action. Don’t just sit and brood, work. And life will become intolerable if you are not a worker.

How to Save Your Relationship?

7 min

Relationships get spoiled when people cling to each other. If you truly want heart-to-heart contact, give each other adequate space. At times, disappear from each other’s lives—go on a vacation alone. Then, when you vacation with your partner, it will be delightful. We all need space, and only a free mind has the right and the capacity to love.

How to Balance Studies and Friendship?

7 min

Studies and friendships should not be mutually exclusive. Why can’t you have friends who have fun with books? Drop the word ‘balance’ from your mind entirely. Balance simply means fragmentation and division: this is to be done, that is not to be done, and I’m balancing both. Joy lies in absolute immersion.

How To Avoid Distraction?

14 min

You say you want something, but you are distracted easily. Ask yourself, "Why am I attracted to anything?" Unless you find that, you are just a plaything in the hands of situations. If you really know, then knowing itself decides for you. Then there is no question of indecision or distraction because there are no options left.

That Which Neither Changes Nor Is Unchanging

8 min

When you have seen where your desires come from, you are very close to fulfilling your real desire. Your real desire is not attainment; it is liberation. That desire to be liberated unfortunately, it expresses itself as the desire for a thousand things. Read more....

How to Deal With Loneliness?

8 min

Research has shown that loneliness is found throughout the society, including among people in marriages along with other strong relationships, and those with successful careers. As a subjective emotion, people experience loneliness even when surrounded by other people.

Are You in a Right Relationship?

12 min

There are only two kinds of relationships that are right in this world. If you connect with someone at a higher level of consciousness, hold their hand so they can uplift you. If you connect with someone at a lower level of consciousness, hold their hand to uplift them. Any other kind of relationship is junk.

Why Do Partners Cheat?

20 min

Marriage founded on the body alone is bound to suffer from cheating, as one body can never satisfy anyone. Your association with the other person should be based on love, friendship, and inner fulfillment, not the body. If you are physical and bodily, no loyalty is possible. Loyalty is fundamentally spiritual.

What Does Jesus Represent?

4 min

Jesus is not a mere mortal. He is the source of light, the root of all flowers and beauty. Jesus stands for the Truth, and Truth is omnipresent. In one form, he disappears; in another, he arises again. Prophets don’t come and go—they live forever. Going back into the past to look for them is the tragedy of the living. He is here, right now, in the hearts of those who love him.

Astrology: Science or Superstition?

10 min

Anybody who believes in astrology cannot be rational. All you have is a set of beliefs—the belief that this thing will happen. There is no logic in it, only fear and insecurity. Science is based on verifiable and falsifiable experiments, whereas astrology is not subject to verification; hence, it is just a story. It's a story that is making big money for a lot of storytellers.

How to Deal with Attachment?

12 min

Attachment is not a problem; the problem is being attached to something totally unworthy. If you are attached to someone, check out the facts of their importance. Ask yourself, “Does this person bring Truth, Fearlessness & Light into my life?” If you have been wise enough, or simply lucky enough to have the right person in your life, then continue to remain attached. But assess them well with Truth at your core.

East meets West on climate change || With BARD College (2022)

10 min

Questioner (Q): It is a true honor to be here today talking with you about climate change. I am an economist and the director of the graduate programs of sustainability in Bard College of New York. Along with my colleagues, we are making an effort to create a worldwide teach-in… read_more