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When the crash occurred, many didn’t rush to help; they rushed to record. That tells us where the real crisis lies, not in the sky but in the mind. The phone camera has replaced the helping hand. When grief becomes content, and pain becomes a reel, what does it say about us? When we cannot sit with loss, we turn it into a performance. That response is not natural; it reflects desensitization. A symptom of inner deadness.

The Israel–Iran Case: A Religious Struggle

What’s happening in the Israel–Iran case is mostly about religion. Israel–Iran relations were far more cordial until 1979, when Iran got a new Islamic constitution, and Iran declares Israel as the “Little Satan” because Israel is a Jewish country. Had both these countries been Muslim, would there be a strife? Had both these countries been Jewish, again, would there be a strife? But we want to close our eyes to the bare fact that religion gone wrong is the worst thing possible to human beings.

Heaven and Hell Are Here and Now

10 min

Don’t think of heaven and hell as the afterlife; both are here, right now. As the Niralamba Upanishad says: Right company is heaven; wrong company is hell. If you are someone who loves to be with people who will take you towards truth, joy, and simplicity, you are already in heaven. And if you surround yourself with people who pull down your consciousness, then verily, you are—right now—in hell.

What Is 'Yog' Really About?

If the word ‘Yog’ comes to be synonymous with physical exercise, then it’s a joke. When you look at the mass of people, what is it that you find more unhealthy — the body or the mind? It is the mind that is extremely unhealthy. And all of that is because the mind is in ‘Viyog’ — the mind is separated from something that it desperately wants. So, Yog has to be an inquiry into who we are, and what it is that we really want.

Yoga is to dance without a reason

44 min

Acharya Prashant: You will see that I'm repeatedly stressing on Shri Krishna as the demolisher, on Shri Krishna as someone who not only does not accept our prevalent definitions of right-wrong, true and false, humility, authority, right action, non-violence but, in fact, unabashedly and actively demolishes them. It is one… read_more

Beyond Academics: Acharya Prashant's IIT Memoirs

20 min

I picked up sports, I got into dramatics, debating, writing, so much. I was a bit chubby when I entered, I just lost so much weight. I had to get all my jeans restitched. Because I was busy all the time, there was so much to do, and one didn't want to miss out on any of those things. All the sports, and I am talking of the mid-90s, India didn't really have too many sporting facilities in all the towns and places, not accessible to everybody.

What is Yoga?

14 min

Yoga is action without attachment. Yoga is to refuse everything that keeps you little and limited. To live without a reason, to love without a cause, to act without greed and desire, that is Yoga. Total purposelessness is Yoga. Yoga is freedom from all whys.

Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Why Are the Airport and Hospital Side by Side?

18 min

It is the most critical moment for the plane, when it is taking off. Even after that, if we are constructing something as sensitive as a hospital right next to the airport — then only God can help. This can only be found in India — where there's an airport, and right next to it are buildings, and we accept it. Until we understand that living with dignity is more important, we will keep finding it acceptable to sell off our safety and self-respect.

Shivling: Understanding Before the Debate

28 min

Now comes the deeper symbolism of Shivlinga. It says—look, if you have taken birth, then you are there in the body. But even while living in the body, you have to live as if you are without a body. So, the shape of the Yoni that you see in the Shivalinga is actually the world or the body, and this Lingam that you see in the middle of it is the Consciousness—the Consciousness which is located in the body.

Is The Gita About Sattvikata?

10 min

The Gita has nothing to do with sāttvikatā. Even sāttvikatā is to be rejected as destiny, while even rājasikatā is to be embraced if it serves as a means to freedom. Everything and anything is fine if it is usable in the context of liberation. Even sattva can become an object of consumption — don’t we see learned people whose knowledge becomes their identity? The Gita is about getting rid of all traps — be it sattva, rajas, tamas, or anything.

Is Grace Available to Everybody?

6 min

We say, “It was just sheer grace that the Buddha encountered sights of the old man, the sick man, the destitute, and was transformed.” But — was the Buddha the only one who encountered such sights? Grace is available to everybody; it was only the Buddha who decided that it’s time to take action. Grace is that which comes to you unconditionally, but people reject grace. Even grace respects your choice.

When a Guru Eats Meat || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj

Liquor consumption or flesh consumption or other kinds of unwise gratifications of the body, merely increase the obstacles that one faces. So, therefore, those kinds of things must not be practiced — even if it is observed that a realized man is practicing them.

‘Why’: A Key to True Education

The teacher must know ‘why’ the kid must study science or history — only then will it reach the child, and only then will the child take authentically to the teaching. Human beings are not born human beings; they have to be educated to become human beings. Schools give birth to humanity in the real sense, and their role must be performed with a great degree of understanding and love.

Violent Relationships: A New Trend, or an Enduring Structure?

Violent relationships reflect deep societal flaws — rushed marriages, lack of emotional education, and cultural silence turn love into suffering. We must rethink our understanding of love and marriage, and create support systems within families and communities where people can talk openly. Let India return to her deepest moorings — where love is rooted in self-knowledge, and relationships are anchored in freedom.

Climate Change and Feedback Loops: Have We Reached the Point of No Return?

We are seeing catastrophic long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns, driven by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrialization. Longer droughts, more intense heatwaves, and unpredictable rainfall patterns have become the new normal. The climate change of our planet reflects the fragmentation within. The way forward demands more than policy or technology; it demands a profound shift in how we live, think, and are connected to the planet.

The Right Role of Parents

4 min

The role of the parents is to give birth — to not only give the body, but also then unburden the child of the body. When parents operate through their conditioned patterns, those kids turn violent, loveless, and insecure when they become adults. Your relationship with the kid cannot change till you continue to be what you are.

How to Deal with Anger?

When your expectations are not fulfilled, that is the situation you call anger. Your expectation is nothing but a desire that the other person should behave according to your image of him. You create images because you are afraid. If you are not afraid, you cannot be angry. All these diseases come from a basic fountainhead — ignorance. They go away once ignorance goes away.

Is Premarital Sex Okay?

Sex, whether premarital or postmarital, depends on the people who are engaging in it. Even in postmarital sex, there can be a lot of violence. Equally, there can be a very bad kind of sexual encounter before marriage. The word marital does not matter. If two people are not meeting in actual love, then it doesn't matter whether the thing is postmarital or premarital — it is simply abominable. If you love someone, give them wings, light, and self-knowledge. Liberation is the foremost indicator of love.

Sant Kabir: Flame that Scorched Falsehood

To speak of Sant Kabir is not to speak of a distant figure from the annals of Indian mysticism. For those who can listen, he is not a poet from the past, but an eternal flame within — one that neither flickers nor flatters, but only illuminates. This Kabir Jayanti, let’s not just light lamps — let’s light what lies within. Reciting his verses is easy. Living their truth is not. But that is the only true tribute — to allow his voice to reveal all that is false and borrowed.

Why Do We Treat Women as Property?

It is our animal tendency to be territorial and to really want to control the other gender — so that we can maximize our own pleasure. When you own something, then there is a sense of security and that's why men want to control women's sexuality. You can dispel that by understanding that you can have no lasting pleasure by owning anything — including a person of the other gender.

Waiting for the Right Person?

5 min

Do not perpetually keep waiting for human company. You can never be very sure that you will have very high-quality people in your life because the right kind of people are not too many. There are tremendous ways to add value to life. It's one of the big fortunes of life to be able to have work that one can immerse oneself in. Travel, read, challenge yourself — these are equally effective ways to have company and not feel lonely.

When the Fish Disappear, So Do We

15 min

If the current trends of fishing continue, we’ll have virtually empty oceans, no aquatic life, and then we all will disappear too. The oceans are the way they are because you are the way you are. If fish are disappearing from the oceans, they are landing in our homes. And if you want to bring a change in the condition of the oceans, you will have to bring a change in your own condition.

The Gita and Vedanta are Outdated. I will not Read Them

26 min

Mankind today is more prosperous than it was ever in its history. So all those things have changed. But internally — are you not still afraid? Are you still not greedy? That’s the problem of the self that the scriptures seek to address.

Fight Hard, Forget About Victory

4 min

The prerequisite is love, and love is an openness. Love is a vulnerability. Without that, all you will have is dry and meaningless and violent argumentation that yields nothing.

Operation 2030: Confronting The Climate Crisis Within

9 min

Operation 2030 aims to do four things: Redefine Success—From accumulation to awareness by popularizing wisdom literature; Expose the Real Culprits—Question those holding elite status; Price Carbon, Shift Demand—Influence the demand of goods based on their carbon impact; and Make Climate Political—Every vote, purchase, and click is a climate decision. It is a call to confront the full scale of the crisis we are already experiencing.

Death Is a Teacher

Death comes to teach us. Let's learn the lesson. Death is a liberator — not so much to the one who has died, but to the one who is still alive. Your normal work, relationships, worldview — all these will appear hollow when you're struck by the fragility of everything. Death disturbs us precisely because it challenges the assumptions on which we base our day-to-day life. Once you have seen something, you cannot be the same ignorant mind.

Sex for Fun, Sex for Social Obligation

9 min

Questioner: “Acharya Ji, my whole life, I treated sex as fun due to my early age experience. I would treat it as fun-just to relax my body. But now, at my mature age, I feel that it’s a responsibility to have a son or a daughter for humanity, to strengthen… read_more

Slaughtering Animals Is Slaughtering Yourself

When you look into the eyes of an animal, and if you are really awake, you will only see your own deep innocence, which might be hidden from you. It is impossible to see anything or anybody else when you really look. That thing that you look at, and that which looks back at you is most prominently visible in the eyes. Look at the animal, pause and meditate for a while — and then go ahead and slaughter it, if you can. You’ll only be slaughtering yourself.

Inner growth for high achievers || Pan IIT (2021)

20 min

Questioner (Q): The theme of today’s interaction is inner growth. Usually when we talk of growth, we talk of external growth. For example, for an individual growth usually means job promotions, better income, or more comforts, etc. For a company, growth may mean growing in profits. For an institution, it… read_more

Is Man Really Superior to Animals?

If God stands for innocence, trust, surrender, then animals are closer to God. But man values himself by his ability to exploit. If you always feel hollow and hungry, then the entire universe is but a resource for you. One then wants to exploit the man, the woman, the child, the animals — everything. So, someone who does not want to look at the universe as a resource will not want to kill or consume anything in a violent way.

Food is not just food

World Environment Day: The Climate Crisis and the Need for Inner Awakening

Questioner (Q) : Acharya Ji, do you think that bringing the focus to our diet is going to change anything?

Acharya Prashant (AP) : In what sense?

Q: Do you see us heading in the direction of this perfection, completion, along with our diet?

AP: I am seeing that.

You… read_more

Climate change is the result of centuries of misplaced priorities and blind ambition. Those who live without self-awareness are bound to consume nature and everything else along the way. As long as there’s no change in the inner weather, the outer world will remain in peril. Let’s make World Environment Day more than a symbolic celebration; let it signal a real shift in consciousness — from consumption to contemplation. Let this day remind us: the crisis lies within us, and so does the cure.

प्रकृति बची रहेगी, ख़त्म इंसान होगा

9 min

क्लाइमेट चेंज, न्यूक्लियर डिज़ास्टर — ये सब ख़तरे इंसान के लिए हैं, पर अपनी फ़िक्र हम नहीं करते क्योंकि उसके लिए सबसे पहले स्वीकार करना पड़ेगा कि हमारे ऊपर ख़तरा है, और हमें ठीक होने की ज़रूरत है

How to Deal with Trauma from the Past?

16 min

Whenever the past bothers you, you should immediately know that some danger is lurking in the present. Had the right thing been happening to you right now, then you couldn’t have been bothered with the past. And that is what the past does. It serves as a very deceptive distraction from the present. Figure out what is happening today.

You Are in Prison

Never forget who you are — you are someone in prison. Talk of exits, and if doors do not exist, blast the damn walls. That's the reason why you need power. You should honestly and realistically seek freedom from your current bondages. Your responsibility is not to acquire something more. Your responsibility is to drop a lot of things. Drop what you know to be needless and harmful.

There Is No Liberation for the Dead

Organized religion is just an elaborate conspiracy to keep you away from Mukti. And you put it very nicely: nobody talks of Mukti when they are alive. Now, after they are gone, their kith and kin are supposed to be worried about their Mukti, which is all quite nonsensical. Once you are gone, the opportunity is gone. There is no liberation for the dead. No liberation at all for the dead. And that is why the opportunity called life is so precious.

Why Am I Unable to Deal with Suffering?

4 min

The reason is that we have internalized a utopian image of a suffering-free life. And our current state of suffering, compared with the utopian heaven, makes us very frustrated. So, keep this comparison aside by seeing that this utopia is purely imaginary. You are not born to be in bliss. In fact, suffering is an inevitable part of life. Take life as it is, and then do your best to raise it as much as possible — this is excellence.

Should I Express My Emotions?

19 min

Expression is a relationship you establish with the world. It becomes a gift you give to others. What gets expressed, gets amplified. Anger expressed is anger amplified; attachment expressed is attachment multiplied. Do you want to gift chains and shackles, or something that helps and liberates?

Operation 2030

13 min

There is enough scientific evidence that says if the average global temperature exceeds 1.5 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels, it could trigger massive feedback loops — self-sustaining and irreversible climatic phenomena. There is evidence that the average global temperature rise has already reached 1.7 degrees centigrade. This operation is a voice against an impending catastrophe — a catastrophe that the younger generations are going to face the brunt of.

Welcoming Life, Without Conditions

6 min

When it comes to healing the discontentment within, we believe that one object is better than the other. We are desirous of happiness and scared of sadness, but we can’t see that neither can give us what we really want. Feelings and experiences are not to be taken so seriously. Don’t resist tears, cry gently, without suppression. Similarly, laughter can be organic, beautiful in its purposeless flow.

Is Religion Merely Superstition?

Religion concerns itself with ‘Ego and its liberation!’ That’s all. In the name of religion, if you are talking about planets and stars, about fruits and vegetables, wear this, don’t wear that, eat this, don’t eat that, the house should face this direction, and a thousand other things that you associate with it, then all that is some kind of tribal superstition. Religion has nothing to do with these things.

Superstition in The Name of Rituals

17 min

Religion does not deal with gases and material and fire and oxidation. All that is not the rightful domain of religion. Religion deals with only one question: What is this "I"? What is it up to? What does it want? And why does it suffer? Religion deals only with ego and the liberation of ego. If, in the name of religion, you find other things being discussed, then this is the work of some fraud.

FOMO

Behind all FOMO is the fear of missing out on what life has the potential to deliver to each of us. Since we don't know ourselves fully enough, there is a general kind of anxiety — "I'm missing out on something." Let's identify what we are really missing. And the process is of negation and rejection. Reject what is not needed. If the inner rubbish can be cleaned up, you realize — that's all.

My Life, My Rules