Hacking down forests is a compulsion with us. You cannot have the kind of civilization and values that we have and not hack down forests. Given the way we shop in the markets, we will necessarily hack down forests. Given the way we choose brands, given the way we choose… read_more

Acharya Prashant: I know it's a fad currently, “the in thing” to say, be your own light, don’t depend on anyone, decide for yourself, whatever. It's a very ignorant thing to say with all due respect to the Buddha.

Such advice is meant only for very selected disciples. And even… read_more

Question: Acharya Ji, you have said in one of the Satsangs that one has to go to the deepest fear to find the key. I go to that deepest fear, visit there. How do I get the key? Do I get the key? Do I not get the key? I… read_more

Acharya Prashant: They say that spiritual knowledge must be like the wood used in the funeral pyre. That wood burns down the dead body, but having burnt down the dead body, the wood does not remain itself, the wood too disappears. It removes all that which was dead, unnecessary, decomposing,… read_more

Acharya Prashant: You must never be afraid of questioning others. More importantly, you must never be afraid of questioning yourself. The second part is tougher. It is easy to question others, relatively easy at least. Questioning oneself hurts the ego, but that’s what one must practice.

Question yourself: “What am… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Thought serves a great purpose: it eats away your time. Otherwise, time will become such a burden. Thinking, thinking, continuously thinking, you comfortably let days, months, years, and decades slip away. And then you are so thankful that death arrives; otherwise living 80 years and that too in… read_more

Questioner: Would you please be able to explain to us the difference between the mind, the soul, the spirit, and consciousness?

Acharya Prashant: There is just consciousness; that consciousness requires physical support. That consciousness requires a physical support, right? That physical support is called: the man.

When we say consciousness,… read_more

श्रीभगवानुवाच

ऊर्ध्वमूलमध:शाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् ।

छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ।। 15.1 ।।

śhrī-bhagavān uvācha

ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śhākham aśhvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam

chhandānsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit

They speak of an eternal Asvattha rooted above and branching below whose leaves are the Vedas; he who knows it; is… read_more

Questioner: Why are most of the people concerned about their own problems. Why are they not concerned about the problems of humanity?

Acharya Prashant: One cannot look at this and that when there is so much happening in my own house. There is a civil war going on right where… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Real spirituality is about rejecting the false. Real spirituality, therefore, is uncompromising, harsh, ruthless. Just reject the false—that's what real spirituality is about. But if you are living in an age, in an era, in a society, in an economic system that is dominated by forces of falseness,… read_more

Questioner (Q): Acharya Ji, as we know that we are not the body, then why there is such a strong association with the body?

Acharya Prashant (AP): If you are not the body, who is called Rishabh (the questioner)? The wall, the Sky, the woods? Who is Rishabh then?

Q:… read_more

Acharya Prashant: The entire month you work telling yourself that your work is totally selfless, right? You can do that. We are very capable of deceiving ourselves. The entire month you worked and what did you keep telling yourself, “I work in a spirit of pious charity; I am nothing… read_more

आचार्य प्रशांत: अभी-अभी, सुबह, हम जा रहे थे तो एक मकान के सामने रुके, वहाँ एक आदमी था, उसे अपने कुत्ते से बहुत प्यार था, तो हम जिसको प्यार करते हैं उसके साथ क्या करते हैं?

श्रोता: बाँध देते हैं।

आचार्य: उसके गले में पट्टा बांध देते हैं। आपको जिससे… read_more

Acharya Prashant: What is the fact of life? How do you react to your own sweat? Have you seen how one reacts when one is sweating? The trickle can be quite unnerving. Have you seen the aggression with which one often wipes out his sweat? The aggression, the frustration, the… read_more

आचार्य प्रशांत: इस युग की सबसे बड़ी त्रासदी ये है कि गुरु भ्रष्ट है और इस युग की सबसे बड़ी त्रासदी ये है कि गुरु और व्यापारी और राजनेता इन तीनों में साँठ-गाँठ हो गयी है। ऐसा पहले कम हुआ था। धर्म और राजनीति तो अतीत में भी हुआ है… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Spirituality is not committing suicide, or is it? Then we do not need satsang (gathering), we need mass suicide halls. It’ll all be over! It has happened, you know? There have been cults in Japan and other places where incidents of mass suicides have been reported. They thought… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Please, understand the nature of attachment. When two things get attached, do they disappear into each other ever? Attachment means continuity of separation. Attachment means that the two in spite of appearing proximate would still be separate. They would appear to be near but still they would continue… read_more

प्रश्नकर्ता: प्रणाम आचार्य जी। मेरा प्रश्न ये है कि – जब हम ‘मुक्ति’ या ‘सत्य’ की बात करते हैं, तो क्या इसके बारे में हमारा कोई दृष्टिकोण होता है? मेरे अनुभव में ये आया है कि जब मुक्ति को पकड़ने की कोशिश करता हूँ, या कोई ‘लेबल' लगाने की… read_more

प्रश्नकर्ता आचार्य जी, जब मैं पशु-वध के तथ्यों को देखता हूँ तो मुझे यह उम्मीद होती है कि पढ़े लिखे लोग भी इसे समझेंगे, लेकिन जब हमारे देश में कुछ समय पहले गाय के माँस पर रोक लगाने की बात की जा रही थी तो यही उच्च-मध्यम वर्गीय और पढ़े… read_more

आचार्य प्रशांत: ये बड़ा रूमानी सपना रहता है कि, "हम सन्यासी हो जाएँगे, और जैसे बुद्ध के चेले थे, बोलेंगे, 'भिक्षाम देहि', और द्वार से सुंदरी प्रकट होगी पात्र लेकर के, दाल-चावल, और हमारी अंजुली में डाल देगी और हम बिल्कुल नयन नीचे करे, मुक्त पुरुष की तरह खड़े रहेंगे।"… read_more

Acharya Prashant: The constitution of the body is such that it is pleasure-seeking. That’s the guiding principle behind bodily actions. Bodily actions include the impulses of the brain. So, that which you call as natural, in loose language, is nothing but pleasure-seeking behavior. When you say something is natural, effectively… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Do not think that all the care that one takes to appease his body, all the lust, and all the bodily vanity is for nothing. It is a very, very calculated thing. Lust is needed so that you never get liberated. One requires one episode after the other… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Those of you who have tried to chase success in this world know very well that all that you have received is fear. Kindly do not punish your children now. Kindly do not push them to make the same foolish mistakes that you kept making all your life.… read_more

Acharya Prashant: There are a few myths that need to be dispelled. Yes, man has had the inclination and the capacity to eat meat since a very, very long time. But even when man was in the jungle, he was primarily herbivore. And this is born out by scientific analysis… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Happiness comes to you so that you become interested, you become inquisitive, your longing gains depth and you ask for permanent happiness. You say, “Oh this that was given to me was so ephemeral! Thirty seconds, that’s all? No no no! It was good. But I want the… read_more

प्रश्नकर्ता: नमन आचार्य श्री, मैं शादी करने जा रहा हूँ। मगर मैं समझ रहा हूँ कि ये अच्छा नहीं हो रहा। मगर दूसरी तरफ़ मुझसे ये अकेलेपन से भरी हुई ज़िन्दगी बर्दाश्त नहीं होती। कृपया मार्ग दिखाएँ।

आचार्य प्रशांत: अब तो मंज़िल ही मिल गई, मार्ग क्या दिखाऊँ?

(श्रोतागण हँसते… read_more

Acharya Prashant: We never wish to achieve happiness directly. We always want mediated happiness. Don’t you say, “I will get happiness by doing this; I will get happiness through him or her; I will get happiness when I achieve that; I will allow myself to be happy when I reach… read_more

One may say, “I keep feeling lonely, let me get married”; or one may say, “Let me change cities and move to another place where my community or my friends live”; or one may just say, “Let me switch on the television or visit the shopping mall.” One behaves as… read_more

आचार्य प्रशांत: जिस दिन आपको पूरा भरोसा हो गया, आप अच्छी तरह साफ़-साफ़ जान गए कि इस शरीर से कुछ नहीं है जो आगे चला जाना है, उस दिन आपके ऊपर दो असर होंगे — पहली बात, आप ज़िंदगी को सही जीना जान जाएँगे। आपको साफ़ सुनाई देगी घड़ी की… read_more

आचार्य प्रशांत: एक मुहावरा चल गया है कि अरे किताबों में क्या है वहाँ तो खोखले और थोथे शब्द हैं, असली ज्ञान तो भीतर है, बच्चा ध्यान करो। गीता उठाकर के कचरे में डाल दो, बच्चा ध्यान करो और असली ज्ञान भीतर से निकलेगा। मेरे पास शब्द नहीं हैं इस… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Ask yourself, would you be equally anxious to buy a flat, if you didn’t have that flesh in your life? Consumption promotes further consumption. So, if you are already addicted to one form of consumption, know that many other forms of consumption are just waiting to leap into… read_more

आचार्य प्रशांत: गाना सुन रहे हो तो भाई सुन ही लो न कि गाना क्या बोल रहा है। गाना तो मजबूर है, छुपा ही नहीं पाएगा जो वह बोल रहा है। गाने सुनने की आदत लगी हुई है बचपन से तो ऐसा क्यों नहीं करते कि गाना फिर सुन ही… read_more

आचार्य प्रशांत: अब किसी के जीवन के सारे ढर्रे ही तनाव, ऊब, बैचैनी से भरे हुए हैं और वो कहे, ‘मुझे सिगरेट छोड़ देनी है’। सिगरेट की आदत छूटेगी नहीं क्योंकि आपके पास पाँच और आदतें हैं जो सिगरेट को आमन्त्रित करती हैं। जब तक आप उन पाँच और आदतों… read_more