Youth

Before trying on your own, you do not even know the problem in its entirety, and you are going to somebody and the whole process demands time, energy, space and sometimes even money. So, before you engage, obviously you need to have tried your uttermost. So, that’s something obviously to be supported, but equally, we all know how limited we are beyond a point, and when we come to that point, it becomes obvious that one needs to look beyond herself, that one needs to seek help.

Clear Your Dues Before Checking Out

19 min

It’s not as if you have to indefinitely stay dithered or bonded, not really. At the same time, it does not mean that the relationship has to be so material or so transactional, that once the money has been squared off or once you are sure that I have given them the requisite care, attention and emotional support, now I can just break away and separate them from my life. We are talking of neither of these ends.

What Is Rest?

11 min

Rest is to realize that whatever you are doing is ultimately not going to benefit you in terms of result. Rest is to not to hope for a result, but to be already there and because you are already there, so the activity is happening. Now the activity is a game, a pass time, just for fun. You can indulge yourself or you can change the activity. The activity doesn’t really mean much.

Beliefs: Reconciling Perception & Reality

20 min

We all are such wicked creatures. We feign helplessness just to exhort, extort pleasure. We cannot even be honest enough to say that I am a pleasure seeker; therefore, I'm doing all those things. All your helplessness results in pleasure. All your assumptions lead to pleasure. All your dishonesty leads to pleasure. So everything is just for the sake of pleasure. If somebody comes and says, “You know, I'm helpless,” Just figure out where the pleasure is, and you will know the dishonesty.

Stop Asking These Spiritual Questions

Think of yourself. Even the Supreme or the Absolute that you think of is just something within the universe, so stop caring or wondering so much about it. Look rather at your own life, your own daily actions. What do you work for? Who are the people you relate to? Where does your bread come from? These are the questions that matter much more than any of the traditional, spiritual queries or you could say that these daily mundane questions are the ‘Real Spiritual’ ones.

The Multitasking Debate: Efficiency vs. Presence

12 min

Even when you think you are not multitasking, you are actually multitasking. Multitasking is an imperative, but don’t be a multiple-divided person. Multiple selves are not welcome; multitasking is alright. We live lives of multiple selves. One self, other self, and all those selves are all fake, borrowed.

The Biggest Act of Cruelty Today

Spirituality is about realizing that all nonsense emanates from the DNA. You are born with nonsense that body identification is the fundamental problem and the root cause of all violence. It’s the body that is violent because it is the body that is coming from the jungle. We share this body with the chimpanzees, with the dinosaurs, with the lions, tigers, every single animal in the jungle is this body and therefore, all the problems of the jungle are contained in this body.

Why Isn't the Gita for Everyone?

It depends on the pain you are willing to take. Sometimes Duryodhanas have to be turned into Arjunas. It’s just that, it’s relatively easier with an Arjuna. But what to do when even Arjunas are not present to receive the Gita? As long as somebody has anything, anything that resembles consciousness, as long as somebody has even the faintest remnant of consciousness left, Gita can be brought to that person but it will be tough, difficult.

The Life Journey of Acharya Prashant

11 min

I didn’t try to sweep things under the carpet. If I have seen something, I have seen it. I didn’t try to pretend that I understand when I didn’t. I didn’t try to trivialize something just because I couldn’t wrap my head around it. If something was beyond my comprehension, I let it stay there. And the process remained continuous, in that sense, not the exact word, but, a bit laborious, and demanded patience.

How to Set Priorities in Life?

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.”

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.

How to Set Goals in Life?

20 min

A goal that is too far away in time is a false goal. The goal has to be extremely immediate. By having a false goal, you give yourself the luxury of not doing the right thing right now. By placing your goal five years into the future, you have given yourself the freedom— the false freedom— to do any random stuff right now.

Yoga - The Biggest 'Spiritual' Myth Today

17 min

You have ample gurus who come over and say, “You know, you do this and then you can do whatever you want to do.” Now the moment you hear this kind of philosophy that Yoga will help you do better whatever you want to do, I suppose one must run away. Because that’s exactly antithetical to Yoga. Yoga is not about doing whatever you want to do; it’s the ego that says that, not the dedicated, devoted, wise mind. That does not come from there.

How Do We Know Anything about Life? Where Do Our Thoughts Come from?

The Real Meaning of Devoting One's Action to Shri Krishna

Questioner: It’s well known that simple living and high thinking are what we should aim at, but how do we know what is simple living and high thinking?

Acharya Prashant: You talked of simple living and high thinking, and you said that it's well-known that simple living and high thinking… read_more

You are too small to conceive or imagine who Shri Krishna really is. How then will you devote your actions to him? You can only devote something to an object, and the real Shri Krishna is not an object. So, limit yourself to just practising a certain casualness. A certain beparwahi. You must never accord too much value to your desires and opinions. And if possible, crack a joke or two about yourself. It’s great to be the butt of one’s own jokes!

How to Live Fully?

3 min

Living fully does not mean adding something to life. It means recognizing that life is already complete, and you must not disrespect that fullness. It is not about going out and consuming life. The volume or quantity of experiences doesn’t matter; what matters is the quality. There is nothing but fullness—just go close to it.

Why Do I Hate Mondays?

10 min

If you are someone who is always looking forward to the coming weekend, it means trouble. Be engaged in a kind of work that does not make it necessary for you to seek relief or relaxation over the weekend. Work is life. Work must not be something that taxes you, drains, or saps your energy. Work must be something that really rejuvenates you. You must be looking forward to Monday.

How To Be Confident?

We are born confident. Do you see how a kid is so immensely full of confidence? None of us are born afraid. When we are afraid, we ask for confidence. Do not ask for confidence; instead, ask for freedom from fear. Fear is a thought given to you by society. It is not what you are. Just as you picked it up, you can drop it back. Exercise that power.

Beware such energies || Acharya Prashant, at BITS Pilani, Goa (2022)

How to Overcome Perfectionism?

Questioner (Q): My question is that I heard there are two cosmic energies that will take out all the sufferings of the people. We heard from Treta Yug of lord Shri Ram and Lakshman received the cosmic energies from Sage Vishvamitra. Those are called Sambala and Atibala . If he… read_more

Making the perfect choice is far more important than being perfect at the perfect choice. Pick up the right project even if you can’t initially excel at it. Instead, you are taught to choose as per your strengths because that is what society and the body want. They say, “Identify your strengths and make your decisions based on your strengths.” No, what you are actually saying is, “I cannot tolerate being bad at what I do, therefore I will pick up something I can be good at.” You are giving prime importance to your ego.

How Does One Stay Calm?

5 min

Do not allow anything worldly to become too important for you. I know that it is not easy. It is because we have practised the opposite since many years. It is easy, but we have lost that ease. Till the time anything is important to you, tension, nervousness, panic, anxiety are inevitable. The world itself is the reason. Live in the world, talk, eat, sleep, do whatever you want, but do not let anything become important for you. Have a certain disregard, and you'll naturally stay calm.

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.

Superficial Differences, Deep Commonalities: 6 Human Tendencies

We are at a very peculiar point in the history of mankind. We are extremely close to devastation rather, total annihilation. We need to be shaken up. In fact, we need to be hit before we are bulldozed by the inevitable role of time and the principle of results of action— karmphal. So, that's the kind of public policy environment we need today. At every point, the individual needs to be reminded, all the stuff that pushes us deeper into a stupor needs to be checked, regulated, taxed.

What Makes You Feel Bored?

Boredom arises because you are somewhere else. We have been taught to be result-centric, to be future-centric. When you are always focused on the future, the present automatically becomes boring. It’s like a great party is happening here, right now, but you are somewhere else, missing out on all the action and fun. Be here!

How to Live and Not Just Survive?

13 min

If most of your waking time is spent in pursuit of physical sustenance or physical pleasure, then you are just surviving. Real life is when the body, the physicality are not the end but the means. Of what use is life, then, if all you have to look for is physical-mental security, and fulfilment of blind desire? You live when there is something beyond physicality to live for. That's the defining and exclusive characteristic of a truly alive human being - Freedom.

Who Is Today’s Ravana? What Evil Does Man Needs to Fight Today?

35 min

If somebody would declare himself as an enemy of God, as Ravana did, as Kamsa did, oh they were very innocent fellows, they did, then you could fight him. But today's Ravanas do not declare themselves as enemies of god, they declare themselves to be surrendered to god. Today's Ravana would probably be found in Rishikesh teaching Hatha Yoga. And saying, “This is yoga. This is yoga.” Now whom are you going to fight? They’ve all assumed the name of God. Man is god.

Living a Life of Dignity

3 min

Acharya Prashant: The Buddha used to quote three types of horses. Coming from his palatial background, it seems he was fond of horses. So, he would say that the worst type of horses are those that move only when spanked. That’s how our energy rises—it rises upon spanking. When there… read_more

How to Wake-Up Early?

Don’t sleep at all, and there would be no problem waking up at the right time. See, you cannot be trained in these things. It’s a matter of love. If waking up feels beautiful and full of love, you can bulldoze your habits. If you truly know something is right, you just do it. Keep knowing it deeply until your understanding transforms into loving action.

Why Fast Minds Need to Master Slowness?

Speed comes later. The choice of the right road comes first. It’s far better to be slow on the right road, than to be lightening quick down the wrong road towards your own destruction!

Who is the real disciple?

12 min

The real disciple is the one who already knows the essential, full stop. And then, goes on to do whatever he wants to do, learn, unlearn, forget, remember. The real disciple cannot be a learner. He is the learned one. In fact, the word ‘learner’ is a very dangerous word because it’s a word of imperfection. The real disciple is the one who already knows.

Empowering Choices: Impact of Knowing What to Do and What Not to Do

We often say, ‘Oh, there is that little voice inside us; we call it conscience.’ Wisdom is to realize that your conscience is all artificial. 100% influenced. And that’s why the so-called inner conscience is totally outer and varies from person to person. People have done horrible deeds based on the advice of their conscience. Hitler, too, in his own eyes, must have been a man of conscience.

Ashtavakra Gita: Live in the World, Don’t Be Worldly

What is the world? You will see the world exactly as you are. As the subject changes so do the world. As the subject becomes lighter and lighter, the world also keeps becoming lighter and lighter. And as the subject dissolves totally, the world too, in its present form dissolves totally.

Why Indians Address People as 'Ji'?

5 min

In our daily lives, we find people using the word Ji as an affirmative statement or while addressing people. Though, it has just become as social norm, there is a profound meaning behind it that conveys of beauty and auspiciousness. It is a reminder that one is beyond the body and the mind; beyond all names and forms. And instead of being identified with the body and the mind, there is something better to be identified with—‘Sri’- a Sanskrit word standing for Ji in vernacular.

The Gap Between Understanding and Action

Understanding expresses itself through action. And understanding knows no other expression. Words are a very poor substitute for the right action and that is what Gibran is talking of here. He says that which is understood claim for its final expression as action in life. The poet often lets his understanding become his words. To that extent, there is a flow but if the words remain mere words and do not turn into life then there is no freedom yet. The imprisonment continues. Live what you love, otherwise, the punishment is tremendous.

Life is for Better Things || Neem Candies

1 min

That could be one necessary mark of a true feminist: she would not be dependent on anybody else for a single rupee, especially not on the male partner.

“Financial independence and then still having kids, is that something that can be counted under feminism as such?”

No, you see, these… read_more

‘I want’ versus ‘I must’

1 min

Questioner: Is it possible to live without a target in life? I set a target for myself so that I have something to strive for, so that I have a sense of direction, but the thought of not achieving this target also brings sorrow and fear. So how can a… read_more

Which direction to take in life? || Acharya Prashant (2019)

3 min

Questioner: Acharya Ji, which direction to take in life?

Acharya Prashant: What is it, that matters to you?

The direction in which you must go is determined by where you will feel the pain.

And if you feel no pain, no discomfort, why must you go in any direction?

You … read_more

The Robot's ego

Why Do People Commit Suicide?

Questioner: Sir, I want to ask, Robot doesn’t have ego. So, now what is the intersection between the urge towards freedom and your ego?

Acharya Prashant: You could say, the robot does have an ego planted into it by its designer. Therefore, the ego of the robot is totally in… read_more

Punishment of Having a Wrong Goal || Neem Candies

Questioner: Why do people commit suicide?

Acharya Prashant: They still have a lot of hope. They feel that suicide would redeem them. They have not given up everything. They are still carrying a lot of hope. If I do not know what is beyond life, how can I enter that… read_more

2 min

What is the punishment of having a wrong goal? What is the punishment? You will suffer. And if you keep having one wrong goal after the other, your suffering will keep compounding, so you will be forced to give up your false goals.

And if you are not forced to… read_more

Understanding Guilt for True Self-Improvement

Love or Knowledge: Which is More Powerful for Liberation?

Acharya Prashant: What does guilt say? Let’s first of all look at it. Guilt says, “I am better than how and what I did”, right? Guilt says, “I am better than my actions”, or “I am better than my thoughts. I am better than the account I gave of myself… read_more

How to Overcome Overthinking and Anxiety?

Acharya Prashant: Love is the fire that melts down the bondage that is you. Knowledge is merely the light in which you can see your bondages. Even if you are able to look at your chains in the light of knowledge, that does not rid you of the chains. In… read_more

How to Overcome Laziness?

Acharya Prashant: Immerse yourself in the right action, then where are space and the time to worry? Indeed you are stealing time away from work. So that you can indulge in worries and anxiety and fancy and all kinds. Young people fantasize, don't they?

Some fantasize about beautiful, pretty exciting… read_more

14 min

'Laziness' is an unnecessary pejorative. You’re imposing morality on Prakriti (physical nature) and calling it laziness. There’s nothing called laziness. In nature, there’s a tendency towards work minimization, which is logical—get maximum output with minimum effort. You view it through a moral lens and call it laziness. If something gives more output with less work, you’ll choose it. You call it laziness, but it’s simply efficiency. You calculate the pleasure-to-effort ratio, and if lying in bed offers more pleasure than working out, you’ll naturally choose the bed.

Why Others Can't Fulfill Your Expectations

The movies tell us that unless there is a special person in your life, you are really missing out on something big and you are seized by FOMO. What is FOMO? Fear of missing out. "Oh my god! Everybody has that. I am the only one left behind. I must also have a partner, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a husband, a wife, something. Hey, go grab somebody." So you go out and grab some Johnny next door. He was busy washing his sandals, and you went up to him and threw your most seductive smile and then he too was infected by FOMO. He said, "Now that I have the opportunity, why shouldn't I capitalize?" And thus, came about the relationship. And you call it a holy bond made in heaven. Why do we do that?

If it is Optional to Suffer, why do we still Suffer?

Questioner: There is a well-known saying, “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.” My question is, Is suffering really optional? Whenever I go through persistent issues, I suffer, even after knowing.

Acharya Prashant: Yes, suffering is always optional.

But you cannot have your world and the rest of what you are,… read_more

Where Is the Real Me?