Many Indian parents keep their children, and especially their daughters, away from sport, even where coaches and facilities exist. The barrier is often not outside but in the parent’s own ideas: poor returns, uncertainty, and fixed notions of what a girl’s life must be. Blaming our own parents does not help either; our life is now our responsibility. Parenting is a decision of the greatest responsibility, and it begins with self-love. Can we love a child if we cannot love ourselves?
Innovation is born from research, creativity, critical thinking, scientific temper, and original thinking—not imitation or appearances. A society that values honest inquiry over validation creates genuine progress. India's future depends on nurturing a culture that encourages questioning, respects originality, and pursues truth with intellectual honesty instead of settling for superficial success and empty displays.
Society has a role in practical matters, but it should never decide love, marriage, happiness, or the purpose of life. Real freedom begins when personal choices are guided by understanding instead of social pressure. While social norms help maintain order, they become harmful when they dictate relationships, career, or inner values. True happiness and love arise from freedom, not conformity, making every love story meaningful only when it is authentically one's own.
If you are offering something to somebody without expecting much in return, then you'll never be afraid. Fear comes only from greed and desire. If your aim is to bring the Truth to the other without expecting anything or without expecting much, then you will never be afraid. Never.
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.
Acharya Prashant: It has been told to us that there exist two centers. I suppose it has been very freshly told to you right? Very recently. He says, “How do I know that I am living out of the right center? How does a young man know whether he’s not
Acharya Prashant: What if you were never, never trained in womanhood? How would you live? You can’t even think because right now, every bit of you is a trained bit. How do you know that a woman must have long hair? How do you know? That’s how it is! Nine
Questioner: Sir, youngsters in India and the world over, often rebel against rules and regulations in the name of freedom of choice or freedom of expression, the list of complaints is long and all have one bottom line: My life my rules. What do ancient wisdom and Vedanta say on
Acharya Prashant: Desire means that you are not alright with yourself and you want something else to happen, correct? So, we are anyway not living for ourselves. We are rather living to change ourselves. And are these not two very different things? If you are living for yourself as you
Questioner: My question is about the relationships we share with our near ones. I find so many limitations in every relationship I have. What to do in situations where my parents do not understand me? What should I do to make them understand me?
Speaker: Karan has asked that he is unable to say ‘No’ and that often lands him in trouble, gives him a lot of problems. Are there others who face this problem?
Speaker: Will I ever be able to know – Who am I? Or is that supposed to be left blank forever? It teases, it irritates and then you say,“Why can’t I find out the answers?”
Speaker: The question is, ‘personality, ego, individuality, freedom, all these surely have the society as the back drop. The relationship between the society and the individual is always questioned. How to secure my freedom from the society then?’
Question: Sir, going by your theory of, ‘search first, believe second’, I don’t think there is any religion left in the society. Do you think this phenomenon is an obstacle in the mental development in the society?
Question: Sir, are you saying that we should not be bothered with what the others are saying? If I do not care about what others are saying, would I not be leading a self-centered life?
Question: Sir, I can see that personality is a mask, but then why is the world giving personality so much of importance? Why does everybody seem to give personality so much of importance?
Questioner (Q): (In tears, sitting next to the Speaker, by the Ganges and the Himalayas. Overwhelmed by his weeklong presence in the Speaker’s discourses) Why is it difficult to even be here?
We often believe we are living freely, while our desires, dreams, beliefs, and choices are shaped by physical, social, cultural, religious, and psychological scripts. These scripts offer comfort and security, making us reluctant to examine our bondage. Freedom does not begin by imagining what lies beyond the script, but by deeply observing the cage we already live in, without fear, desire, or attachment.
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Inner freedom becomes impossible when identity is borrowed from family, friends, or social expectations. Fear, guilt, and pressure arise because people allow others to define their worth and choices. Relationships become healthy only when they support growth rather than control it. Real autonomy comes from self-understanding, continuous inner inquiry, and the courage to act from clarity rather than conformity. When there is inner certainty, labels, criticism, and social judgment lose their power.
Excerpts from Articles
ज्योतिष कितना सच है? कुंडली, ग्रह-नक्षत्र: इनका क्या अर्थ है?
वेदांत को केवल इसलिए सही या श्रेष्ठ नहीं माना जा सकता कि वह किसी विशेष परंपरा से आता है। विज्ञान जहाँ भौतिक जगत की वस्तुनिष्ठ जाँच करता है, वहीं अद्वैत वेदांत सीधे मनुष्य के ‘मैं’, उसके दुख, बंधन और मुक्ति की पड़ताल करता है। इसकी कसौटी वैज्ञानिक प्रमाण नहीं, बल्कि अपने जीवन में इसकी सच्चाई को देख पाना है। किसी दर्शन को मान लेना नहीं, बल्कि उससे स्वयं को मुक्त करना ही उसका वास्तविक उद्देश्य है।
Struggling to choose between a secure job and the path you actually feel drawn to? This isn't really a question about careers. It's about why other people's opinions have so much power over you in the first place. Real clarity doesn't come from finding the 'right' choice. It comes from honestly looking at your own fear, again and again, until it stops running the decision for you.
Climate change is more than an environmental crisis—it is a crisis of human choices. Our patterns of consumption, consumerism and endless pursuit of more are putting increasing pressure on the planet. But meaningful change does not necessarily begin with new technology or stricter policies. It begins with a deeper question: what are we willing to change within ourselves?
कई तरह के डर—अकेले पड़ने, छवि खोने या छोटा समझे जाने—की जड़ अक्सर अतीत में बनी पहचान और कहानियों में होती है। शरीर की हाइट जैसी चीज़ों को समस्या मानकर उनसे जूझने के बजाय उनकी अप्रासंगिकता को समझकर आगे बढ़ना चाहिए। अतीत को दबाने से मुक्ति नहीं मिलती; उसके करीब जाकर अपनी स्मृतियों, धारणाओं और पुराने पैटर्न को निष्पक्षता से देखना ज़रूरी है।
Justice Without Boundaries: Why Compassion Cannot Stop at Species
Oppression should not see caste, gender, creed or colour, and it should not see species either. The moral threshold is sentience, not intelligence. An animal feels pain as fully as a human does, whether or not it can explain its suffering.
You are given an image to pursue, and that image is a distant one, far off in the future. A villa of your own, two nice cars, two cute kids, a light-skinned wife, such things. That's the worst concept you can subscribe to in life: settling down. What does that mean? Not changing anymore, not improving further, not having the guts or the stamina to be disruptive anymore. We are very loveless people. All we care for is security, and that's why there is so little creativity and innovation here.
What surrounds you is 99.99% trash. And if, by glorious chance, there is 0.01% greatness, brilliance, selfless compassion, you will never accept it because you are used to the usual 99.99%. You will think even this one is of the same type. You need to be very careful about this because it’s a double trap. One, you are surrounded by idiots. Two, when you meet the one exception, you are so conditioned to idiots that you take even the exception as an idiot.
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The authentic one can never be harmed because he lives freely and without dependence. If someone can inflate you with their words, they can also deflate you. By accepting your identity from someone else, you have needlessly made yourself a beggar. The authentic person does not want anything from any external being. He can have a relationship, but he’ll always be ready to leave. And that does not mean the relationship cannot have love. Love and desire are different things; desire means: I want to exploit; love is about giving without expectation.
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Had you not been told what to do, would you have done even one of the things that you currently do? Think of it. If nobody tells you to take a particular kind of education or a particular career, would you still go in that stream? Very unlikely. Most of that which we want is something we have been ‘made to want.’ You are not even a puppet. You are a bubble — a bubble blown by society. Once you start looking directly at yourself, the need for external validation then reduces.
Life will give you a 440-volt shock, embrace her. The moment you embrace, you will be thrown away. Embrace her again. Develop stamina. After a while, you discover this is what you have always wanted; this is your deepest longing. Remaining protected, covered, insulated, secured — that's not the way of life. Those who cannot bear pain will never know joy. It's in the depths of your pain that joy will emerge.
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Existence does not allow multi-tasking. It says, “One thing at a time.” Rule one is that whatever is happening, it must happen fully, 100%. Second thing is what is happening right now, must happen only right now. It should live in this moment, be fully alive, and then it should die. It should not carry forward into the next moment. The first formula is the rule of complete life and the second one is the rule of complete death and these two must go together.
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The first level of your nourishment must come from your textbooks — immerse yourself in them. The book is not just about passing exams and moving to the next class; the book turns you into the individual that you would be. Be very, very affectionate towards your books. Textbooks lay the foundation, and if you can master them at your stage — 12 years or 13 years of age — it goes a long way because you have laid a good foundation for yourself.
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.
“Financial independence and then still having kids, is that something that can be counted under feminism as such?”
No, you see, these…
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?
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Acharya Prashant: A mind free of stories about itself, is a humble mind. The story could say everything. The story does not always say, “I am the king of the world.” Often the story says, “I am the most wretched person on this earth.” Nevertheless, irrespective of its content, a…
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Acharya Prashant: A king once asked his favorite painter, the royal painter to paint him the face of the most beautiful individual in the kingdom. So, the painter set out looking for the most innocent face in the kingdom. And he chanced upon a little girl, he chanced upon a…
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Acharya Prashant: First of all, you…
Questioner: Hello, sir. I observed that Arjun has been basically called by Krishna by multiple names — Parth, Bharath, and then Kaunteya, that one clicked. So, I was just curious that it is just an ornamental value, or is there any significance to it?
Acharya Prashant: I think that's a…
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Questioner: My question is, why is creativity, like poetry, dying these days? And poetry is a part of literature. And how much contribution of literature is there on the way to Adhyatma?
Acharya Prashant: See, the more you will lose touch with yourself, the more material your world will get.…
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The world is full of people who pursued what they call their interest, or their hobby—or their love even—and kept feeling as frustrated as you probably do.
See, the influences that others have upon us, we resist them. So, as you are saying, your parents have a certain influence upon you. You want to resist it, you don’t feel comfortable. There is a constant feeling that, “I am doing something under somebody’s influence or pressure.
Acharya Prashant (AP):
We have to first start with- what is slavery? Freedom is not something that comes from outside. Freedom is our basic nature. What comes from outside, is slavery. So, when slavery is understood and gotten rid of,
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Speaker: The topic of ‘Compulsion’ and ‘Free-will’ is what we are concerned with. When do you call something a compulsion?
Listener 1: When I am not interested in doing something and I am forced to do something.
Speaker: At a superficial level compulsion is when the mind does not feel…
Listeners: Yes.
Speaker: Alright, so this question then comes from all of us. Let’s understand this question. I am…
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Questioner: Sir, is having an Ego positive or negative?
Shri Prashant: I write a quantity ‘A’ over here (pointing towards the white board) and I ask you, ‘Is it positive or negative?’ Can you answer me? I just write a unknown quantity and I ask you, ‘Is it…
Question:
Sir, why is comparison required for growth and what is the real meaning of comparison?
Speaker: Why is comparison required for growth and what is the real meaning of comparison. As we look at the world, all we see is things, objects, materials, and everything that we see with…
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Question : What is personality?
Speaker : Personality is an expression of your individuality.
What core is to gloss, individuality is to personality. What core is to gloss, what center is to circumference, is individuality to personality. Personality is and must be just a natural, clear, honest expression of what…
“I must have an answer!” it demands!
There are two prerequisites for getting a real…
Speaker: Memories are residues.
I would like to put it this way. There are two kinds of memories. Capacitor memories and current memories. What are capacitor memories?
Listeners: The memories…
Speaker : How is it possible that two-hundred students sitting here, two hundred individuals sitting here, have the same goal in…
To how many of you is this question important, the relation between…
Listeners (everyone): No, Sir.
Speaker: One mole of water has how much grams of water?
Listener 1: Eighteen grams of water.
Speaker: This water-bottle has not less than four grams of water. So,…
We have so little taste of freedom, that slavery has become a habit for us. A very deep habit. We have grown accustomed to it. So accustomed,…
Speaker: I do not think that young people like you are very interested…
Speaker: We are already self-centered. Do you know what does being self-centered mean? It means…
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Questioner (Q): Sir, my question is about handling pressure—the pressure of expectations. Sir, when God in Bhagavad Gita says that a human being is bound to make mistakes, why society is not ready to accept mistakes? Everybody is judged in the end by only results. How would you work if…
Speaker:
Clearly understand this. What do you call as ‘I’ ? What do you call as the ‘self’?
‘Selfish’. The word ‘self’ is important. What you call as the ‘self’ and what you call as the ‘I’ are two very distinct entities, very…
Work is life. Work must not be something that taxes you and drains and saps out your energy. Work must be something that…
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Question: Is it true that the society is influenced more by the gloss, more by the apparent, than the substance, the real?
Speaker: You can only know or see to the extent of your own intelligence, beyond that you will not be able to see. If I am superficial then…
Speaker: The reason is simple. When you need to talk to me, you need to have some…
mind
is over us, we have to take decisions on our own, but in real world, it will not help us. In our college itself, teachers want to make us do something,
…
Speaker :
Shreya is asking that we all know that the society manipulates us but how do we do without the society.
There are two ways of going with the society, one being manipulated by it, becoming a slave to the society, as she said that the society manipulates us,…
Acharya Prashant (AP): Something is difficult if you try to fight. Something is difficult only if you try…
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Question: What is inner completeness of a person?
Speaker: Monica is asking, ‘What is inner completeness?’ Monica does ‘the complete one’ ask this question? Who is asking this question? We ask this question. We ask this question because we sense that we are incomplete. So this question is coming from…
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Question: Sir, good afternoon. While I speak before you, I will try to choose my words very gracefully. Sir, I have many things in my life that keep me happy but it is life and we are not supposed to have everything. I have lacked something in my life that…
