Why am I so attracted to the personality and mannerisms of all my teachers, often curious about their lives than the truth of their teachings? When I read Jiddu Krishnamurti(JK), am I conditioned by him? Is JK’s method really ‘via negativa’ all the time?…
There is nothing that can continue in time unchallenged, untested, undefeated. The moment anything starts journeying in time, it is bound to be defeated and die. So, how is immortality or eternity possible at all? It is possible only when your association with things in time is deep. Eternity lies in the quality of time, not in the expanse of time. And the depth of association is known by seeing how we usually superficially relate, without attention or inquiry into what they really are. This superficiality is mortality.
The things that happen within you — anger, lust, disappointment, greed — are conditioned chemical reactions. It is the mark of a wise person not to be driven by one’s own reactions. Chemicals are reactive; consciousness can wait. Let the elements do what they are doing — 'I am not wedded to the limitations of this chemical godown.' This is what the knowers have called ‘detachment'. They have also called it ‘witnessing'.
If dogs were to write a holy text, would they say that “We are inferior to humans”? If chickens were to write a Bible of their own, would they say that “We exist so that we may be slaughtered in factories and packed”? Read more....
Question: Sir, how does a mind that is enlightened look at life? What happens to its thoughts? Does its wiring change in response to fear? Does it change its response to emotions?
Question: Dear Sir, we have been talking about how to use the ‘higher’ desire of brahman as a broom to clean up all the desires and then to burn the broom itself. Do you think I should simply sit back and read without this burning desire, this lust for knowledge,…
Question: Dear Sir, when I review the discussions that take place in the clarity sessions, most of them are beyond my ordinary imaginations. The experiences or the words mentioned in these sessions sound very pure and pious but very difficult to attain. Why is it so?
Question: I read somewhere that when a person dies, the stream, of which it was a manifestation, still goes on. What is the process of this stream and how does it manifest itself?
Question: I have been reading Buddha and Kabir for long, and both are my favorite. While reading them I realized that both had different methods to get enlightenment.
Question: Acharya Ji, Pranaam! People’s faces and vocal tonality show what they mean in actuality. But people like Toohey (one of the principal characters in Ayn Rand’s novel ‘The Fountainhead’) have control on their emotions like an actor. They dumb down our intellect using emotions.
Question: What is absent mindedness?Answer: Absent mindedness is mind being anywhere. Whenever you are occupied with anything, it is absent mindedness. Any act of focus, concentration, having ‘something’ as important in mind, becoming a subject,all these are acts of absent-mindedness. Mind busy with any object is absent-mindedness.
Question: Sir, I would want to seek clarification on the requirement of regularity in life. In being regular we would be stressed to do things even when we aren’t feeling good about it on some days. For example, if we pray to God everyday and don’t feel like doing it
Questioner:Dear Sir,I have been following Nisargadatta Maharaj. I have read all his dialogues, books, and watched most of his videos. But I feel I have been just sticking his words as knowledge in my mind. What you bring to me is something alive, I ‘see’ and I ‘feel’ whatever…
All desires, all wants are motivated by the ego and hence desire too is an extension of the self. Now my question is that if we are our thoughts only, then how does one move from what one does not like, let us say his present occupation,
Conversation between Roark and Hopton Stoddard at the end of which Roark agrees to raise the Stoddard Temple: “Roark rubbed the back of his hand against his eyes, helplessly. It was not possible. It simply was not possible. That could not be what the man wanted; not that man. It
Question: Today I saw some children roaming outside my hostel. They were trying to get some money or food but no one came out to help them. In what ways can we help others?
Why does it happen that on particular nights, despite my head heavy with knowledge of the outside, reading a scripture or listening to Osho or JK is so clear to me?
Question: Given that all our relationships seem to be arising purely out of a sense of imagined need, is it possible to have any other kind of relationship?
Question: What do I do to cross the river? To me, it is such a challenge.
Acharya Prashant: Crossing the river is easy. Just hold the hand of someone who knows the other side, and cross. You have already crossed the river a thousand times with me. Your failure is…
Your role models are unworthy people. They're your role models only because you aspire to consume as much as them. Notice how they either display their ability to consume or they present themselves as stuff to be consumed. So, when consumption is the ideal that we have been taught, the result is catastrophic like climate change. So, don’t just be driven to anything that appears attractive; choose your role models very carefully.
Excerpts from Articles
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.
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.
You Don't Understand the Bhagvad Gita, But You Still Claim That You Love Krishna?
The Bhagavad Gita deserves reverence not because of inherited beliefs about its author, but because of its power to dissolve falsehood and reveal Truth. Real devotion is not ritual or blind faith—it is understanding, inquiry, and living the wisdom of the Gita. Through sincere study, one discovers the true meaning of Krishna, making the Gita the most authentic path to knowing and worshipping Him.
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।
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?
Animal cruelty: Who deserves mercy, and who doesn’t?
Violence begins long before the knife or the slaughterhouse—it begins with the ego, the one that draws boundaries, seeks justification, and decides who deserves compassion. Laws and reforms may reduce suffering, but they cannot end violence while the ego remains intact. When the ego dissolves, exploitation ends naturally, and compassion no longer depends on regulation or moral boundaries.
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।
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.
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.
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.
Brother, I have seen some astonishing sights.
A lion keeping watch over pasturing cows;
a mother delivered after her son was;
a guru prostrated before his disciple;
fish spawning on treetops;
a rooster is eating a cat;
a gunny sack driving a bullock cart;
a cat carrying away a dog;…
Do not focus on the decision. Rather, look at the decision-maker. The decision is not bad, humbly accept that the decision-maker is bad. Without this acceptance, the series of bad decisions will continue.
When one realizes that the decision-makers' mind has been full of beliefs, past, and fear, then there is radical transformation in one’s being. The old, frozen, conditioned decision-maker simply evaporates.
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Acharya Prashant : If it was possible for one man to move toward greatness, it was possible for everybody. Even if you have collected great numbers, all those numbers mean nothing in front of the one person who is demonstrating that something could have been done. So, they get hurt.…
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.
If freedom is important to you, you will secure it, you will get it. Do you love being free? Are you really a free bird? No, you had accepted slavery long back. And then you complain, and then you put up miserable faces, that won’t do. These faces are masks. The one who wants it, gets it.
Being spiritual is simply about not being stupid. Spirituality is not at all organised religion. It is not about customs or rituals or beliefs. Spirituality is an awakened state of mind in which the mind really understands. So, mind has only two options: spirituality or stupidity.The mind when conditioned and away from origin (essence), is bound to be stupid.
Only a spiritual man really lives, loves and enjoys. Others die without living.
How do you, ask the chief of police, patrol a city,
where the butcher shops are guarded by vultures,
where bulls get pregnant, cows are barren,
and calves give milk three times a day,
where mice are the boatmen, and tomcats row the boats,
where frogs keep snakes as watchdogs,…
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…
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.…
Formal education is important to the extent the body is important. The less the body-identification, the less is the importance of object-centric education. A person's attachment to material possessions, driven by societal values, leads to poverty and duality. Poverty, unlike the natural world, is man-made and rooted in the desire to accumulate. While education enables material progress, it doesn’t address deeper issues of self-identity and existence.
Eating, walking, sleeping, working, dying – these alone surely cannot mean being alive. Life is much more than the physical and mental processes. Machines can walk, eat, work. The programmed analysis that computers do is no different from what we call thinking. Machines have no role in their formation, just as we have no role in our birth. And machines can be programmed to self-terminate after a certain time, just as we die.
Questioner: Pranam Acharya ji. I am Ritu Tiwari. I am an alumnus of this college. My question is related to defamation of mental health problems. I’ll give you three examples – first comes from a recent murder case that happened in the capital of our country where a man named…
Answer: Assuming sufficiently good understanding of the brain and sufficiently developed scientific processes, anything can surely be done…
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Answer: The Sunday discussions…
Sir, is there life after death? What sort of knowledge passes on at the time of enlightenment?
…
Buddha said, “Renounce the world and be a monk.”
While Kabir said, “Don’t renounce the world, be in this world, face…
At the core, not only are
…
How to recognise such people…
*Question: Sir, what does it mean to be a Teacher?*
Answer: Going through Shankar’s works and then a few Upanishads, I am humbled by the pain these teachers have taken to bring the concept to the student.
Shankar announces, even before the beginning, that only the most deserving and…
1
Conversation between Roark and Dominique at a social gathering:
Miss Francon (Dominique): “You’re wrong about Austen, Mr. Roark. He’s very successful. In his profession and mine you’re successful if it leaves you untouched.”
Howard Roark: “How does one achieve that?”
Miss Francon (Dominique): “In one of two ways: by not…
Mind busy…
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Ellsworth Toohey (giving an advice to a young man who is passionate about law):
“No, I wouldn’t go in for law if I were you. You’re much too tense and passionate about it. A hysterical devotion to one’s career does not make for happiness or success. It is wiser to…
*One group of people walk toward the fire, into the fire,
And the other towards the cool flowing waters.
No one knows which is blessed and which is not.*
*But…
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Question: Acharya Ji, Pranaam! While reading the first chapter of the Fountainhead, I found that the character Peter Keating shows us our reality. But in front of Howard Roark Peter can’t hide his falsities, though he tries his best to.
Even though Peter gets a glimpse of what his reality…
…
Questioner: Dear Sir,
My silly questions aside, I wanted to know your perspective on this one issue:
How can a sensitive man survive in the world as it is? I mean, an artist, or for that matter, anyone who draws from the springs of his inner depths will be sensitive.…
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…
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Henry Cameron said to Roark,
“You love your work. God help you, you love it. And that’s the curse. That’s the brand on your forehead for all of them to see. The substance of them is hatred for any man who loves his work. That’s the only kind they fear.…
Speaker:
सम्मान=सम्यक्+मान
सम्यक मानने का अर्थ है समझना ।
तो जो समझ सकता है, वो सम्माननीय। जो नासमझ है उसका कोई सम्मान नहीं।
तुम भी यदि किसी का सम्मान करना चाहो, तो उसे समझो। यही…
Student: Sir, what is an Ideal?
Acharya Prashant: You tell me. What is Idealism?
S: It is a prescription by the society in regard to how we should be.
AP: For an idealism to exist there must be an ideal and for an ideal, there should be an idea. Let’s…
Are you looking for me?
Look a little closely!
Am I in the Stupa, am I in the Shrine?
You really want me, or just images of mine?
… a little closely!
The crowds in the Ashram are all misled,
What you call as Yoga is such a dread,…
…
Speaker: Helping others is great. But to help others, we must first be free of our…
You said when there is no self, there is purity in being and hence the desireless action takes place. By this do you…
Question: Sir, many a times it happens that we ask a question to ourselves and then we are also able to answer it on our own. Moreover, this is what forms the basis of so many assumptions that we take. Is this an appropriate method or should verification also be…
A represents the individuality-the one, common, impersonal individuality.
All points on BC represent persons i.e. personal, differentiated minds.
Love is the rising of the base…
Answer: It often appears as if we have met some new ‘experience’.
Remember, all that is…
Those who are free of the world, are free to relate with the world in a healthy way. And
…
Gatay, Gatay, Paragatay….
I will miss you so much,
Pardon me, I will have to die.
We played together for long,
Now I’m going home to the Sky.
I will miss you so much,
I’m going to where I belong.
It breaks my heart to leave you,
I tried hard…
![How SMP* Are Crushing Your Soul [*Small-Minded People]](https://cimg.acharyaprashant.org/images/img-32df55d2-004d-4f93-b97c-f20d14a723cd/30/image.jpg)
