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?…
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: 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,
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 is God? Is it imagination or observation?
Answer: There was a group of people A who deeply believed in white. They worshipped white and denied black. They forgot the black background the white is written on. They declared that white is the absolute Truth.
Question: One of your quote says, “If you are identified with an object, you have given it control over yourself. This control itself will prevent you from being free from identification.”
Are you suffering, are you burning? Is there something that is eating you out?
Want to know the reason?
You have an ideal. You have a set idea of how things should be. You want existence to conform to your idea of things. You are so arrogant that you will
Question: I am a little confused with the statement by Shankar. He says, “Thought is the only means to knowledge.” Is there not a difference between thought and realization? What I mean is that is it not true that realization comes first and thought picks up the realization as an
Question: Dear Sir, in the last few days my reading and my own experiences have made me come to realize a lot of things. But I am still left with three questions. The three questions are:
What is positive? For your or me to call anything as positive, there must be first a centre, an origin, a frame of reference.
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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…
जनमानस में तो शिव और शंकर एक ही हैं, जिनके सहस्रों नाम हैं। सब नाम सुंदर हैं। पर अध्यात्म की सूक्ष्मताओं में जाकर अगर हम इन नामों का अभिप्राय समझें तो उनका सौंदर्य और बढ़ जाएगा। ‘शिव’ अर्थात आत्मा, सत्य मात्र। आप कहते हैं ‘शिवोहम्’, ठीक जैसे उपनिषद कहते हैं,…
साहब नज़र रखना, मौला नज़र रखना
तेरा करम सबको मिले, सबकी फ़िक्र रखना
न आदमी की आदमी झेले गुलामियाँ,
न आदमी से आदमी मांगे सलामियाँ
जो फ़र्क पैदा हो रहे, वो फ़र्क गर्क हों
सबको बराबर बाँट, ये धरती ये आसमान
कोई भी न हो दर्द में, सबकी ख़बर रखना
…
*भूले मन..!
समझ के लाग लदनियां..!
थोड़ा लाद..
अधिक मत लादे..
टूट जाये तेरी गर्दनिया..!..*
*भूले मन…भूखा हो तो भोजन पा ले..आगे हात न बनिया…!*
*भूले मन….प्यासा हो तो पानी पि ले..आगे घात न पनियां…*
*भूले मन….कहे कबीर सुनो भाई साधो..काल के हाथ कमनियां…*…
Excerpts from Articles
अंधविश्वास असल में झूठ को स्वीकृति पाने की चाह है
एक पुजारी जो रोज़ भूत-प्रेत, तंत्र-मंत्र और वशीकरण के नाम पर आए लोगों से मिलता है, आचार्य प्रशांत से पूछता है: जब वो ख़ुद जानता है कि कुछ भूत-चुड़ैल नहीं होता, तो लोग बार-बार इसी झूठ की शरण में क्यों जाते हैं? जवाब अंधविश्वास से कहीं गहरा निकलता है — यह हमारे भीतर के उस झूठ की कहानी है, जिसे हम हर कीमत पर बचाना चाहते हैं।
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।
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?
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.
फ़ालतू खर्च छोड़िए, अपनी ज़िंदगी पर खर्च करना सीखिए
आचार्य प्रशांत बताते हैं कि क्यों हम सही खान-पान, स्वास्थ्य और अपने ऊपर ज़रूरी खर्च से बचते हैं, लेकिन दिखावे और फ़ालतू सामाजिक परंपराओं पर पैसा बहा देते हैं। अधिकांश लोगों के लिए समस्या सिर्फ़ पैसों की कमी नहीं, बल्कि विवेक और सही प्राथमिकताओं की कमी भी है।
अंधविश्वास या किसी दावे को केवल किताबों, परंपराओं या बड़ी-बड़ी हस्तियों के कहने से नहीं मानना चाहिए। भौतिक जगत से जुड़े हर दावे के लिए प्रमाण माँगना आवश्यक है। जो बात जाँची-परखी जा सकती है, उसे तर्क, प्रयोग और उपकरणों से जाना जाए; बिना जाने नहीं माना जाए। सच्ची जिज्ञासा वही है जो हर दावे के सामने प्रश्नचिह्न रखे और प्रमाण मिलने पर ही स्वीकार करे।
जो खुद आज़ाद नहीं, वह लोकतंत्र को मजबूत कैसे करेगा?
लोकतंत्र, गणतंत्र और स्वतंत्रता केवल संविधान में लिखे शब्द नहीं, बल्कि जागरूक नागरिक की चेतना पर निर्भर हैं। वास्तविक स्वतंत्रता मनमानी करने की छूट नहीं, बल्कि भीतर घुसे भय, लालच, अंधविश्वास, पूर्वाग्रह और बाहरी प्रभावों से मुक्ति है। जब नागरिक अपने ही विचारों और मान्यताओं की जाँच नहीं करता, तो लोकतंत्र भीड़तंत्र और संप्रभुता खोखली बन सकती है।
सपनों और सामाजिक प्रतिष्ठा के पीछे भागते हुए युवा अक्सर अपनी वास्तविक क्षमता, रुचि और वर्तमान चुनौतियों को देखना भूल जाते हैं। आईआईटी, यूपीएससी, सरकारी नौकरी और पेंशन को जीवन का लक्ष्य मान लेने के बजाय ज़रूरी है आत्मज्ञान—ख़ुद को ईमानदारी से परखना। जवानी भविष्य की सुरक्षा की चिंता में नहीं, आज की वास्तविक चुनौतियों से जूझने और सार्थक कर्म में लगनी चाहिए।
रक्षाबंधन केवल भाई-बहन के रिश्ते और सुरक्षा की रस्म तक सीमित नहीं होना चाहिए। आज असली रक्षा उन चीज़ों की ज़रूरत है जो कमज़ोर और संकट में हैं—गौरैया, नदियाँ, पहाड़, पेड़, महासागर और पृथ्वी। साथ ही ईमानदारी, आत्मज्ञान और मानवीय मूल्यों की भी रक्षा जरूरी है। धर्म कर्मकांड नहीं, अपनी शक्ति और उससे जुड़ी व्यापक ज़िम्मेदारी को समझना है।
निश्छलता आती है इस गहरी आश्वस्ति के साथ कि मुझे छल, धोखा, चालाकी की ज़रुरत…
प्रश्न: मनुष्य ‘स्वार्थी’ है या ‘मतलबी’?
उत्तर: तुमने ‘स्वार्थ, मतलब’ के बारे में जानना चाहा है।
अर्थ माने कुछ ऐसा जो तुम्हें लुभावना, प्रिय लगता हो।
(यहां पर) ‘स्व’ माने अहंकार।
स्वार्थ माने वो जो अहंकार को प्यारा लगे।और मतलब माने भी अर्थ।
सत्य मात्र ‘होता है’, और उसका ‘मतलब’…
रहिमन धागा प्रेम का मत तोड़ो चटकाय।
टूटे से फिर ना जुड़े, जुड़े गाँठ परि जाय।।
धागा क्या है? जिसके दो छोर हैं, दो सिरे हैं। दो दूरियों के मध्य जो है, सो धागा।
एक ही दूरी है जीवन में, बाकी सारी दूरियां इस एक दूरी से निकलती हैं। स्वयं…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
…
*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…
Mind busy…
*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…
…
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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…
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…
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
…
The foolish will always hunt the wise. If the wise recede to the forest, the foolish will condemn them for that. If the wise stay and fight, they shall be condemned
…
There was a group…
Answer:
Let me answer in a few ways.
The very question you are asking is a step in that direction. This question is a result of an acceptance of the limitation of mind; otherwise…
1
Question: Dear Sir, I want to inquire about a couple of perspectives that seem to be troubling me to some extent.
The first one is based on an earlier conversation I had with you: when there is action without the self, is that action marked by compassion?
The second doubt…
Question: Sir, what is the role of a teacher in the life of a student? Whatever syllabus we are prescribed as of now can be possibly dealt by us to a decent level. Then why a teacher? Isn’t there something more than just teaching?
Answer: There is something called knowledge-…
Does it mean that once you are identified with an object you can’t be free from this identification ?…
1
Questioner: Dear Sir, I am writing this mail with a very heavy heart. It is on account of my affection for my father, that I had to get into the filth of society and family. But now that I am into it, I find myself unable to be a part…
…
Answer:
Is character about sticking to certain norms of behaviour? Is character about following the patterns of society or religion? Then character is just dead conditioning. Your reaction, behaviour, and life will be predictable, like a puppet-show.
Rather,…
Question: Sir, even if I find the falseness of happiness, I will not leave seeking for happiness because it is given to us by nature. It is our natural behaviour. If we call happiness as false, then are we not challenging our human nature.
Answer: What we call as nature…
…
Acharya Prashant Ji:
When we love what we do, procrastination is out of the question.
Procrastination is a challenge we have all faced at some point in time. If you find yourself procrastinating a lot, if you find that you have fixed a…
Question: Sir, there is a fear in my mind regarding future, and it constantly hampers my present. What to do?
Answer: Ashish,
You are not worried about the future.
You are worried that whether you are capable enough to meet the future.
Understand the difference between these two: You have…
All thoughts are fundamentally the same – mental activity. Elation and guilt both are just mind. Whichever…
How did our ancients understand and come to believe in Advaita? How did they…
Depending upon where your centre is, something becomes positive, and something becomes negative. Our centres are conditioned centres, our centres…
