Ahimsa

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.

Does Self-Help Really Help?

Self-help doesn't help. Its approach is, “I am sad as my desires are not fulfilled, so the way to help myself is to fulfill desires.” They never realize their lives are driven by biological, social, and cultural forces outside of themselves. Spirituality offers the only real solution: “Before helping the self, one must know what the self really is."

Rapid Fire Round with Acharya Prashant

10 min

Man and woman, classically, both are just Prakriti. So, both come under the umbrella name of woman, which is the human state, which is the human state. In some sense, all of us are women. You are a woman in just the biological sense; I too am a woman in the mental sense, right? So, the word woman describes entire mankind; you could say, “Womankind.”

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!

What Is Yoga According to the Bhagavad Gita?

28 min

Shri Krishna is saying, “As long as you are the actor, please forget Yoga. Yoga is not for you.” Yoga is freedom from the false actor. The Yogi is the one who has realized that Yoga cannot be attained through any method. A yogi is healthy and alright with himself.

The Many Images of Krishna: Their Utility and Limits

9 min

If you're obsessed with the lover-boy image of Krishna, then you will miss Krishna when he does not come as a charming lover. And he will not always come as a charming lover. If you are obsessed with Krishna, the male, then you will miss Krishna when he comes as a woman. Because, in your imagination, Krishna is the one wearing the peacock feather with the flute at his lips, appearing in attire that belonged to those ages, enjoying milk and butter, speaking Sanskrit.

Who is the real disciple?

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

9 min

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

4 min

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.

Is Krishna Available Only to Arjuna?

14 min

Remember, it is not as if Krishna did not try with Duryodhana. Krishna goes to Duryodhana and what does Duryodhana do? He tries to arrest him. Krishna goes as the messenger of peace and Duryodhana says no, no, no! The action of Love is still taking place. He is not saying that I will leave Duryodhana to his fate. He says it is my responsibility to teach even Duryodhana. But when Duryodhana proves it beyond doubt, that he is incorrigible, then Krishna says, “Fine, now that the battle is destined, let the blows rain.”

Surprise! A Delicious Dish

What Are the Four Ways to Krishna Darshan?

Acharya Prashant: In general, human beings are not cannibals. We do not eat other men and women, do we? Why don't we ask ourselves: “Why don't we eat other men and women? If flesh is what we want to eat, then why kill animals?” There are many who say, “Eating… read_more

13 min

The first way, the topmost one, is the Sahaja way (natural way). Krishna prescribes no method there. He says, “Arjuna, just come to Me and be seated in Me, be affirmed in Me, pretty steadfastly. Just do it. Simply, obviously, instantly.” That is the Sahaja way. “Do it directly, Arjuna. If you really are sincere, and if you really have love for Me, then do it right now, right here, right away. What are you waiting for? What do you require a method for? Nothing is needed. You have the intention, you really want it, you aren’t fooling yourself. I am here, come and be settled in Me and that’s it.”

Dealing with a chronic medical condition

10 min

Questioner: I am a research scholar. I am in my fourth year of PhD, and it is kind of my second inning. Earlier I was a teacher, I was teaching at a university, but I’ve left that and I have started my PhD.

I’ve been suffering from a condition for… read_more

Vedanta: The Bridge Between Philosophy and Spirituality

14 min

Why do we need to talk of the purpose of life? Because we don’t feel alright as we are and where we are. Because we don’t feel alright where we are, therefore we need to be somewhere else. Because we don’t feel good about the way our self-concept and our self-image is, therefore there is a need for change, right?

The Dilemma of the Spiritual Path

16 min

Why is it that what you call the ‘spiritual path’ must be equated with leaving something? Do you find any renunciation in existence? Do you find anything in existence that is bent upon giving up something, or dropping something? If life were meant for dropping, then that whom you call as ‘God’ should have first of all dropped the universe. When he is running the universe, not dropping it, in spite of the world being as silly, as pointless and as rotten as it is, then why must you think of leaving all the desires behind, and going to the spiritual life, leaving all material behind, and doing something else?

Why Indians Address People as 'Ji'?

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.

What’s True Thanksgiving About?

6 min

“I thank the Lord for all that he has given me.” This is a totally nonsensical prayer. You should thank for what he has not given you. "Thanks for not giving me disease." It's very easy to miss that you do not have a disease. Truth is so easy to miss because it is an absence. Truth is always ‘not’ something. It is the absences that you must be thankful for.

The Key to Progress || Neem Candies

1 min

A lot of progress, even in the material sense, happens only by inviting pain. That which we call as discipline, even in the loose sense, is nothing but an invitation to pain. Is there discipline without pain? You have to get up at some point in the morning—doesn’t that involve… read_more

Bleeding Throat, Unyielding Spirit: Acharya Prashant’s Fight for the Voiceless

On the evening of November 15, just hours before a scheduled Gita session, a message arrived from Gauri Maulekhi, a prominent animal rights activist. She requested Acharya Prashant to join her in Patna the following morning to meet the Chief Secretary of Bihar and address the press about the Gadhimai festival in Nepal. This was no ordinary request. It was a plea to save thousands of animals and to raise a voice against a centuries-old practice of cruelty disguised as tradition.

The Robot's ego

You May Be Wrong About Death: Bhagavad Gita’s Answer

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

17 min

We have to investigate the meaning of the word ‘death’. When Shri Krishna says ‘death’, what does he mean? Is Shri Krishna looking at himself as a body? No. There is no way the author of these lines takes himself as a corporal being. Is Shri Krishna referring to himself as merely the Ātmān here? Well, yes and no. He does refer to himself as the Ātmān here, but the role that he is playing is not of Ātmān but of Avatar. Had he been merely the non-doer, Supreme Truth, then he would not have been found mortally present on the battlefield instructing Arjuna. So, discount these two and see what you are left with.

Wise Men Don’t Make Such Mistakes || AP Neem Candies

1 min

It indeed does help to feel like a victim. It does not help you , but it helps that within you which is a product of victimization. Because if you are a victim, then you are entitled to certain rights. All victims get entitled to special rights.

Operate from a… read_more

Not Enlightened, Not Even a Seeker || AP Neem Candies

2 min

Acharya Prashant: “He who claims liberation as his own, as an attainment of a person is neither enlightened nor a seeker. He suffers his own misery.”

Beautiful. “He who claims liberation as his own, as an attainment of a person is neither enlightened nor a seeker. He suffers his own… read_more

Punishment of Having a Wrong Goal || Neem Candies

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

What Is Sin and Repentance if Aham Brahmasmi?

There is no way to rid yourself of sins except by coming very close to God, so close that you lose your individual identity. This is why the Upanishadic Mahavakya, 'Aham Brahmasmi' (I am Brahma), is central to all spirituality. Without this realization, no redemption is possible. No matter what you say about yourself, Truth, God, or the world, nothing will bring you peace. Only the declaration ‘I am That and That am I’ can offer true rest. Everything else is sin.

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

4 min

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

What does it mean to Love a Jungle?

6 min

Acharya Prashant: You look at the last few centuries. Even the declaration of the rights of man came just three hundred years back. Then came the declaration of the rights of slaves. And in the last century came the Declaration of the Rights of Women.

I am seeing that in… read_more

How to Overcome Overthinking and Anxiety?

4 min

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

Why Lack of Clarity Complicates Life

How to Overcome Laziness?

Acharya Prashant: Confused world, a chaotic world, a world that makes no sense. And it’s not that the world is confused or chaotic or nonsensical. It is obviously the looker, the seer of the world who is not able to comprehend it with any clarity.

Lack of clarity is a… 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.

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?

How to Respond to Life's Problems?

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… read_more

11 min

Questioner: There is some image of something and you are not conscious, where then there is that blocked energy, so to speak? Fear or whatever it is, you act out of reaction. So, what would be… at the moment there is no choice, you are just reacting. What would be… read_more

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

8 min

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

To Love Somebody, Love Like a Nobody

15 min

Questioner: (Reads out the following)

If you love, love openly

Twenty monks and one nun, who was named Eshun, were practicing meditation with a certain Zen master.

Eshun was very pretty even though her head was shaved and her dress plain. Several monks secretly fell in love with her.

One … read_more

Science or Upanishads: Who Explains Existence Best?

3 min

Questioner: Who can best answer the basic questions related to human existence or reasons for survival, our life, our emotions, and our death? Can science with its metanarratives answer these questions, or will the Upanishads answer them?

Acharya Prashant: Science does not even look into these questions. Science is considered,… read_more

We Exist, and We Do Not

23 min

Questioner: Sir, it is pretty evident that I exist and you exist, but you have also stated that the ego does not exist. So, when someone calls you Acharya Prashant and you reply, isn’t that an identification that reflects an ego?

Acharya Prashant: It is a thing that is useful… read_more

Hurt by Those Around You?

Your Best Kept Secret is Out || AP Neem Candies

Questioner: I’ll start by introducing myself. I’m a second-year graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. So, in my daily life, my habits that I think have morphed into compulsion with time, and it disturbs me when people don’t do the same as I do. Like for example, I have… read_more

3 min

Acharya Prashant: You can not win the mind, you can not cater to the mind, you can not control the mind. And you are not responsible for everything that this ancient mind does. A thousand squirrels are sitting here, and five hundred monkeys, and the extinct dinosaur, and all the… read_more

How to Make Oneself Do the Right Thing?

Why Become a Woman, Why Become a Man?

Questioner 1: In my experience, what’s happening is that I really like reading scriptures, so I’ve been reading them for quite some time. But with time, what I’ve observed is that earlier there used to be a freshness and it would stay with me. There was a sense of excitement… read_more

6 min

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… read_more

Identity, Ambition, and the Search for Fulfilment

Real Humility - It Will Surprise You || AP Neem Candies

Questioner: Pranam sir, I am Ram Surendra Singh, a research scholar from the Mathematics Department. Sir, we all are dealing with physical matter here but if we see a periodic table, all the elements in there, and if someone knows how to play with those elements they can all create… read_more

3 min

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… read_more

How Will You Have a Fairy-Tale Affair? || AP Neem Candies