Grace

Bliss and Grace are never going to come || Acharya Prashant (2015)

Questioner: Acharya Ji, if the decisions that one takes in one’s life is a matter of choice, then what is Grace?

Acharya Prashant: Grace is that which is available free of cost, grace is that which comes to you unconditionally, grace is not something that you receive unconditionally. There’s many… read_more

When you listen to me, you listen to your Self || Acharya Prashant (2014)

Speaker: What happens when I am looking for Bliss?

Listener 1: I don’t have to look anywhere, because you can look for somebody…

Speaker: But, I have been told that human lives must attain to Bliss, because that is our nature. I have been told that *Sat Chit Anand*swabhav … read_more

The Grace that melts and enslaves || Acharya Prashant (2015)

Question: These days I feel like running away from Advait. I feel that I am not going to gain anything here. But, at the same time I find myself pulled here yet again. I know what you are saying is true and that you mean well for me, but I… read_more

30 min

On that day when you looked at me,

you enslaved me,

In Grace entered me,

and out of Love

melted my mind.

~ Lalleshwari ~

Acharya Prashant: “ On that day when you looked at me, you enslaved me, In Grace entered me, and out of Love melted my mind.”… read_more

Its great you do not know how Grace works || Acharya Prashant (2019)

Feel grateful when your confusions get exposed || Acharya Prashant (2016)

Question: Acharya Ji, I am finding for the last few months that when we are honest and move in the right direction, things get aligned to help us move in that direction.

For instance, coming across your videos and watching them was pure luck. It doesn’t look like that I… read_more

The ways of Grace are impossible to know || Acharya Prashant (2016)

Questioner (Q): It has been a long time that I have been listening to you and I have been engaged with a lot of words and everything. And so many words and so many misunderstandings have come and gone but still, the restlessness remains; but still, the will to consume… read_more

Who is really a wise man? || Acharya Prashant, on Sage Ashtavakra (2014)

Question: Sir, I have to do daily practice to bring myself back to the centre but for some people, it seems that it happens immediately. Why is it so?

Acharya Prashant: Lady, what is your name?

L1: Noorie.

AP: If you want something with all your heart, would you want… read_more

25 min

prakṛtyā śūnyacitto yaḥ pramādād bhāvabhāvanaḥnidrito bodhita iva kṣīṇasaṁsmaraṇo hi saḥ.

(Ashtavakra Gita 14.1)

Translation: He indeed has his recollections of worldly life extinguished – who becomes void-minded spontaneously, who thinks of sense objects only by chance, and who is, as it were, awake though physically asleep.

Question: Why is it… read_more

What is Transcendence?

13 min

Question: Dear Sir, hope the Clarity Sessions are going great. I plan to join the sessions one of these days if I can.

I am reading a book named ‘the philosophy of the Buddha’ to understand the Buddhist thought. I found this book quite enriching in its academic rigor. However… read_more

We are not designed to get much, just be grateful for the little you get || Acharya Prashant (2019)

2 min

Question: Acharya Ji, I am a regular participant of the camps, I have attended Month of Awakening(MAG)Program. I regularly watch Satsangs broadcasted live. I read Scriptures.

How do I bring the same intensity of the camp, in my daily life?

Acharya Prashant Ji: Just be grateful for the period when… read_more

Gratification would be; contentment is || Acharya Prashant (2014)

How to remain grateful? || Acharya Prashant (2016)

Speaker: Should we delay our gratification? If yes, then to what extent and how long?

By delay, you mean time, to put it ahead in time. Man uses time itself for gratification. When you say delay gratification, you only mean, that I am expecting more gratification by the use of… read_more

3 min

Questioner (Q): Acharya Ji, Pranam.

In one of your videos, you said that you should be thankful if things are happening in your life in a fast-forward mode. Please shed some light on it.

Acharya Prashant (AP): First of all, this attitude is putting a condition upon grace and gratitude.… read_more

Be happy, run hard

Remain peaceful, light, humble, upright || Neem Candies

Since childhood we have been told about effort as a duty, hard work as an obligation, and a result oriented investment. We are told, “Work hard so that you can have dividends later on.”

Happiness is the key to success, correct. But does happiness exclude hard work?

If happiness excludes… read_more

1 min

Remember that all that you remember is not worthy of remembering. You will be at peace.

Know that all that you know is really not worthy of being known. You will remain lighter.

Remember that all that you have is not necessary to be had. You will remain humble.

Remember… read_more

Why do we need liberation? || IIT Kharagpur (2021)

Small Leaders, Big Egos, Bigger Wars, Biggest Wipeout

Questioner (Q): I have heard you say that no two human beings are equal. But if that is the case, then how can the possibility of liberation exist on a larger scale? We have adapted and evolved in various fields throughout history, but can the same happen when it comes… read_more

24 min

And those who have reason and logic on their side —they very respectfully retreat when faced with an unreasonable kind of animal. Why this respect? “No, we don’t want to hurt somebody’s feelings.” It's not about feelings. It's about facts. Facts must always prevail over feelings.

Strive for Freedom, for Purity, for Sacredness.

19 min

It's human nature to strive for freedom, for purity, for sacredness. So you would not be alone in this. Unknown to you, in some other place, somebody else is doing the same thing. And if your circles keep expanding, one day the two circles will come into contact. And then something great will result.

Vidya and Avidya

There is one kind of education that just deals with sustaining the body, including earning money, shelter, etc. It is important to have both Avidya (knowledge of the world) and Vidya (knowledge about the self). The second kind of education, which is completely missing, is the awakening of the intelligence and the finding of oneself. If you do not give attention to this education, you will find yourself rejected by life itself — you will find that you are just living a degraded life.

Are You Ready For True Love?

The wise ones say, “Love arrives only when the right, clean, and honoured space has been prepared for it.” So, you can never find love — you can only rid yourself of all that blocks it; all that is needlessly and coincidentally present in your mental space. And you can’t predict how love will arrive, but you can do your homework to clear the inner clutter.

Why Are We in an Age of Extremism?

9 min

Man is taking extreme measures in the external world due to his extreme inner hollowness. This hollowness comes from a philosophy of endless consumption and from technology that is capable of producing endlessly. But the purpose of our life is the spiritual urge to be liberated. And when we don't find this purpose, we indulge in stupid things like religious extremism and extreme merrymaking.

Love Versus Desire

9 min

Love is always dedicated to the purpose of liberation, whereas desire forgets the highest and remembers only the object. If, in the process of love, desire, or attraction, you find that you have never lost sight of the Truth — rest assured, you are loving. But if the object becomes so dominant that you have totally forgotten the Truth, know that this is not love.

Stay Away From 'Pop Spirituality'

17 min

‘Pop spirituality’ can include anything — some kriya, snakes, spirits, ghosts — things that can neither be verified nor negated. India had a better name: ‘Adhyatma’, which means ‘self-knowledge’, not ‘spirituality’. And once you realize it's about knowing yourself through self-inquiry, it becomes the ruthless negation of all imaginary products of the ego — with deep respect for facts.

The Trap of Positive and Negative Attitudes

There is nothing called ‘positive attitude’ or ‘negative attitude’. All attitudes are enemies of understanding and reality. An intelligent man lives a life free of attitude. Within attitude, you approach reality with a fixed, frozen mindset. When you come to a situation, come to it afresh—not with a ‘positive’ or a ‘negative’ attitude, but with real intelligence.

The economics of spirituality || On Vedanta (2021)

10 min

Questioner (Q): The right action dictated by spirituality is what the world requires, but if the world economy was to be structured around it, then wouldn’t that make most of the prevalent jobs and business models obsolete? If everybody becomes spiritual, won’t the world’s economic system collapse? If the economy… read_more

Grandpa Gave You the Best He Could, Stop Blaming Him

We have to accept responsibility for our lives, our times. At the center of our lives lies nobody else but the liver, the individual, the person. If you are the living entity, then your life is your responsibility. Philosophies from the past, knowledge from the past, traditions from the past, myths from the past — they are at best resources available to you in the form of knowledge, ammunition. But whose responsibility is it to utilize the knowledge, to load the ammunition, and fire it? Yours.

Why Do We Prefer Morality Over Spirituality?

There is a deep fear that keeps us terrified—the fear that things can go wrong at any time. And there is an inner laziness that makes us unwilling to figure out our own direction. So, we choose morality that comes with a ready-made action plan. 99% of what goes around in the name of religion or spirituality is just stale morality.

There Are No Imperfections, There Are Only Illusions

Achievement is the central disease, there is something to be achieved. So, develop whether as a verb indicating yourself or your students is actually not very appropriate. There is no question of development. There can only be a realization, that I am already developed. There can only be a realization and that realization; believe me, changes everything. Do not think that after that realization things will remain the same. In a very fundamental way, things will change.

Delayed Decisions: Balancing Productivity and Pleasure

13 min

Had there really been love, you would have completed it well ahead of time and submitted it already. This means you need the deadline. This means that it is just an imaginative fancy that you would complete it even in absence of deadline. You remove the deadline, and you find you will do nothing at all. Or maybe you will do one thing, claiming that one thing is your true love, whereas the fact is that you need to know five other things as well. Maybe without knowing those five other things, you cannot even know that one thing you claim to be in love with.

Is Sartre’s Existentialism Contradicting Gita?

They don't contradict each other. Existentialists like Sartre argue that humans cannot suppress consciousness and are 'condemned to be free.' We are born without a predetermined purpose—existence precedes essence. You exist first and must then discover your essence. In the spirit of 'Neti Neti' (neither this nor that), no external force can define your essence; it is your freedom to consciously determine what life is for.

Learn to cheat the ego || Acharya Prashant (2019)

8 min

Question: Pranam Acharya ji. Acharya ji, allow me to apologize for the abrupt question last time. I was a little afraid of writing another question. However, I do wish to write. Please talk about it—as I am an avid listener—on what you consider shall be good for me.

Here is… read_more

Sir, Why did You Choose Engineering?

No, I had no special inclination towards engineering. It's just that I was very clear. I didn't like the shape of the world as it looked to me. So in my limited knowledge the civil services- the IAS in particular was the place where one could bring about social change. But the only reason I went to the IITS was because we used to have a magazine called CSR, Competition Success Review. So that would contain the interviews of all the UPSC toppers mostly.

A Life Like Bhagat Singh's

Bhagat Singh was just twenty-three when he laid down his life, yet he remains immortal, while those who lived up to ninety years are just the dust of time. Who cares for them? That's the difference. He had no time for trivial things. Even on the eve of his hanging, he was reading the Bhagavad Gita, and that copy is still preserved. A voracious reader, well-read at a young age, he never wasted time. Does such a life not excite you?

Hidden Lies Behind Success, Love, and Ego!

16 min

There's a small secret here. It's not that we do not understand that we are being fooled. We choose to be fooled. When that fellow comes to you and professes his or her love it's not that you do not know that it's not love. It's just that you find it to be a convenient, comfortable bargain. Like masks greeting each other. Truth should be the simplest, easiest, nearest thing.

Vedanta: The Cure for Human Misery

Vedanta is the medicine for the human condition, and the human condition is one of misery. We need to go to Vedanta if we want our welfare. The Upanishads are not ritual- or belief-based but are truly open and free for inquiry. The Vedanti is always saying, "I want to know, and I have faith that knowing is possible, so I keep inquiring."

Are You Foolish, Clever, Or Innocent?

10 min

Foolishness is about maintaining the rotten ego while still expecting a great life; but it does not make profits because it can't. In cleverness, you are still rotten, but you have managed to appear otherwise to others; so you start making profits, but they do not suffice for inner fulfillment. In innocence, you can make profits but don’t care to, because you have realized that the very problem that made you relate to the world in a profit-seeking way is gone.

Can't Say 'No'?

20 min

You’ve to remember the end. If the end is remembered, practically anything can be a means to that end. If the end is remembered, no means is important. Only that particular means is important that leads to the end at any particular moment. And, you don’t need to stick to any particular means. Because, life changes, so means have to change. The end alone is changeless, the end alone is endless. Everything else must come to an end, except the end itself.

How Can The Common Man Make Better Decisions In Life?

First of all, we have to realize what our life is like. You know, I can’t change something without firstly understanding its processes and its actuality. I must know what this thing called my life is. We keep living without knowing a thing about life. And we’re blinded by names and identities.

The SECRET About Life, Art, and Beauty That Changes Everything

Have you seen an ant hill? Have you seen an ant hill? Now, an ant hill—for an ant—is Taj Mahal. And what is your Taj Mahal for an ant? Nothing. A heap of white rubbish. Think of what pigeons and crows do to the Eiffel Tower, for example. But we look at it, as I said, from the human ego point of view—an anthropomorphic view. We say, "Wow!" We don't appreciate an ant hill. Now, tell me, why don't you appreciate an ant hill? An ant would appreciate an ant hill; we don't appreciate it.

Are We Revering the Right Voices? A Look at True Wisdom

That's the wrong relationship that the world is choosing to have with an unwise man. If you are to respect, you have to respect someone who is wise and who can bring his wisdom to your use. Instead, if you choose to have a relationship of respect with someone who is himself unwise, obviously, he can be of no use to you. So again, it's a failure of relationship—something is misplaced. Respect is something that has to be placed at the right point.

Living Without Illusions: A Lesson on Expectations and Reality

25 min

It is not that the way the world is, the ignorance, the stupidity, the suffering, the perverseness of it all. It's not that that hurts or surprises you. What shocks is that adverse things come from people you think of as decent, respectable and wise. It is not events or people, therefore, who are shocking you, it is the expectations that you hold of them.

Leadership and Spiritual Insights from the Bhagavad Gita

My concern is the way we are. My concern is the face of the human being. My concern is the little sparrow. I'm not here to tell people what God has said. I'm here to take care of the sparrow. That's my concern. And the sparrow cannot be taken care of unless we go to the Gita. Hence, the Gita.

What Is Missing in Our Education?

10 min

A good education system should have two components. The first is deep, clear, and factual knowledge about the world, without which we would become superstitious. And secondly, it must include a very important component that tells us who we are and why we need to be educated at all. This second component is almost completely missing today.

Balancing Act: Juggling Multiple Roles and Responsibilities