Self Enquiry

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Acharya Prashant: If there is a problem in physics, mathematics, or engineering in front of you and somebody offers you a particular solution, do you just go to the last step and accept the conclusion? Is that scientific or rational? Do we do that? No, we don’t do that. What… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Pleasing oneself is not at all an example of self-love; if at all, it is an example of lack of self-knowledge. You cannot have self-love without self-knowledge; it is a great misconception that must be cleared very very thoroughly, very very finely. Making yourself happy is not at… read_more

Questioner: Namaste Acharya ji. My question is that I see many institutions are fueling the concept of Maya. Because I have seen on many premier institutions having Upanishadic phrases as their mottos—Na hi jnyānen sadṛushan pavitramih vidyate , Téjasvi nāvadheetamastu , sā vidyā yā vimuktaye . But at its… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Nothing purifies you more than this and nothing is more difficult to remember and accept than this. It is a very strange method but this is the only method. All other methods are just humbug. What is the method towards purity?

Always know how impure you are. Never… read_more

Questioner: Why do we get so easily convinced by just anything? Few of my family members and friends follow things like energy healing and some fraudulent spiritual teachers just because they sound spiritually, scientifically, or logically convincing. I want to convince them that what they are doing is not right.… read_more

Questioner: Does the continuous remembrance of liberation lead one to the right way?

Acharya Prashant: One has to be reminded of it. It’s a very strange thing. One need not be reminded of the false, the false is anyway always ready to tempt you, assault you. One does not need… read_more

Questioner: Acharyaji, you mention about Vedanta, at my age, should I start reading about it?

Acharya Prashant: You haven’t yet started?

Questioner: No sir.

Acharya Prashant: It’s too late.

Questioner: (laughing). Sir, how late? I wasn’t actually sure if I’ll be able to digest it or not.

Acharya Prashant: How… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Our normal life is our nemesis. And it is our nemesis precisely because it appears normal. It is not normal. It is normal only by comparison. It is normal only relative to your neighbour. It is the life that your neighbour is leading. It is the life that… read_more

Acharya Prashant: We need a mind that is not eager to react. That does not mean that it does not act. It acts beautifully, but it does not react. In fact, these two things go together: the ability to act beautifully, and the lack of tendency to react. The more… read_more

Questioner: गीता में लिखा हुआ है कि तुम कर्म करते जाओ, कर्म के फल की चिंता मत करो। So, that’s what was my life’s motto, that Jack of all trades and until you find do what gives you the mental pleasure and do that freely. Like, you want to do… read_more

Acharya Prashant: I know it's a fad currently, “the in thing” to say, be your own light, don’t depend on anyone, decide for yourself, whatever. It's a very ignorant thing to say with all due respect to the Buddha.

Such advice is meant only for very selected disciples. And even… read_more

Questioner: Earlier you said that there has been no inward evolution, nothing has changed inwardly, so we are essentially the same people who were roaming the jungles once. But still, somewhere in the course of evolution, we did become this human species with a higher capacity of consciousness compared to… read_more

Question: Why do we get easily influenced by others?

Speaker: Our entire constitution is like that. Our entire configuration is like that. Everything in nature just lives dependent on everything else. Your eyes do not mean anything if they do not look outwards. Right? Which direction do the eyes look… read_more

Questioner: How should I identify my calling? If I have two options in front of me – I am doing engineering but I want to know and go for film-making. Would it be okay if I go in that direction? I like both the ways, Engineering as well as film-making.… read_more

Question : Sir, for some time now, throughout the day, I see that I really don’t know anything. What is ‘knowing’?

Speaker: Yes, yes. This is it. This is it. This, this sincerity, this try.

Do you see that two paradoxical activities are happening right now, at the same time?… read_more

Question: How do I find a balance between my personal goals and dreams in life with my family’s expectations from me? How can one fulfil both without compromising on either?

Speaker: How can I find a balance between my personal goals and dreams in life with my family’s expectations from… read_more

Question: In one of your videos you say that attachment is the result of space and time. But, often in a situation, if somebody talks to us politely or sweetly, we tend to want to spend more time with that person. On the contrary, if somebody abuses me or throws… read_more

Questioner (Q): How to live my daily life regardless of my family, job, financial situation, mood or body, and reach the Truth? Ramana Maharshi says, “One’s duty is to practice continuous self-enquiry.” The mind is so used to its tendencies that this is hard for me; it hijacks my attention… read_more

Acharya Prashant (AP): How can anybody prioritize anything over the other? To know whether one thing is more important than the other, you have to know whether one thing is more important for you than the other. Are you getting it? If I am feeling cold then the hot beverage… read_more

Acharya Prashant (AP): Over the last fifteen years or so of your education, what have you studied? You have studied languages, Hindi and English. You have studied history, politics, and geography. Then you got into maths, physics, chemistry, and now you are students of technology. This is what you have… read_more