Is peace something we can sit our way into? We try: eyes closed, body motionless, hoping for a glimpse of something higher. But the body is never still, the brain hums on, and the only perfectly still body is a lifeless one. Real stillness, then, may have little to do with posture. It may mean standing firm in what matters most, with no alternative and no substitute. Where in our lives are we truly still, and where do we keep shifting?
One must be free to do as one pleases and should not be served by others.тАШNo wantтАЩ is the greatest bliss. It can be realized only by experience.
~ Sri Raman Maharishi
Questioner: Acharya Ji, Pranaam! Please elaborate on the above, especially with regard to what it means that
Listener 1 (L1): Since the last few days, I have been with you, taking in what you say and the result is that I am clearly able to see the fakeness contained in the world in the ways of mankind. And that makes me ask what is the point of
Questioner: Sir, who is the uncivilized one? Whom is it that the civilization disowns and calls it savage?
Acharya Prashant: Civilization is a product of manтАЩs fight; it is man-made. The uncivilized-one runs counter to civilization. What is man-made will be countered by something which again is man-made. So there
Questioner (Q): Acharya Ji, I would like to raise a notion of compromise, and specifically in its primary dictionary definition, according to which, it is disagreement where both parties being unable to solve a problem settle on making concessions, so in a way, reaching a middle way.
Figuratively, we say that Om, comprising тАШA, U, MтАЩ (Ak─БrтАУUk─БrтАУMak─Бr), representing the three states of consciousness, dissolves into silence, and silence is the target. Similarly, the mind, leaving behind all its three states, disappears into the target. Pass through all that you can experience тАФ all that is possible in waking, dreaming, sleeping тАФ and then transcend into 'non-being'. Within the three states, you are you, but when you leave the three states behind, you have left yourself behind. And when there is no you, then there is no mind, no ego. That is. That is.
Sanatan Dharma is the way if the world is to be saved, rest is just cult
When it comes to philosophy and spirituality, the discourse often becomes dense. But in our endeavour to understand Sanatan Dharma, we will proceed with simple definitions and queries.
Decision-making, for most of us, becomes heavier than it needs to be. The moment a choice appears, the mind begins its familiar dance. Thoughts circle around the options, trying to predict outcomes, trying to secure certainty, and the whole thing turns strangely tiring.
Complex challenges necessitate consciousness and policy shift
India faces multitudes of challenges arising from different quarters. But essentially all problems have their roots in the mind of the human being and arise from a lack of adequate understanding of the self. The solutions therefore have to be both in the external and the internal domain.
A Lesser Known Incident From Mahatma GandhiтАЩs Life
Mahatma Gandhi had been in South Africa at the center of a civil movement for more than two decades but he kept coming to India to attend Congress sessions. There was not much depth in those visits.
Dr. Ambedkar is an enduring symbol of struggle, dignity, and the relentless pursuit of justice. His life was not merely a series of events that were linked with politics or social reform. It was an intellectual, social, and spiritual odyssey. Dr.
Yoga is not something you do - it's what remains when falsehood falls away. It is the union, through conscious acsendence, of your current (ordinary and lowly) state with your highest possibility.
The Mirage of Revolutions: Why Uprisings Fail Without Inner Freedom
When we think of revolutions, it is often the sound that comes back first: the roar of voices in the streets, slogans ringing through capitals, crowds that feel unstoppable, and rulers suddenly brought down. For a fleeting moment, it feels as if a new dawn has arrived. Yet when the dust clears, the old shadows return.
Especially in the modern world, unfortunately, a degree of constant anxiety has become an almost normalized state for us. A large portion of our mental health problems as a collective is very much about anxiety and fear. Burn-outs, career pressures, problems with self-esteem, fear of others, stress about studies etc.
Climate change is not just about data and systems. It reflects something deeper: the confusion in the human mind. We are not just harming the planet by accident. We are driven by wants we do not understand, chasing comfort, status, or identity without pausing to ask: What do we really need?
Contemporising Kumbh: Ancient wisdom, Modern Relevance
The story, the myth, is elaborate, but one word that firmly dictates the narrative of the Kumbh saga is immortality. Immortality is to live deeply, not necessarily long. It is to go to oneтАЩs deepest desire, fulfill it, and extinguish it forever. Another Kumbh beckons us. Can we go beyond the ritualistic dip and honestly observe life as it is, within and around us?
Nobody wants to admit to jealousy, not even to themselves. It is easier to look away from than to examine. But it is worth looking at, because jealousy tells you where your sense of worth is kept.
A true victory is not over an external opponent, But over oneтАЩs own limitations: personal, cultural, historical. When women play freely, the nation breathes freely. When women claim their place, the planet finds its peace.
Our definitions of beauty and greatness are all egoistic. Something is beautiful if it corresponds with our likes and with our taste тАФ then we call it beautiful. Whereas the real definition of beauty is that which silences you, that which does not leave you even in a position to utter a "Wow!" That's beauty. That which takes you beyond yourself тАФ that's beauty.
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Silence is not just the absence of sound. Sound has its utility. Let there be a lot of sound and yet let there be silence and that silence is not cultivated through discipline. It is just a matter of the mind being aware of anything outside it but also of itself.
In the Upanishads, "Om" is used as a powerful symbol of transcendence. It consists of three sounds: "A", "U" and "M". These correspond to the three states of consciousness. "Om" begins where one currently isтАФobviously, there can be no other place to begin with. You can only begin from where you are. So "Om' begins with "A", which is your current state of consciousness.
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A. Objective and Fear
Wherever there is an objective, there would be fear associated with it. You hope to get something, and you fear that you may not get it. DonтАЩt you see that a man who is chasing goals has condemned himself to live in fear?
It is possibleтАж
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Eating, walking, sleeping, working, dying тАУ 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.
The highest virtue is not virtuous
Therefore it has virtue
The lowest virtue holds onto its virtue
Therefore it has no virtue
The highest benevolence acts without purpose
The highest righteousness acts with purpose
The highest ritual acts, but since no one cares, it raises its arms and use force
тАж
Speaker: If you will not suffer, how you will write this question? If you will not ask this question, how will this form get filled? If your form does notтАж
Mattos: Thank you for allowing me to attend this session. IтАЩll be very quiet and just observe.
Speaker: In fact it would be even better if you speak. When we meet in our office, which happens twice a week,тАж
Acharya Prashant: Yes! And what is that one answer?
L1: That it is the Self.
AP: No. The answer is that тАШthe question is stupid,тАЩ and hence there is no answer. Silence isтАж
Acharya Prashant:
The question is that how to stay at the center when there is so much that takes the mind away from the center. How do you know that you are away from the center? How do you know that?
L: By realizing sometimesтАж
AP: So itтАЩs a thought?тАж
Acharya Prashant: тАШStilling the mindтАЩ, or тАШstopping the mindтАЩ are very popular and lucrative catchphrases. There is a small problem. The problem is тАУ for the mind, everything is a verb. Everything is a verb. Everything denotes action. So whenтАж
Seeing the actions and responses that what I call a teacher gives, so the argument comes that maybe they are coming from the
influential
part of the mind
, they are not coming from the essential just like you said that the faces are real till the time
тАж
Acharya Prashant:
Silence is that which you want, really-really want, when you move from one type of noise to the other type. That is Silence. But because all your experience has only been about noise, so even when you are thirsty and craving for Silence, all
тАж
1
Shri Prashant: This is a camera (holding a smartphone in hand, pointing towards the camera) and letтАЩs say that there is something written over here (pointing at the wall). I want to let it come to me through this camera and I record it using this camera and theтАж
What do we talk about?
Questioner (Q): Silence.
AP: We can talk a lot in Silence. Talking about Silence will always be a little round-about; beating around the bush. But in Silence, which is our nature, we can talk a lot.
We can even be silently noisy.тАж
Acharya Prashant: What is enquiry? How does knowing happen? Does enquiry mean that one keeps asking questions? Does enquiry mean that one is looking for particular answers within obviouslyтАж
тАж
2
Questioner (Q): Sir, sometimes people ask, or are curious to know, that what are you getting from these sessions. But I do not like to share anything with them, because they do not have that understanding. They will criticize it. So, what to do?
Acharya Prashant (AP): Why do theyтАж
1
Acharya Prashant: You are talking about the sound of the naad and you are wondering whether that can be used as a technique.
What will you use as a technique?
There has to be something to be used. The naad is not the sound at all. What will you useтАж
AP: Is there a contradiction between silence and words? Is there really? We have been silent since the last one hour. ItтАЩs such an eloquent Silence.
Listener 1: ItтАЩs still secondary.
AP: No,тАж
тАж
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Acharya Prashant (AP):тАж
Question:
Why is it so difficult to give up on yourself even though it is the cause of so much suffering?
Acharya Prashant: It might become easier had we not been using these attractive names. Knowledge is such an attractive name. Is it not? Now suffering is called knowledgeтАж
