Truth

Science and Spirituality Always Go Hand in Hand
Science and Spirituality Always Go Hand in Hand
5 min
The most common thing in spirituality and science is 'an honest urge to know the Truth.' Science observes the external universe, and spirituality observes the mind. These two have to be in tandem. The one thing that enables true knowledge in any field is honesty and integrity.
How to Abide in The Shiva Truth? On Ribhu Gita
How to Abide in The Shiva Truth? On Ribhu Gita
11 min
So 'know', don’t try to know about Shiva. Shiva is not furniture. Shiva is not a tree. Shiva is not a cloud, not even the sky. How will you know Shiva? Do you know of anything that has no shape, no form, and is eternal? How will you know Shiva? But know, do know. What can you know? This world and yourself. Know that. That knowing is Shiva-ness. Shivatva.
Ghosts Flee from Hanuman’s Power
Ghosts Flee from Hanuman’s Power
6 min
Mahavir Hanuman is to be taken as the representative of truth. When you are close to the truth, then stupid imaginations do not bother you. Bhoot Pishaach Nikat Nahi Aawe, Mahavir Jab Naam Sunawe. When you are close to the truth, then stupid imaginations do not bother you. That's what these words mean, that's all.
श्रीकृष्ण कब अवतरित होंगे?
श्रीकृष्ण कब अवतरित होंगे?
7 min
जब-जब तुम सच्चाई की ओर नहीं बढ़ते, तब-तब जीवन दुख, दरिद्रता, कष्ट, रोग और बेचैनियों से भर जाता है। अधर्म अपने चरम पर चढ़ जाता है, और विवश होकर तुम्हें आँखें खोलनी पड़ती हैं। तब मानना पड़ता है कि तुम्हारी राह ग़लत थी, और ग़लत राह को छोड़कर तुम्हें सत्य की ओर मुड़ना पड़ता है। अतः जब तुम अंधेरे को पीठ दिखाते हो, तो श्रीकृष्ण को अपने समक्ष पाते हो। यही श्रीकृष्ण का अवतरण है।
Kumbh in the Light of Vedanta: Truth Beyond Tradition
Kumbh in the Light of Vedanta: Truth Beyond Tradition
13 min

Immortality, and the meaning of life, is the theme of Kumbh. Seen with clarity, everything in the Kumbh narrative revolves around escaping death.

Another Kumbh festival is here. There are several ancient stories behind Kumbh. If the stories are taken merely as tales or folklore, then religion risks becoming merely

Kumbh: Truth Beyond the Myth
Kumbh: Truth Beyond the Myth
28 min
Amrit is at the center of the story. And where can we get Amrit from? By self introspection. The more a person knows himself, the more he will become free from himself. Free from death. What you think of yourself is known as death. And the more you look at yourself, the more you understand that what I think of myself is all futile. I'm actually not that. Negation, Neti Neti. Amrit does not mean gaining something. Amrit means being free from death.
Sir, I Feel Addicted to You
Sir, I Feel Addicted to You
10 min
The ego seeks security from the world and even when it comes to the truth, it still wants to somehow uphold its security. It is all right if one wants to guarantee one's security against the world. But when it comes to truth and beauty, that's when one should just drop the defenses. It is all right to be immersed. It is all right even to be drowned. It is all right even to die. What is the point in conserving something that is anyway imperfect?
हम झूठ के खिलाफ़ विरोध क्यों नहीं करते?
हम झूठ के खिलाफ़ विरोध क्यों नहीं करते?
12 min
हम कभी जीवन के तथ्य को स्वीकार नहीं करते कि हमें सत्य से डर लगता है और हम अपनी क्षुद्रताओं और झूठ पर जीना चाहते हैं। फिर हम बड़ी तिरछी चाल चलते हैं। झूठ को सत्य का नाम दे देते हैं और कहते हैं कि सत्य के समर्थन में हैं। सत्य के खिलाफ़ तो सारा संसार खड़ा है, लेकिन इतनी भी आबरू और हिम्मत नहीं होती कि हम खुलकर कह दें कि हम सत्य के खिलाफ़ हैं। हमने झूठ को ही सत्य का नाम दे रखा है और झूठ का समर्थन कर रहे हैं।
Why Do We Insult Our Scriptures?
Why Do We Insult Our Scriptures?
27 min
In modern times, reading and respecting the Shastras is often seen in a derogatory light. An Asura disregards the scriptures, saying, “What I know is right. My own experience determines the Truth,” rejecting them because they will not allow him to do what he wants. We have come to a point where we are not merely ignoring but actually insulting the scriptures. If you're sincere about knowing life, why avoid a document with deep insights into it?
शिव भी, शंकर भी, शक्ति भी .. शिव के सहस्रों नाम
शिव भी, शंकर भी, शक्ति भी .. शिव के सहस्रों नाम
6 min

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,

भूले मन..!
भूले मन..!
2 min

*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…*

Prakriti, Attention and Truth
Prakriti, Attention and Truth
5 min
You rather have to be relaxed and just receptive. It comes to you. You don't have to chase it. You simply have to unlock your door, and these two are very different approaches. What does the devotee do? He just opens his doors and waits, calmly waits. He doesn't want to enforce his will. Non-resistance. Active pursual would all be within yourself. You are actively pursuing the beyond within yourself.
God's Presence Everywhere: What Does It Really Mean?
God's Presence Everywhere: What Does It Really Mean?
6 min
Gita and philosophy and Vedanta have nothing to do with God. They are in search of Truth, not God. These are different things — Truth and God. Secondly, all the objects that you look at, you look at them in search of something. In search of the Truth, you look at all these objects. In that sense you could say, I am looking at everything in search of the absolute. To the ego, everything carries a promise, a possibility of the absolute. That does not mean that all the objects that you look at contain the infinite or something.
उपनिषदों का व्यापक महत्व
उपनिषदों का व्यापक महत्व
10 min

भारत में

उपनिषद् भारत में भले ही घर-घर में लोकप्रियता न रखते हों, पर लोकप्रियता बहुधा श्रेष्ठता का मापदंड नहीं होती। उपनिषदों के दर्शन ने आदिकाल से ही भारत और पूरे विश्व में श्रेष्ठतम चिंतकों को प्रेरित किया है।

उपनिषदों के दर्शन और चरित्रों को हम अनगिनत भारतीय ग्रन्थों में

Why Are You Scared of Truth?
Why Are You Scared of Truth?
8 min
There is nothing more scary than the Truth. The primary function of Truth is to negate all your falseness, to show you that you are living in lies. Truth supports you in the sense that, without its help, you cannot even see falseness. Truth cannot be pleasant to what we are. Truth can only be pleasant to the Truth. Before the Real can come, this false one must disappear.
उसके साथ कभी पूरी वफ़ादारी रख ही नहीं पाओगे
उसके साथ कभी पूरी वफ़ादारी रख ही नहीं पाओगे
8 min
अशान्ति के साथ तुम सौ जन्म बिता लो, अशान्ति के साथ तुम चाहे कितनी कसमें खा लो, तुम्हारे मन के एक बहुत गहरे और पुराने कोने को शान्ति तब भी प्यारी रहेगी। सौ जन्म रहो तुम अशान्ति के साथ, सौ जन्मों बाद भी तुम यही पाओगे कि अशान्ति से पूरी तुम्हारी वफ़ादारी, निष्ठा हो नहीं पायी है, तुम अभी भी शान्ति की ओर आकृष्ट हो रहे हो, थोड़ा-थोड़ा हो रहे हो, लेकिन हो रहे हो। क्यों? क्योंकि शान्ति स्वभाव है तुम्हारा। अशान्ति नहीं स्वभाव है।
महाभारत सदा स्वयं से ही लड़ी जाती है
महाभारत सदा स्वयं से ही लड़ी जाती है
19 min

तस्मादसक्त: सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर ।। असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पूरुष: ।।३.१९।।

इसलिए अनासक्त भाव से सदा शुभ कार्य या कर्तव्य कर्म उत्तम रूप से करते रहो, क्योंकि मनुष्य निष्काम रहकर कर्म का अनुष्ठान करते हुए श्रेष्ठ पद मोक्ष प्राप्त करता है।

~ श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, अध्याय ३, श्लोक १९

आचार्य प्रशांत: हमने

भोग तृप्ति क्यों नहीं दे पाता है?
भोग तृप्ति क्यों नहीं दे पाता है?
7 min
संसार में तुम जिस भी चीज़ को शांति का,तृप्ति का साधन बनाओगे वो चीज़ बेचारी असफल हो जाएगी। तुम उसे भोगकर के कुछ और कर देते हो। तो फिर कौन है जो तुम्हें सन्तुष्टि दे सकता है? सिर्फ़ वो जो तुम्हारे स्पर्श से कहीं आगे का हो। तुम्हारा स्पर्श उस पर कोई दाग ही न लगा पाये, जो अस्पर्श्य हो। ऐसे किसी को ही सत्य कहा गया है, परमात्मा कहा गया है। वो तुम्हारे काम का है क्योंकि तुम उस पर हावी नहीं हो सकते। वो तुम्हारे काम का है क्योंकि तुम उसे बदल नहीं सकते।
अमर होने का क्या अर्थ है?
अमर होने का क्या अर्थ है?
15 min
अमर होने का अर्थ ये है कि – “मैंने एक ही जीवन में हज़ार जीवन जी लिए।“ अमर होने का अर्थ है प्रतिपल मरना; बड़ा विरोधाभास है। अमर होने का अर्थ ही है: हर पल मरता हूँ, हर पल नया जन्म होता है; एक ज़िन्दगी में कई ज़िंदगियाँ जी ली हैं, क्योंकि मेरे एक नहीं, हज़ार चेहरे हैं।
Is Sex and Meditation Just an Escape of Ego?
Is Sex and Meditation Just an Escape of Ego?
8 min
The ego says that my first priority is to remain, exist, and after that comes everything else. Even the Truth must be subservient to my first priority. So, liberation is alright as long as it is a second of liberation. Peace is alright as long as it is five minutes of peace. But if silence threatens to take over the entire life, if peace starts dominating noise to the extent that the noise might be completely annihilated, then the ego rejects. The ego wants Truth, but only a modicum of Truth. The ego wants peace, but only a sliver of peace.
आचार्य जी, आपको प्रचार की क्या ज़रूरत?
आचार्य जी, आपको प्रचार की क्या ज़रूरत?
15 min
तुम्हें ये सपना आ भी कहाँ से गया कि सच्ची बातों की ओर लोग अपने आप आकर्षित होते हैं। तुम होते हो क्या अपने आप आकर्षित? जिन्होंने ये सवाल पूछा है, जो भी इनका नाम हो, ये खुद भी चैनल पर दो ही स्रोतों से आये होंगे। सम्भावना यही है या तो यूट्यूब पर हम जो विज्ञापन देते हैं, वो देखकर आये होंगे, या जो यूट्यूब पर शॉर्ट्स जाते हैं, वो देखकर आये होंगे। सच को ही प्रचार की ज़रूरत पड़ती है, झूठ तो खुद ही आकर्षित करता है।
सत्य की प्राप्ति के लिए क्या करना होगा?
सत्य की प्राप्ति के लिए क्या करना होगा?
15 min
सत्य की प्राप्ति के लिए अनिवार्य है कि सदा सत्य में जियो। पूछ रहे हो क्या करना अनिवार्य है। मैं कह रहा हूँ जो कुछ करो सत्य से पूछ कर करो, यही अनिवार्यता है। सत्य की प्राप्ति के लिए दो-चार सीमित काम नहीं करने होते। सत्य की प्राप्ति के लिए पूरा जीवन सत्य को सौंप देना होता है, यही प्राप्ति है।
अतीत को कैसे भूलें? क्या इंसान ही भगवान है?
अतीत को कैसे भूलें? क्या इंसान ही भगवान है?
10 min
इंसान भगवान तो है लेकिन इंसान भगवान मात्र नहीं है। तुम भगवान से आगे के कुछ हो। तुम भगवान के अलावा भी कुछ हो। भगवान बेचारा बहुत सीधी-सादी शय है। भगवान सिर्फ़ भगवान है और तुम भगवान और शैतान हो। लेकिन ताल्लुक तुम्हारा ज़्यादा शैतान से है।
The Total Is Neither Masculine nor Feminine, Hence the Search and Summit of Both
The Total Is Neither Masculine nor Feminine, Hence the Search and Summit of Both
8 min
There is hardly any need to give special attention to the so-called masculine and feminine because neither the masculine really exists nor the feminine really exists. We talk about them because our mind is obsessed with gender, with sex; with women, with men; all dualities are the same. In fact, there is only one duality, called “duality”. The two ends of that duality can be given any name.
Is Knowing the Truth a Never-Ending Quest?
Is Knowing the Truth a Never-Ending Quest?
41 min

“The significance of a man is not in what he attains, but rather what he longs to attain.” -Khalil Gibran, ‘Sand and Foam’

Question: Once during a discourse on the Bible, you too have said, “The more you know the Truth, the more you want to know; such is

You've Had Enough of This Person
You've Had Enough of This Person
12 min

Questioner: Namaskar Acharya ji! I am reading a book called “Freedom from the Known”, where the author, Jiddu Krishnamurthi, talks about removing authority to be free from the ego. What does he mean by authority? Can we take anything to be the authority and then say, “I’m not going to

We Exist, and We Do Not
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

Wasting Life on an Unworthy Person?
Wasting Life on an Unworthy Person?
11 min

Questioner: I was in a relationship with a person from the last eight years. Last three years while being with me, he was also seeing and dating other women. I have always been honest and loyal to him. After knowing that he is so mean, so dishonest, why am I

The Difficult Call of Dear Love
The Difficult Call of Dear Love
12 min

Questioner: Acharya ji, today I realized that without love in my heart, I cannot find joy in my life, however wonderful my external situations are. Just listening to, and singing a Kabir bhajan brings me so much joy, love, and tears, I really want to know this Love, and what

Live against yourself || AP Neem Candies
Live against yourself || AP Neem Candies
4 min

Acharya Prashant: One hallmark, one unmistakable quality of right action would be that it would require all your guts. It is only a false action that you can comfortably undertake. Falseness is never troublesome; Truth always is. Whenever you would be doing something that would be real, you would know

The Mind Is Not Your Own
The Mind Is Not Your Own
13 min
The ego likes to settle matters too soon, the ego likes to conclude too soon. Wherever there is a conclusion, wherever there is a settlement, wherever there is an ending that thought can grasp, it is a false ending, it is a false realization. I have no interest in talking about what true realization is like. True realization is anywhere not a subject matter of this course. We should rather warn of that which is false. Read more....
For the Right Reason, Be Tactful and Clever || AP Neem Candies
For the Right Reason, Be Tactful and Clever || AP Neem Candies
4 min

Acharya Prashant: The spiritual soldier, the religious warrior has to be extremely intelligent. You could go to the extent of saying that he has to be cunning in the service of Truth; I’m choosing this word with all deliberation.

He has to be cunning in the service of the Truth;

Nothing Within Us Is the Truth
Nothing Within Us Is the Truth
10 min

Acharya Prashant: The truth is not a side of you; the truth is not a part of you. The truth is the absence of this fictitious thing called ‘you.’ That's how the false survives by calling a part of itself ‘the truth.’ You know, yes, of course, I'm false, but

Love is Enough. Hari Om!
Love is Enough. Hari Om!
5 min

Acharya Prashant: The disappearance of sound into silence, as it happens in Om , is analogous to the disappearance of the arrow mind into the Brahman target. What is Om ? Sounds finely dissolving into, tapering off into silence. That's how it happens.

And then figuratively, we say that Om

Great love; Greater Love || AP Neem Candies
Great love; Greater Love || AP Neem Candies
4 min

Acharya Prashant: We want something, right? We want the Ultimate. There’s nobody who wants to stop at something small. We want something as big as possible, right? That’s the nature of desire, correct? It doesn’t want to stop anywhere. Probably it can stop only when it gets something immeasurable, infinite.

New-Age Truths || AP Neem Candies
New-Age Truths || AP Neem Candies
2 min

Acharya Prashant: Real spirituality is about rejecting the false. Real spirituality, therefore, is uncompromising, harsh, ruthless. Just reject the false—that's what real spirituality is about. But if you are living in an age, in an era, in a society, in an economic system that is dominated by forces of falseness,

Prakriti and Purusha
Prakriti and Purusha
11 min

Acharya Prashant: For a woman, the lips of a woman are something very commonplace and ordinary. It is only the eye of the Purusha (consciousness) that worships the Prakriti (physical nature). That is why these two must be found together. If the masculine is not there, who will praise and

Finally, What Takes the Seeker to the Truth?
Finally, What Takes the Seeker to the Truth?
8 min

Acharya Prashant: A quiver full of the best of arrows but no bow, how do you fight the battle of life? Can you imagine the amusing as well as tragic situation of the person who has a great arrow without a bow? He will be sharpening and sharpening his weapon,

मन इतना अशांत क्यों रहता है?
मन इतना अशांत क्यों रहता है?
7 min

मन इतना अशांत क्यों रहता है?

प्रश्नकर्ता: प्रणाम आचार्य जी। आचार्य जी, आज मेरा प्रश्न फिर से मुझसे ही जुड़ा हुआ है, कि मेरा मन इतना अशांत क्यों रहता है। एकसाथ मेरे दिमाग में बहुत चीज़ें चलती रहती हैं, मेरे दिमाग में कुछ-न-कुछ चलता ही रहता है, मैं ध्यान केंद्रित

The Storm Kept Raging, the Sky Didn't Utter a Word
The Storm Kept Raging, the Sky Didn't Utter a Word
12 min

Acharya Prashant: What's the relationship between immortality, deathlessness, and knowing the Ātmā as the container of the material and the mental world? Not that they are really distinct, still. So, what's the relation between knowing Ātmā as the container of the world and keeping all other thoughts aside, and immortality?

The Real Meaning of the Four Yugas
The Real Meaning of the Four Yugas
13 min
We believe that the four yugas represent time spans on the calendar as an external entity. Vedanta just does not look at time as an external entity. Time is a state of mind. So, these four *Yugas*, they surely are states of mind. Satya Yuga is when the mind is totally centred in the Self, the Truth. Treta is when the mind is identified with thoughts. Dvapara is the body, and Kali Yuga is saṃsāra.
Discipline and Dedication - Are They Really Virtues? || AP Neem Candies
Discipline and Dedication - Are They Really Virtues? || AP Neem Candies
7 min

Acharya Prashant: I might be a very violent man. And my goal is to blast a building off. To learn how to do it, I have to live through stern discipline. I will have to build my body, I will have to learn several skills. I may have the discipline

भीतर फौलाद चाहिए?
भीतर फौलाद चाहिए?
10 min

प्रश्नकर्ता: प्रणाम आचार्य जी, मैं तेईस साल का हूँ और अभी मैं यू.पी.एस.सी. में फॉरेस्ट सर्विसेज़ की परीक्षा की तैयारी कर रहा हूँ। अभी मैं घर पर बैठा हूँ और पापा से पैसे लेता हूँ। आपको मैं डेढ़ साल से सुन रहा हूँ, और जीवन में स्पष्टता आ रही है,

प्रतीकों और रिचुअल्स का क्या महत्त्व है?
प्रतीकों और रिचुअल्स का क्या महत्त्व है?
12 min
हम अकसर प्रतीकों को यह बोलकर ठुकरा देते हैं कि यह सब तो यूँ ही है, आचरण गत बातें है इनमें कुछ रखा नहीं है। उनमें ही बहुत कुछ रखा है। आप मंदिर के बगल से निकल रहे हो और आपके मन में दुनिया भर के अंट-संट विचार उमड़-घुमड़ रहे हैं, जैसे कि आमतौर पर चलते रहते है मन में, लेकिन मंदिर को देखते ही आप एक क्षण को रुके और आपने नमस्कार कर लिया मंदिर को, तो जो विचारों का पूरा बहाव है, जो पूरी शृंखला है वह टूट जाती है, क्योंकि वह एक लगातार बहने वाला निरंतर प्रवाह था न, एक निरंतरता थी।
How to Know Shri Krishna?
How to Know Shri Krishna?
9 min
It is not as if someone spoke or you read the Gita, and you got to know Krishna’s essence. To know that Krishna is birthless and deathless, you need your whole life. In your life, everything begins and ends, while Truth doesn’t. Realizing this takes tremendous sacrifice, not just in words, but in actions.
'I Want to be Free'- Your Eligibility for Spirituality
'I Want to be Free'- Your Eligibility for Spirituality
6 min
The first instinct has to be — I want to be free. I do not like my current state. The first thing is — I do not want to be like this and the seeker or the student, if he is not uttering this very basic admission; then he stands disqualified. Your first utterance of your eligibility is — I do not like myself. I do not like the way I am. There has to be a burning intent to not to remain who you are, or the way you are.
Niralamba Upanishad: What Is Heaven and What Is Hell?
Niralamba Upanishad: What Is Heaven and What Is Hell?
14 min
Your deepest dream is to just be what you are, what you really are. And the world gives you a thousand dreams, but not this one. Heaven is the moment when you realize that this dream is possible. Hell is when you have already lost your way, and there are voices around that say, "You cannot go back, there is no home." All that forces tell you not to fly too high, the forces that tell you that compromise is the name of the game-the company of such voices is hell. A point comes where there is neither heaven nor hell. There is just an empty stillness- Beyond.
Waiting for the Right Partner?
Waiting for the Right Partner?
16 min
Companionship is not the final thing. The final thing is something else. The companion has to be a medium towards that thing, otherwise the companion is toxic. When you say love is essential, then you get into love of the totally wrong kind because you have taken love as the final thing. Then attraction, sensuousness and attachment become the names of love. So, love is not essential. What is essential is being attracted to someone who elevates you. If your love is of that kind, wonderful.
Let the Words Take You to Silence – Baba Bulle Shah
Let the Words Take You to Silence – Baba Bulle Shah
23 min
There is such great fun in leaving yourself behind and turning a servant to the Truth. It’s almost like Krishna advising Arjuna, “Talk in everlasting words and dedicate them all to Me—*mām ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja, sarva-dharmān parityajya*.” And at numerous places in the *Bhagavad Gita*, he says, “Arjuna, you are not fighting for yourself, you are fighting for Me. As long as you fight for yourself, if you win, you suffer, and if you lose, you suffer. And when you fight for Me, then you are a victor even before the fight begins.”
How to Identify the Real Master?
How to Identify the Real Master?
26 min
It is not others that you have to be cautious of. You have to be cautious of that within you which gets influenced by others, which does not know others but gets influenced by others. It does not live in knowing. It lives in indoctrination. How to know the real master? See, who is treating your disease. How do you know a doctor? Not by his degrees but by his ability to treat you.