Adhyatma Upanishad

ਜਨਮ ਜਨਮ ਭਰਮਤ ਫਿਰਿਓ ਮਿਟਿਓ ਨ ਜਮ ਕੋ ਤ੍ਰਾਸੁ ॥ ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਹਰਿ ਭਜੁ ਮਨਾ ਨਿਰਭੈ ਪਾਵਹਿ ਬਾਸੁ ॥੩੩॥

janam janam bharmat firi-o miti-o na jam ko taraas kaho naanak har bhaj manaa nirbhai paavahi baas

Mortals wander lost and confused through countless lifetimes; their fear of death is never … read_more

Questioner: Acharya Ji, today I was reading about brain and conditioning. Our brain is affected by experiences all the time, and these experiences put the brain in a certain form and cause deformities also.

I have some memories about some people that do not allow me to feel free. I… read_more

Questioner: What is Duḥkha ?

Acharya Prashant: The thought, the desire of all that which is fleeting, ephemeral is Duḥkha . Why is it Duḥkha ? To whom, is it Duḥkha ? Few things have to be understood. Everything likes to be in its most stress-free state. That's what even… read_more

अन्धं तमः प्रविशन्ति येऽविद्यामुपासते । ततो भूय इव ते तमो य उ विद्यायां रताः ॥

andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti ye'vidyāmupāsate tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u vidyāyāṁ ratāḥ

They enter into a blinding darkness who worship avidyā; into still greater darkness, as it were, do they enter who delight in … read_more

अन्यत्र धर्मादन्यत्राधर्मादन्यत्रास्मात्कृताकृतात् । अन्यत्र भूताच्च भव्याच्च यत्तत्पश्यसि तद्वद ॥

anyatra dharmādanyatrādharmādanyatrāsmātkṛtākṛtāt anyatra bhūtācca bhavyācca yattatpaśyasi tadvada

Nachiketa said: That which you see as other than righteousness and unrighteousness, other than all this cause and effect, other than what has been and what is to be—tell me, that.

~ Katha Upanishad, … read_more

क्रियानाशाद्भवेच्चिन्तानाशोऽस्माद्वासनाक्षयः ।वासनाप्रक्षयो मोक्षः सा जीवन्मुक्तिरिष्यते ॥ १२॥

kriyānāśādbhaveccintānāśo’smādvāsanākṣayaḥ ।vāsanāprakṣayo mokṣaḥ sā jīvanmuktiriṣyate ॥ 12॥

The destruction of actions leads to that of thought; thence results the dwindling of innate impulses (to act). The obliteration of innate impulses is liberation; it is held to be freedom in life. || 12||

~ … read_more

Questioner: You mentioned that mumukṣā (deep desire for liberation) is what matters when we choose a path for liberation. But the mind is always playing games. Once I do things against its comfort, it tries to make up stories, create random, non-existent problems for me. Should I listen to my… read_more

ਪ੍ਰਭ ਭਾਵੈ ਮਾਨੁਖ ਗਤਿ ਪਾਵੈ ॥ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਾ ਪਾਥਰ ਤਰਾਵੈ ॥

ਪ੍ਰਭ ਭਾਵੈ ਬਿਨੁ ਸਾਸ ਤੇ ਰਾਖੈ ॥ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਾ ਹਰਿ ਗੁਣ ਭਾਖੈ ॥

ਪ੍ਰਭ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਾ ਪਤਿਤ ਉਧਾਰੈ ॥ ਆਪਿ ਕਰੈ ਆਪਨ ਬੀਚਾਰੈ ॥

ਦੁਹਾ ਸਿਰਿਆ ਕਾ ਆਪਿ ਸੁਆਮੀ ॥ ਖੇਲੈ ਬਿਗਸੈ ਅੰਤਰਜਾਮੀ ॥

ਜੋ ਭਾਵੈ ਸੋ … read_more

Acharya Prashant: The purpose of the Upanishads has to be remembered. It is commonly said that the purpose of the Upanishads is ‘attainment of the Truth’ but it is not really so. If you say that the purpose of the Upanishads is the attainment of Truth then you are actually… read_more

Questioner (Q): What is the highest?

Acharya Prashant (AP): The question is - What is the highest? What is the utmost highest? And the answer, as usual, begins in negativa. They (referring to the Rishis of Upanishads) said the highest is not prāṇa ; the highest is not the sense… read_more

स पर्यगाच्छुक्रमकायमव्रणमस्नाविरं शुद्धमपापविद्धम्‌ । कविर्मनीषी परिभूः स्वयम्भूर्याथातथ्यतोऽर्थान्‌ व्यदधात् शाश्वतीभ्यः समाभ्यः ॥

sa paryagācchukramakāyamavraṇamasnāviraṁ śuddhamapāpaviddham kavirmanīṣī paribhūḥ svayambhūryāthātathyato'rthān vyadadhāt śāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ

He, the self-existent One, is everywhere; the pure one, without a (subtle) body, without blemish, without muscles, holy and without the taint of sin; the all-seeing, the all-knowing, the all-encompassing … read_more

इत्थं वाक्यैस्तथार्थानुसन्धानं श्रवणं भवेत् । युक्त्या संभावितत्वानुसन्धानं मननं तु तत् ॥

itthaṃ vākyaistathārthānusandhānaṃ śravaṇaṃ bhavet yuktyā saṃbhāvitatvānusandhānaṃ mananaṃ tu tat

‘To listen’, thus is to pursue by means of sentences their import. On the other hand, ‘thinking’ consists in perceiving its consistency with reason.

~ Adhyatma Upanishad, Verse 33

✥… read_more

निद्राया लोकवार्तायाः शब्दादेरात्मविस्मृतेः । क्वचिन्नावसरं दत्त्वा चिन्तयात्मानमात्मनि ॥

nidrāyā lokavārtāyāḥ śabdāderātmavismṛteḥ kvacinnāvasaraṃ dattvā cintayātmānamātmani

Without granting for a moment even a toe-hold for sleep, gossip, verbal exchanges, etc., and self-forgetfulness, meditate on the Self in the self.

~ Adhyatma Upanishad, Verse 5

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Questioner: I am not sure… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Any kind of attainment whether physical or mental indicates the presence of a bonded one within. The full cannot attain. The limitless cannot add to itself anymore. Only the one with boundaries can aspire to attain. When there are boundaries, then there is scope for addition. When there… read_more

Acharya Prashant (AP): The first question comes from an MBA 2nd year student from IIT Kanpur named Prashant. He says:

“I have been reading Krishnamurti and Vivekanand since the past three years having learned from them, I genuinely feel that the teachings of such great teachers should be at the… read_more

Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said: Speak to us of Eating and Drinking. And he said: Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light. But since you must kill to eat, and rob … read_more

Acharya Prashant (AP): The feeling, the foolhardy certainty that “I am the body” is the progenitor of all other bondages. I am calling it foolhardy because if you apply a little mind it is not difficult at all to see that you and the body really cannot be one, that… read_more

Questioner (Q): How do I know what is sitting in my subconscious? What does the thing within want? Hence, how should I make my choices and decisions?

Acharya Prashant (AP): You have no perception beyond what you consciously know. You can only operate within the zone of your consciousness. How… read_more

ਜੋ ਪ੍ਰਾਨੀ ਨਿਸਿ ਦਿਨੁ ਭਜੈ ਰੂਪ ਰਾਮ ਤਿਹ ਜਾਨੁ ॥ ਹਰਿ ਜਨ ਹਰਿ ਅੰਤਰੁ ਨਹੀ ਨਾਨਕ ਸਾਚੀ ਮਾਨੁ ॥੨੯॥

jo paraanee nis din bhajai roop raam tih jaan har jan har antar nahee naanak saachee maan

That mortal who meditates and vibrates upon the Lord night and day—know him to … read_more

क्रियानाशाद्भवेच्छिन्तानाशोऽस्माद्वासनाक्षयः । वासनाप्रक्षयो मोक्षः सा जीवन्मुक्तिरिष्यते ॥

kriyānāśādbhavecchintānāśo'smādvāsanākṣayaḥ vāsanāprakṣayo mokṣaḥ sā jīvanmuktiriṣyate

The destruction of action leads to that of thought; thence results the dwindling of innate impulse (to act). The obliteration of innate impulse is liberation; it is held to be freedom in life.

~ Adhyatma Upanishad, Verse 12 … read_more

देहाभिमानपाशेन चिरं बद्धोऽसि पुत्रक । बोधोऽहं ज्ञानखंगेन तन्निष्कृत्य सुखी भव ॥

dehābhimānapāśena ciraṃ baddho'si putraka bodho'haṃ jñānakhaḍgena tanniṣkṛtya sukhī bhava

O son, you have become habitual of thinking ‘I am body’ since long. Experience the Self and by this sword of Knowledge cut that bondage and be happy.

~ Ashtavakra … read_more

Acharya Prashant: ‘We are two’. And, there are always two ways to look at our existence. One is to look at our physical body and say we are purely physical, material. Who am I? This (referring to the body). The other way is to see that you are probably not… read_more

Vidyā does not take you to Brahman. That is another popular misconception, kindly get rid of it. Vidyā has to go away for only Brahman to remain. Brahman is immortality. When you believed in the universe, then you also believed in the study of the universe. So, a belief in … read_more

Questioner: Is everything happening in the realm of consciousness, and the Absolute lies outside of that realm unaffected?

Acharya Prashant: The first part of the question is valid, the second one is merely speculative, of no help.

Yes, all that is happening or not happening is all within the domain… read_more

Questioner: Swami Vivekananda has said, “Education must strengthen the mind, expand the intellect, form the character, and make one stand on one’s own feet.”

So, the existing education system, I think, presumes that all which is to be known has more or less been known, and whatever little is left,… read_more

यस्मिन्सर्वाणि भूतान्यात्मैवाभूद्विजानतः। तत्र को मोहः कः शोक एकत्वमनुपश्यतः ॥ ७ ॥

yasminsarvāṇi bhūtānyātmaivābhūdvijānataḥ | tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka ekatvamanupaśyataḥ || 7 ||

When to the man of realization all beings become the very Self, then what delusion and what sorrow can there be for that seer of oneness? (Or-- … read_more

Questioner (Q): How is doership related to body-identification?

Acharya Prashant (AP): It’s very important. These are fundamentals. If you can appreciate them, you will never be misled.

When you are identified with the body, you are identified with the bundle of crying needs. Remember, the body has its needs; consciousness,… read_more

यथाऽपकृष्टं शैवालं क्षणमात्रं न तिष्ठति । आवृणोति तथा माया प्राज्ञं वापि पराङ्मुखम् ॥

yathā'pakṛṣṭaṃ śaivālaṃ kṣaṇamātraṃ na tiṣṭhati āvṛṇoti tathā māyā prājñaṃ vāpi parāṅmukham

Just as a pulled-up water reed stays not still even for a moment, so does Maya (ceaselessly) envelop even a wise man if he averts his … read_more

Questioner: In the last session you said that cessation of passion is dispassion. I don’t feel I am passionate towards anything in my life. I like classical music, reading about spirituality, listening to the masters, I like the silence, but I am not passionate about anything. I am unable to… read_more

Acharya Prashant (AP): Even before you go to the teacher, that is needed, the body must be such that it doesn’t fall off in the middle of a session, the senses must be such that they do not start wandering when the teacher is speaking, that kind of inner discipline… read_more

Questioner (Q): Swami Vivekananda has said, “First of all, our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita. These are bold words; but… read_more

Shuzan held out his short staff and said, “If you call this a short staff, you oppose reality. If you do not call it a short staff, you ignore the fact. Now, what do you wish to call this?” ~ ‘The Short Staff’, a Zen Koan

Questioner: Acharya Ji, like… read_more

The Upanishads were not composed to give you the normal kind of comfort and happiness. The Upanishads are there to give you an exalted happiness, a transcendental happiness, an eternal happiness. A happiness so rare and exquisite that it is not called as harṣa or moda or prasannatā ; a… read_more

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

ik-onkaar satgur parsaad

One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

~ Guru Granth Sahib 1426-9

✥ ✥ ✥

ਸਲੋਕ ਮਹਲਾ ੯ ॥

salok mehlaa 9

Shalok, Ninth Mehl:

~ Guru Granth Sahib 1426-10

✥ ✥ ✥

ਗੁਨ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਗਾਇਓ ਨਹੀ ਜਨਮੁ ਅਕਾਰਥ … read_more

Throw out concepts like ‘I am virtuous’ or ‘I am a sinner’. What is the entity that senses this? Body-consciousness will not lose its grasp on you with the thought that your well-being is the result of some spiritual activity. All you need is to keep observing yourself.

Do not … read_more

Questioner: Acharya Ji, since the last few days I have been sharing my learnings with my parents. Every time I discuss something with them, I have to deliberately attack their conditioned mind to make them aware of their conditioning. I feel sorry for them and I find myself being cruel… read_more

Questioner (Q): Who are the various Gods?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Who is Indra? A power within me! I am asking myself, ‘’Please, bestow wellbeing on yourself.” What am I telling myself? “Kindly be good to yourself.” Too much to ask for, too much? We keep wanting others to be good… read_more

Questioner: Swami Vivekananda has said that the minds of our modern youth are becoming storehouses of multiple complexes, such as sex complex, fear complex, ego complex, inferiority complex. Our young adults seem to be full of confidence in the way they speak, dress, look and act. But when I look… read_more

Questioner: Acharya Ji, I have noticed that people who have known me since childhood are now facing difficulties in understanding what I am doing. For instance, it took two years for me to convince my wife and relatives, etc. to even allow me to practice spirituality. Why do our close… read_more

ਹਰਖੁ ਸੋਗੁ ਜਾ ਕੈ ਨਹੀ ਬੈਰੀ ਮੀਤ ਸਮਾਨਿ ॥ ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੁਨਿ ਰੇ ਮਨਾ ਮੁਕਤਿ ਤਾਹਿ ਤੈ ਜਾਨਿ ॥੧੫॥

harakh sog jaa kai nahee bairee meet samaan kaho naanak sun ray manaa mukat taahi tai jaan

One who is not affected by pleasure or pain, who looks upon friend and … read_more

Questioner : What is happiness?

Acharya Prashant : The questioner, it’s important to be reminded, is the ego-self. And the ego-self lives in its own little dualistic world. In its own world, it experiences Sukhā and Duḥkha , happiness and sorrow, pleasure and pain. It knows nothing beyond happiness and… read_more

तपसा प्राप्यते सत्त्वं सत्त्वात्संप्राप्यते मनः । मनसा प्राप्यते ह्यात्मा ह्यात्मापत्त्या निवर्तते ॥

tapasā prāpyate sattvaṃ sattvātsaṃprāpyate manaḥ manasā prāpyate hyātmā hyātmāpattyā nivartate

Through penance, one gets to know the inborn disposition (sattva); from sattva one gets (stability of) the mind; through the mind, one realizes the Ātman; by realizing the … read_more

Questioner: Acharya Ji, Pranaam! I read the six chapters from the book allotted to me yesterday. And now I don’t want to stop and there is a feeling of stillness. But when I look back to conclude what I have read, I cannot recollect much. There is a feeling that… read_more

ਜਤਨ ਬਹੁਤ ਸੁਖ ਕੇ ਕੀਏ ਦੁਖ ਕੋ ਕੀਓ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥ ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੁਨਿ ਰੇ ਮਨਾ ਹਰਿ ਭਾਵੈ ਸੋ ਹੋਇ ॥੩੯॥

jatan bahut sukh kay kee-ay dukh ko kee-o na ko-ay kaho naanak sun ray manaa har bhaavai so ho-ay

People make all sorts of efforts to find peace and … read_more

Questioner (Q): You said that consciousness is precious, it should be valued, and that is why we shouldn’t kill animals. We can take it the other way around also, that if we are killing animals, it means we are killing our own consciousness somewhere, and therefore we are not valuing… read_more

Acharya Prashant (AP): The Upanishads have no two things to tell. There are no two truths. There is not even one. So, this is exactly what Śvetāśvatara was saying yesterday. As the spider puts out the web and then takes it in, mythically at least, so does everything arise from… read_more

Questioner: Wherever I find myself entering into conversations with people, I am often asked questions such as ‘How are you?’, ‘How was your day?’, ‘Where are you from?’, ‘What are your hobbies and interests?’. Any answer that I give I know to be ultimately false. Answers such as ‘I am… read_more

Acharya Prashant: Hema, is saying, “Good, bad, evil, are all reflections of our inner-selves. How do we understand the limitless, with our limited mind?”

As long as you keep calling yourselves limited. You will continue to have a fascination towards comprehending the limitless.

You must ask, “Why does the infinite,… read_more