Hazrat Muhammad

Controversy: Is Sanatan Dharma a Disease?
Controversy: Is Sanatan Dharma a Disease?
24 min
It's high time that we go to our scriptures. It's high time we apply ourselves to life. Because Dharma is not just about reading a book. It's about learning from life itself as well. These are the two wings of the Dharmic bird. You have to look at the highest words that your elders, your predecessors, have left for you. And you have to apply your own mind to your own life.
How To Express Love?
How To Express Love?
15 min
Love and realization are things that roar aloud. They are extremely intimate, yet if they are there, there is no way you can hide them. These are not things that you can ever prevent from getting expressed. So, don’t even try. This expression means living it. Every thought is an expression, every action is an expression. You just express. By blocking it, you are blocking the thing itself. You don’t allow it to be expressed, and it’s gone.
Related Articles
What Does It Mean to Remember God, and Be Lost?
What Does It Mean to Remember God, and Be Lost?
24 min
In our entire life, in this entire world, whenever we have remembered something or somebody, we have remembered that thing, that person, for our own personal reasons. I do not remember you. I remember what I get from you. You are not important. What is important is what I seek to have from you. This is not only loveless but also quite exploitative. It is equally truthless and foolish.
Vibes, Energy, Aura: New-Age Nonsense
Vibes, Energy, Aura: New-Age Nonsense
33 min
You look at a person and you say, “This fellow gives me bad vibes.” Now, those bad vibes are your feelings about that person. But you are pretending as if your feelings are his quality. Vedanta says, “You are the source of all your experiences.” The cult of vibrations, auras, energies, positivity, and negativity — it is an enemy of self-observation. It will not allow you to look at yourself.
Do Ghosts Exist? Bhoot-Pishaach Nikat Nahin Aave
Do Ghosts Exist? Bhoot-Pishaach Nikat Nahin Aave
6 min
To the one who believes in ghosts (Bhūta-Piśāca) — for him, they exist. When you are asleep and are engaged in some nightmare, you feel it actually exists. Bhūta-Piśāca Nikata Nahiṁ Āve, Mahāvīra Jab Nāma Sunāve: Mahavira Hanuman, devoted to Shri Ram, is to be taken as the representative of Truth. If you can be close to the representative of the Truth, you will get rid of all nonsensical and horrifying imaginations.
Why do Teachers Sometimes Appear to Be Defending The False?
Why do Teachers Sometimes Appear to Be Defending The False?
29 min
If you do not have even a little light, then the great light will remain elusive. And that's a major tragedy that has befallen religious people. They expect the scriptures to give them a lot of light, which is fair. But they do not go to the scriptures with any light of their own, which is very, very unfair. The scriptures will give you a lot of light. But first of all, use whatever light you have to reach the scripture and read it properly. How will the scripture give you anything if you can't even apply basic sense to the verses or the stories or the injunctions?
Middle East: Wolves will Hunt, and Pythons will Swallow
Middle East: Wolves will Hunt, and Pythons will Swallow
11 min
There is no morality really there. Though, being human beings, you want to frame it in moralistic terms. We want to kind of pretend that the action has some kind of moral basis to it. But there is no moral basis. Really, there is no moral basis.
God and Truth Are Different Things
God and Truth Are Different Things
9 min
What you call as God is a concept; Truth is not a concept. Therefore, you can have stories about God, various religions, and their miscellaneous beliefs. But you can have no story at all about Truth because it is that which is invariable. Time cannot change it, and it doesn't vary from person to person. Irrespective of your subjective state, it remains as it is. Truth just turns you silent.
The Israel–Iran Case: A Religious Struggle
The Israel–Iran Case: A Religious Struggle
12 min
What’s happening in the Israel–Iran case is mostly about religion. Israel–Iran relations were far more cordial until 1979, when Iran got a new Islamic constitution, and Iran declares Israel as the “Little Satan” because Israel is a Jewish country. Had both these countries been Muslim, would there be a strife? Had both these countries been Jewish, again, would there be a strife? But we want to close our eyes to the bare fact that religion gone wrong is the worst thing possible to human beings.
Heaven and Hell Are Here and Now
Heaven and Hell Are Here and Now
10 min
Don’t think of heaven and hell as the afterlife; both are here, right now. As the Niralamba Upanishad says: Right company is heaven; wrong company is hell. If you are someone who loves to be with people who will take you towards truth, joy, and simplicity, you are already in heaven. And if you surround yourself with people who pull down your consciousness, then verily, you are—right now—in hell.
Shivling: Understanding Before the Debate
Shivling: Understanding Before the Debate
28 min
Now comes the deeper symbolism of Shivlinga. It says—look, if you have taken birth, then you are there in the body. But even while living in the body, you have to live as if you are without a body. So, the shape of the Yoni that you see in the Shivalinga is actually the world or the body, and this Lingam that you see in the middle of it is the Consciousness—the Consciousness which is located in the body.
Fight Hard, Forget About Victory
Fight Hard, Forget About Victory
4 min
The prerequisite is love, and love is an openness. Love is a vulnerability. Without that, all you will have is dry and meaningless and violent argumentation that yields nothing.
Slaughtering Animals Is Slaughtering Yourself
Slaughtering Animals Is Slaughtering Yourself
11 min
When you look into the eyes of an animal, and if you are really awake, you will only see your own deep innocence, which might be hidden from you. It is impossible to see anything or anybody else when you really look. That thing that you look at, and that which looks back at you is most prominently visible in the eyes. Look at the animal, pause and meditate for a while — and then go ahead and slaughter it, if you can. You’ll only be slaughtering yourself.
Is Man Really Superior to Animals?
Is Man Really Superior to Animals?
12 min
If God stands for innocence, trust, surrender, then animals are closer to God. But man values himself by his ability to exploit. If you always feel hollow and hungry, then the entire universe is but a resource for you. One then wants to exploit the man, the woman, the child, the animals — everything. So, someone who does not want to look at the universe as a resource will not want to kill or consume anything in a violent way.
Food is not just food
Food is not just food
8 min

Questioner (Q) : Acharya Ji, do you think that bringing the focus to our diet is going to change anything?

Acharya Prashant (AP) : In what sense?

Q: Do you see us heading in the direction of this perfection, completion, along with our diet?

AP: I am seeing that.

You

Is Religion Merely Superstition?
Is Religion Merely Superstition?
11 min
Religion concerns itself with ‘Ego and its liberation!’ That’s all. In the name of religion, if you are talking about planets and stars, about fruits and vegetables, wear this, don’t wear that, eat this, don’t eat that, the house should face this direction, and a thousand other things that you associate with it, then all that is some kind of tribal superstition. Religion has nothing to do with these things.
Superstition in The Name of Rituals
Superstition in The Name of Rituals
17 min
Religion does not deal with gases and material and fire and oxidation. All that is not the rightful domain of religion. Religion deals with only one question: What is this "I"? What is it up to? What does it want? And why does it suffer? Religion deals only with ego and the liberation of ego. If, in the name of religion, you find other things being discussed, then this is the work of some fraud.
My Life, My Rules
My Life, My Rules
8 min
‘My life, my rules’. Whose life? Whose rules? Even this phrase, ‘my life, my rules’ is not coming from your own life. Even this rule, that if it’s my life, it has to be my rules, even this rule is not your own. So, you are being ruled by someone else when you say ‘my rules’. Even in saying ‘my rules’, it is somebody else’s rules that you are following and you still remain a slave, a slave by another name.
Can Money and Spirituality Go Together?
Can Money and Spirituality Go Together?
16 min
Good spirituality is good economics. We do not know what to purchase. We do not know what really is valuable, even in the material domain. The punishment of not being spiritual is that you lead a very bad, a very ruined worldly life and that includes an economic life, a ruined economic life. It is not merely the person, even nations, actually the entire world suffers when the one making the economic decision is spiritually bankrupt.
Cross the river and burn the bridges
Cross the river and burn the bridges
2 min

Question: What do I do to cross the river? To me, it is such a challenge.

Acharya Prashant: Crossing the river is easy. Just hold the hand of someone who knows the other side, and cross. You have already crossed the river a thousand times with me. Your failure is

Why does mainstream education neglect wisdom studies? || IIT Kanpur (2020)
Why does mainstream education neglect wisdom studies? || IIT Kanpur (2020)
27 min

Questioner: Sir, I have been reading Krishnamurti and Vivekananda for the past three years and having learned from them, I genuinely feel that the teachings of such great teachers should be at the core of our education system. I personally feel that my decisions regarding my career and life would

Are You Ready For True Love?
Are You Ready For True Love?
11 min
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.
Love Versus Desire
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.
Religion and Violence
Religion and Violence
17 min
Religious violence is not about a handful of terrorists; it's an entire ecosystem of passive toxicity supported by lakhs of people. When toxicity is beamed to you on TV and social media, you don't resist. And one day, it explodes into active violence. This is because we're still animals who live without understanding ourselves — this is called ignorance. Therefore, we need wisdom literature to help us transcend our animal disposition.
Doubting Thomas: Did Christ Resurrect?
Doubting Thomas: Did Christ Resurrect?
6 min
Only the man who believes in the world that he sees with his eyes would want the proof of Godliness admissible through the eyes. Such doubting Thomases do not see that what the eyes see is not really true. Only a Christ can tell you what is True and what is false. And if you are suspecting Christ himself, there is nobody who can now tell you the difference.
When Jesus Said: Hate Your Family and Your Life
When Jesus Said: Hate Your Family and Your Life
28 min
Jesus is not a hater of persons. He is saying hate the way you have become. The Bible is not a document of hate, the central message is of Love. But when we love, we chain each other. When God loves us, He sets us free. So Jesus is saying to hate the way we relate to each other — because our love is not Godly. Love each other just as God the Father has loved you.
Does Dr. Ambedkar's Legacy Support Vegan Principles?
Does Dr. Ambedkar's Legacy Support Vegan Principles?
6 min
Dr. Ambedkar stood for the oppressed, and there is nobody more oppressed in the world today than these little kids from various species. If you're an Ambedkarite, you should be the first one to turn vegan, because oppression should not see caste, gender, color, or species. It is very bad when a human being is oppressed. Is it also not equally terrible when a sheep, a goat, a chicken, a fish, or a pig is slaughtered?
To Understand The Quran, Go To It With A Clean Mind
To Understand The Quran, Go To It With A Clean Mind
7 min
Before you go to the Quran, you must first be in a condition to understand what it is saying. The center of the Quran is Tauheed – Oneness. The Quran can be understood only when you, as the ego-mind, are connected to the same source that blessed the Prophet. Otherwise, you will misinterpret it. You are so full of ego that you want to remain what you are. By remaining what you are, if you apply your intellect to the scriptures, you will obviously distort them.
The Afterlife Myth
The Afterlife Myth
11 min
Afterlife is not even philosophy; it’s simply theology, present in every major religion. Science today confirms that there is nothing that survives the body. So, for whom are heaven and hell? It only takes one away from the direct realities of life because one is constantly dreaming of the afterlife. It is just an extremely venomous belief system.
Reincarnation: Science or Myth?
Reincarnation: Science or Myth?
6 min
The scientific community takes reincarnation as something of a joke. Studies have been done but those studies have amounted to nothing. When you are living an unfulfilled life then the concept of reincarnation comes as a savior because you think you deserve the bondage and there is no need to fight. It prevents you from bringing meaning to this one life that you have. The Gita too, very forcefully destroys this concept.
Astrology: A Myth People Believe
Astrology: A Myth People Believe
7 min
It has been extremely conclusively proven, demonstrated that astrology is not a science at all. It's a conjecture. It's a belief system. Belief system with no material basis at all.
Leadership Lessons for Success
Leadership Lessons for Success
5 min
To lead is to not be a fool. You're not there to—to charm people. You must first of all go within and figure out: what do you have for the other? It is great disrespect to the other, and injustice, to speak to him or her or even approach him before being internally sorted. I do not know my own life. I do not know the source of my own motivations. I do not know where my own desires come from, and I want to infect the other with the same desire in the name of leadership and motivation?
Which Is the Best God to Pray to?
Which Is the Best God to Pray to?
14 min
The one you love must be worthy of worship, and the one you worship you must be in love with. If there is a difference between the two, then there is a problem, a big problem. If you can’t worship your lover, then drop him or her, whatever, I don’t know. And if you can’t love your gods, those gods must be thrown away.
God, Allah, Ram: One Truth, Many Names
God, Allah, Ram: One Truth, Many Names
23 min
Some say 'God', others say 'Allah', and some say 'Ram'; all three refer to the same entity. If a name or sound reminds you of the nameless one, it's wonderful. The problem arises with self-appointed meanings. The purpose of religion is to convey the truth, not obstruct it. You have a variety of flutes, but there is one music. Religion is that music.
Why Do the Vedas Emphasize Rituals Over Philosophy?
Why Do the Vedas Emphasize Rituals Over Philosophy?
6 min
If only the Upanishads are given to you, you will be overawed. You'll almost be struck with an inferiority complex—"Oh my God, where did this come from?" And you will not be able to develop any direct relationship with the Upanishads. But when you look at the entire body of the Vedas, what you see is a very human thing. But you look at the honesty of the compiler—he didn't hide anything. He said, "This is the entire process, this is the entire body of knowledge, and we are presenting everything to you."
Why Did Sufi Poets Like Kabir Emphasize Love in Bhakti?
Why Did Sufi Poets Like Kabir Emphasize Love in Bhakti?
5 min
The saints don't display affection at all. Affection actually means disease. Affection means disease. The saints have no affection. The saints have love and love has nothing to do with affection. Affection and affliction go together. It is not affection that characterizes a saint. It is love that characterizes him. Affection and dryness, they go together. Together always. And affection and love, they never go together. So you have to be very clear about what accompanies what.
Redefine Love This Valentine’s Day
Redefine Love This Valentine’s Day
9 min
The purest definition of love is when the mind is very, very joyful, and that joy shows up in all your relationships. Love is your internal joy spilling over. Love is not about trying to find love. Love is about letting yourself be absolutely free! That is it! Love is not object-based. Love is not about - 'I love this person,' or 'I love this work,' or 'I love this book.' Love is your inner state of mind.
90-Hour Weeks: Your Salary, My Control!
90-Hour Weeks: Your Salary, My Control!
37 min
The man who lives with his heart—there will be heart in his work as well. Heart will be visible in his every step. And the one who is doing something for money—he will say that he will marry where he’s getting more dowry. "I will take up a job where I get a high CTC. And I will give the contract to the one who’s paying more bribe." And this—who teaches this love? Learning this is wisdom. This is self-knowledge. This is self-observation.
Is Pop Religion Compatible With the Gita?
Is Pop Religion Compatible With the Gita?
38 min
The center of the Gita is 'Nishkamta'—desireless action stemming from self-knowledge. Whereas popular religion is all about the fulfillment of desire. We go to a supernatural power and beg him to grant our desires. That is popular religion. You can either have the Gita or the entirety of religion as practiced in common culture. They are totally incompatible.
Is Secularism Possible Without Religion?
Is Secularism Possible Without Religion?
5 min
A secular person is one who does the right thing irrespective of his religious association. And if you want this, then you should be deeply religious. Because in secularism, you want equanimity, a certain detachment, respect towards divergent opinions, and non-violence; but who teaches these things? Religion. Therefore, if secularism is in strife with religiosity, it means both are misplaced. The religiosity is fake, and the secularism is shallow.
How to Honor Dead Ancestors?
How to Honor Dead Ancestors?
12 min
The best way to honor your ancestors is by becoming what they were destined to be — which Shri Krishna calls your Niyati or Liberation. Liberate yourself from ignorance and help the entire planet. That should be the meaning of Shraddh. Instead, it has become an elaborate ceremony of superstition, with beliefs about souls floating in other universes, being hungry, and talk of crows, sparrows, and crude myths.
Why Do We Avoid Right Action?
Why Do We Avoid Right Action?
6 min
Right action brings us peace, relaxation, and reasonless contentment. But we avoid it because it’s incompatible with our entire life structure, built on a wrongly lived past and the great stakes raised in it. Now, even if we accidentally make the right decision, it causes a lot of suffering and shakes up our foundations, making us go back to our dated, pre-existing ways.
Message For the Youngsters
Message For the Youngsters
13 min
There has to be a love for freedom. Especially as a young person, one should remain young all his life. You see, but you know, at least when you are in your 20s or 30s, you need to have a burning desire to to live as a sovereign entity. And when that is there, then anything that comes your way would be rightfully utilized, including crutches.
Why Do We All Act so Blindly?
Why Do We All Act so Blindly?
18 min

Questioner: * I am Darshan, and my question is very simple yet complicated. So why do we not work? So even after knowing that if we work, we will get something that we are looking for. So, to take an example, I had the opportunity to interact with a lot

Do Vegan Athletes Really Avoid Animal Cruelty?
Do Vegan Athletes Really Avoid Animal Cruelty?
6 min
If you can deal with human ignorance only then there is the chance, we will be more friendly, more compassionate towards animals. Otherwise, a sectoral approach, a fragmented approach will at most make you feel good about yourself. But in the bigger picture, it does no favor to the animals or to the environment.
Who Is a Hindu?
Who Is a Hindu?
8 min
The one who is religion-less. A real Hindu does not have any religion. To go beyond all religions is to be a Hindu. There are religions that are on one plane, and then there is Sanatan Dharma, which is another dimension — the eternal religiousness. Liberation from religion is religiousness. Sanatan Dharma is awakened intelligence.
ख़ुद से ये पूछा करो || नीम लड्डू
ख़ुद से ये पूछा करो || नीम लड्डू
2 min

किससे मिल रहे हो? किससे नहीं मिल रहे हो? कहाँ रोज़ पहुँच जाते हो? कहाँ से पैसे ला रहे हो? पहली बात – क्या ईमानदारी से काम रहे हो? दूसरी बात – जो कमा रहे हो, उसको खर्च कहाँ कर रहे हो? छः घण्टे से कोई खबरिया चैनल लगा कर

What Sanatan Dharma Is Not
What Sanatan Dharma Is Not
10 min
Sanatan Dharma is not about following traditions in the name of Dharma. It is about constantly moving towards that which will take you beyond your mind: the Sanatan. All our beliefs and rituals might be religious, but they are not Sanatan because they are just mind stuff. Since both Sanatan Dharma and Vedanta discard mind stuff as trivial, one cannot be a Sanatani if one is not a Vedanti.
Acharya Prashant Interviewed By Kip Andersen (#Christspiracy) || Religion And Animals
Acharya Prashant Interviewed By Kip Andersen (#Christspiracy) || Religion And Animals
7 min
Now, how does man relate with the world? How does man know what to do, how to approach, how to touch, how to live, how to eat, how to talk, how to connect? That, to me, is the essence of religion. Man’s relationship with himself and the world. That is religion, and that is also the essence of all organized religions.
Spirituality Is Neither Culture Nor Tradition
Spirituality Is Neither Culture Nor Tradition
4 min
Spirituality is neither a tradition nor a culture. Spirituality is not at all about following something or somebody. When it is said that you must follow the Guru, the Guru is the Truth, not a person not a man. Spirituality would never say, “Follow the words of a man.” Spirituality says, “Let the mind follow the Center, the Truth or you may call it the Heart or God.”