Nisargadatta Maharaj

साधिभूताधिदैवं मां साधियज्ञं च ये विदुः।

प्रयाणकालेऽपि च मां ते विदुर्युक्तचेतसः।। 7.30 ।।

sādhibhūtādhidaivaṁ māṁ sādhiyajñaṁ cha ye viduḥ

prayāṇa-kāle ’pi cha māṁ te vidur yukta-chetasaḥ

Those who know me as existing in the physical and the divine planes, and also in the context of the sacrifice, they of concentrated… read_more

How to Overcome Sadness?

Why do you have so much personal time? How are you available to grief? Your consciousness is too self-centered; it needs expansion. Even as you grieve over one death, billions of goats, rabbits, lambs, fish, cows, and chickens are slaughtered. Commit your time. Dedicate it to a higher purpose. We attach great sanctity to our personal lives. Give it up!

How to Bring Real Change in Oneself?

31 min

There are a million spiritual seekers who keep on practising observation and find that their lives are not changing at all. Just observing your daily life will often be of very little help. Observation of your own condition must be accompanied by exposure to something beyond yourself. Those who keep saying, 'Just observe and things will happen.' No, nothing happens just by observing. Love is needed. Love gives you the patience to wait. You require the depth of love that is prepared to wait till eternity.

How to Handle Insults?

20 min

Any kind of harm that comes to you can only come due to a lack of self-knowledge. If you do not know who you are, you will be forced to believe whatever others tell you about yourself. We don’t even realize how big a slavery that is! Every time you allow circumstances to rule you, you are actually acting like a dead object. You are alive only if you have something within that circumstances cannot touch.

J. Krishnamurti's 'The Observer Is the Observed' Explained by Acharya Prashant

'The observer is the observed; an honest observation dissolves them both.' Or, 'The observer is the observed, and both are false.' We lay a lot of emphasis on the world, assuming it to be the Truth. If the world is an entity independent of everything, then it has to be the Truth, right? Truth is that which is independent of everything.

Is Meditation Really as Beneficial as People Claim?

13 min

Meditation is a way of life. Meditation is the most beautiful love affair you can have. People talk of romance, why not romance the truth? Romance is your unending date with the truth. You see, when you are on a date, it’s not as if you are looking at the other person all the time. Especially if you are meeting that person frequently. It could be a working date then. “Fine let’s meet somewhere, let’s sit across a table, you have your own laptop, I have mine and we work.“ And that’s a date.

The Means Is as Important as the End

3 min

And then there are those who actually really practically want liberation. Those who really and practically want liberation, find out the means to be liberated. The Guru is the means. Nanak sahab says, “Now that you know so much about God, the absolute, you must also know how the absolute is to be reached.”

Advait or Dvait?

4 min

It doesn’t matter whether you talk of *Advait* or *Dvait*. Do you finally admit that you cannot proceed any further with words? If your *Advait* says that I have come to the final truth, then your *Advait* is bogus. If your *Dvait* says that this is the ultimate expression, then your *Dvait,* too, is a fallacy. You may say *Advait,* you may say *Dvait,* you may even say *Trait,* or you may say anything of your choice. You are free to say whatever you want to, but all of that must surrender.

Prakriti, Attention and Truth

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.

When You are Alright, then the Sound of Your Footsteps Is Compassion

9 min

When you are not bothered about the other, that is when you are totally compassionate. When you are not trying to change the other, that is when you become an agent of change. Compassion is not about thinking all the time of others. You cannot try to be compassionate. When you are alright, then the sound of your footsteps is compassion. That is what compassion is.

How Do I Really Know Somebody?

Because we all carry identities wherever we go, from these identities come ready-made opinions, and these opinions never allow us to look at the truth. We have no understanding of who we are, and all over, self-knowledge is limited to these identities that have been handed over to us by the environment, by others, by parents, by society, by education, by others, and it’s a very funny situation. You are unable to know the reality because you are determined not to know the reality.

What Does Equanimity Mean in Life?

When you know that you can not be harmed, then you let the change come to you. Then, you do not lose your inner poise in front of changing conditions. This is equanimity. For equanimity, you require a very good driver, a totally dependable driver. Our driver is the Ego. It does not allow the Absolute to drive us. The Ego is so arrogant that it goes and sits on the throne, the sacred place, that is reserved only for the Beloved, only for God. It has no right to be there. Dethrone it!

Stop Calling These as Scriptures

A scripture is a book that tells you about yourself. A scripture has to deal essentially with self-knowledge. A book that talks of dietary choices cannot be called a scripture. A person who talks of the kind of things you must eat to enhance your health and such things cannot be called a Guru. Shastra is what deals with self-knowledge; a guru is one who encourages self-knowledge in you.

How to Get Rid of Pain and Suffering?

17 min

If you are suffering, all that you need to be told is that freedom from disease is possible. No positive, affirmative statement needs to be given. If you are really crying out of pain, do you need to be given dreams of the pink of health? No, You only need to be assured that this pain is not your nature, and that is all.

God's Presence Everywhere: What Does It Really Mean?

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.

Why Are You Scared of Truth?

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.

Yoga - The Biggest 'Spiritual' Myth Today

17 min

You have ample gurus who come over and say, “You know, you do this and then you can do whatever you want to do.” Now the moment you hear this kind of philosophy that Yoga will help you do better whatever you want to do, I suppose one must run away. Because that’s exactly antithetical to Yoga. Yoga is not about doing whatever you want to do; it’s the ego that says that, not the dedicated, devoted, wise mind. That does not come from there.

Trouble or Just a Story?

It is not events, but the meanings that you hold of them that agitate you. A great happening in the world that you do not take to be related to yourself, does it bother you greatly? It doesn’t because you do not enforce the ‘outer equals inner’ rule in such cases. But the moment you bring about, bring in that dangerous equation, that dubious identity, ‘outer is inner,’ that is the moment you start shivering and panicking. We decide our triggers, they don’t just happen.

Why Does One Desire Liberation while the Other does not?

Does Self-Help Really Help?

Questioner: Why is there a difference of intensity and love for mukti (liberation) between different human beings?

Acharya Prashant: The differences that you are talking of all relate to time; therefore, they all will be resolved in due course of time. Time gave rise to all those differences, and those… read_more

Self-help doesn't help. Its approach is, “I am sad as my desires are not fulfilled, so the way to help myself is to fulfill desires.” They never realize their lives are driven by biological, social, and cultural forces outside of themselves. Spirituality offers the only real solution: “Before helping the self, one must know what the self really is."

Wisdom Through Songs

27 min

AIR host (AIR): A very good morning to all our listeners tuned in! And a warm welcome to the brunch time show this Saturday morning with your friend Kiran! And this morning we have a very, very enlightened guest with us who is going to be sharing his views and… read_more

What Is Yoga According to the Bhagavad Gita?

28 min

Shri Krishna is saying, “As long as you are the actor, please forget Yoga. Yoga is not for you.” Yoga is freedom from the false actor. The Yogi is the one who has realized that Yoga cannot be attained through any method. A yogi is healthy and alright with himself.

What Are the Four Ways to Krishna Darshan?

13 min

The first way, the topmost one, is the Sahaja way (natural way). Krishna prescribes no method there. He says, “Arjuna, just come to Me and be seated in Me, be affirmed in Me, pretty steadfastly. Just do it. Simply, obviously, instantly.” That is the Sahaja way. “Do it directly, Arjuna. If you really are sincere, and if you really have love for Me, then do it right now, right here, right away. What are you waiting for? What do you require a method for? Nothing is needed. You have the intention, you really want it, you aren’t fooling yourself. I am here, come and be settled in Me and that’s it.”

Dealing with a chronic medical condition

10 min

Questioner: I am a research scholar. I am in my fourth year of PhD, and it is kind of my second inning. Earlier I was a teacher, I was teaching at a university, but I’ve left that and I have started my PhD.

I’ve been suffering from a condition for… read_more

Vedanta: The Bridge Between Philosophy and Spirituality

14 min

Why do we need to talk of the purpose of life? Because we don’t feel alright as we are and where we are. Because we don’t feel alright where we are, therefore we need to be somewhere else. Because we don’t feel good about the way our self-concept and our self-image is, therefore there is a need for change, right?

Why Indians Address People as 'Ji'?

In our daily lives, we find people using the word Ji as an affirmative statement or while addressing people. Though, it has just become as social norm, there is a profound meaning behind it that conveys of beauty and auspiciousness. It is a reminder that one is beyond the body and the mind; beyond all names and forms. And instead of being identified with the body and the mind, there is something better to be identified with—‘Sri’- a Sanskrit word standing for Ji in vernacular.

Is Sex and Meditation Just an Escape of Ego?

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.

Beware of Those Suggesting to Avoid Reading Scriptures

9 min

It’s far easier to sit on a greatly decorated stage and talk about the virtues of Rudrākṣa, and what kind of water to drink, and why copper is useful; and all kinds of pseudo-scientific nonsense. But to really speak upon a Kabir or an Ashtavakra requires a tremendous understanding which does not come to everybody. If you are a spiritual teacher and you are saying you have not read any scripture, that raises questions on your love for the Truth.

What’s True Thanksgiving About?

“I thank the Lord for all that he has given me.” This is a totally nonsensical prayer. You should thank for what he has not given you. "Thanks for not giving me disease." It's very easy to miss that you do not have a disease. Truth is so easy to miss because it is an absence. Truth is always ‘not’ something. It is the absences that you must be thankful for.

The Key to Progress || Neem Candies

1 min

A lot of progress, even in the material sense, happens only by inviting pain. That which we call as discipline, even in the loose sense, is nothing but an invitation to pain. Is there discipline without pain? You have to get up at some point in the morning—doesn’t that involve… read_more

Life is for Better Things || Neem Candies

1 min

That could be one necessary mark of a true feminist: she would not be dependent on anybody else for a single rupee, especially not on the male partner.

“Financial independence and then still having kids, is that something that can be counted under feminism as such?”

No, you see, these… read_more

‘I want’ versus ‘I must’

1 min

Questioner: Is it possible to live without a target in life? I set a target for myself so that I have something to strive for, so that I have a sense of direction, but the thought of not achieving this target also brings sorrow and fear. So how can a… read_more

Not Enlightened, Not Even a Seeker || AP Neem Candies

2 min

Acharya Prashant: “He who claims liberation as his own, as an attainment of a person is neither enlightened nor a seeker. He suffers his own misery.”

Beautiful. “He who claims liberation as his own, as an attainment of a person is neither enlightened nor a seeker. He suffers his own… read_more

Punishment of Having a Wrong Goal || Neem Candies

2 min

What is the punishment of having a wrong goal? What is the punishment? You will suffer. And if you keep having one wrong goal after the other, your suffering will keep compounding, so you will be forced to give up your false goals.

And if you are not forced to… read_more

The Total Is Neither Masculine nor Feminine, Hence the Search and Summit of Both

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.

How to surrender?

22 min

Questioner: Due to my conditioning and fear, mind tries to perceive some ‘thing’ to surrender to. This stops me from actually surrendering. With this conflict, how to understand if there is any movement towards the centre, or is it all at the periphery?

Acharya Prashant: The inner and the outer… read_more

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 … read_more

Understanding Guilt for True Self-Improvement

If it is Optional to Suffer, why do we still Suffer?

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

How to Respond to Life's Problems?

Questioner: There is a well-known saying, “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.” My question is, Is suffering really optional? Whenever I go through persistent issues, I suffer, even after knowing.

Acharya Prashant: Yes, suffering is always optional.

But you cannot have your world and the rest of what you are,… read_more

11 min

Questioner: There is some image of something and you are not conscious, where then there is that blocked energy, so to speak? Fear or whatever it is, you act out of reaction. So, what would be… at the moment there is no choice, you are just reacting. What would be… read_more

You've Had Enough of This Person

Where Science and Spirituality Converge

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… read_more

To Love Somebody, Love Like a Nobody

Questioner: Is there some scientific context to spirituality? Because, at the end of the day, as you said, ‘Religion forms a boundary, an outer shell, within which spirituality remains.’ Because this has to be something that stops you from doing something wrong or something that is fundamentally upsetting. So, how… read_more

15 min

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

Science or Upanishads: Who Explains Existence Best?

3 min

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

Parents Insist on Horoscope and Find the Guy is 'Manglik'

15 min

Questioner: Good evening sir. I’m…. and I’m a PhD student here at IIT, Kanpur. Sir, I have a very personal question. Being a girl child, especially in India, comes with very different sets of consequences. Despite being given equal opportunities like education and skills, at the end where we’re supposed… read_more

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… read_more

How to Make Oneself Do the Right Thing?

Identity, Ambition, and the Search for Fulfilment

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