Shri Thiruvalluvar

Forget Rituals, Embrace Wisdom: Krishna’s Powerful Words
Forget Rituals, Embrace Wisdom: Krishna’s Powerful Words
37 min
You can either have the Gita or you can have the entirety of religion as it is practised by the common man in the common culture. These cannot go together. Totally incompatible, they are.
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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.
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?
Suffering under peer pressure? || IIT Bombay (2022)
Suffering under peer pressure? || IIT Bombay (2022)
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Questioner (Q): Man is typically a social animal who seeks to coexist with the society around him. I am a vegan but many people around me are not, and that creates a difficulty for me. I want to speak out my thoughts on animal cruelty and get into animal activism,

How to Overcome Sadness?
How to Overcome Sadness?
6 min
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 Handle Insults?
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.
Your Worth does not come from Bearing Babies or Breast-Feeding || AP Neem Candies
Your Worth does not come from Bearing Babies or Breast-Feeding || AP Neem Candies
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Acharya Prashant: You have said, “What kind of change our education system needs to have so that our coming generations live together in peace and fulfillment?” Live together with each other, right? You haven’t said they live together with animals. The trees, the rivers, the rabbits, and the lions. That

When You are Alright, then the Sound of Your Footsteps Is Compassion
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.
The Only Way to Help the World Is to Leave the World Alone
The Only Way to Help the World Is to Leave the World Alone
6 min
When you know that all this doesn’t mean anything, then the world’s problems are taken care of. And that is the only way problems like global warming will be taken care of. When you know that, “I do not need to exploit the earth, because all this doesn’t mean anything.” When you realize that the world doesn’t mean anything, then the world’s problems are solved.
Stop Calling These as Scriptures
Stop Calling These as Scriptures
8 min
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.
Gita Is Not This
Gita Is Not This
7 min
To qualify an entrance exam, and work towards it, without thinking of the results, that’s not what Karma Yoga is. Karma Yoga is not about setting tangible worldly targets and going after them. It’s a moment-to-moment thing in which you are very conscious whether the objective of your action is personal ingratiation or larger welfare. You are acting all the time, you are not acting merely when you act towards a distant and a larger cause.
How to Get Rid of Pain and Suffering?
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.
Why Isn't the Gita for Everyone?
Why Isn't the Gita for Everyone?
8 min
It depends on the pain you are willing to take. Sometimes Duryodhanas have to be turned into Arjunas. It’s just that, it’s relatively easier with an Arjuna. But what to do when even Arjunas are not present to receive the Gita? As long as somebody has anything, anything that resembles consciousness, as long as somebody has even the faintest remnant of consciousness left, Gita can be brought to that person but it will be tough, difficult.
Mind Work Ends When True Realization Takes Hold
Mind Work Ends When True Realization Takes Hold
18 min
Realization is extremely powerful. You cannot realize and not act. It is impossible. You cannot realize and not act. Action follows realization. So if you come and say, “I realize, I understand but I cannot act,” then you are mistaken; you actually do not realize at all! The action after realization is not time-bound; it does not even have a time lag. It is instantaneous and spontaneous.
What is Yagya?
What is Yagya?
11 min
In the name of yagya, if you continue to burn wood, you are doing no good to anybody. Yagya must be understood in its true spirit. Shri Krishna says, “Do not act for yourself or for your personal gain. Act for a higher cause; higher than yourself, beyond yourself. Do that action that takes you to your Niyati, which is your end. Yagya is that which dissolves you; that which reduces you.”
Where Is the Kurukshetra of Your Life?
Where Is the Kurukshetra of Your Life?
5 min
Arjuna’s hell was in his daily tasks, and so is yours. Arjuna could sense the evil in what appeared normal to others; you must also be able to sense that there is something extremely fishy in what seems normal to others. Your house, your workplace, your society—these are your Kurukshetra. That’s where you have to fight your Mahabharata. That’s where you need Shri Krishna and the Gita.
Overpopulation and Greed: Is There Any Future for Mankind?
Overpopulation and Greed: Is There Any Future for Mankind?
4 min
We are looking at a scenario where nations have the population of India and the per capita consumption of the U.S. Multiply these two, and what do you get? Utter tragedy. Unless there is this basic recognition, which you can call a spiritual awakening, that the good life doesn’t consist of conspicuous consumption, we are hurtling towards a great disaster. It is already upon us.
Yoga - The Biggest 'Spiritual' Myth Today
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.
The Real Meaning of Devoting One's Action to Shri Krishna
The Real Meaning of Devoting One's Action to Shri Krishna
7 min
You are too small to conceive or imagine who Shri Krishna really is. How then will you devote your actions to him? You can only devote something to an object, and the real Shri Krishna is not an object. So, limit yourself to just practising a certain casualness. A certain beparwahi. You must never accord too much value to your desires and opinions. And if possible, crack a joke or two about yourself. It’s great to be the butt of one’s own jokes!
Why Does One Desire Liberation while the Other does not?
Why Does One Desire Liberation while the Other does not?
5 min

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

Don’t Blindly Rush into ‘Good’ Deeds
Don’t Blindly Rush into ‘Good’ Deeds
18 min
Climate change is a result of the absence of spiritual education. The problem is man’s misguided and uneducated ego. Unless you educate the ego about who it really is, it will keep proceeding in the direction of blind consumerism. Lack of spiritual education has brought this catastrophe upon us. That is the only problem, and therefore, that has to be the only solution.
How Can We End War?
How Can We End War?
8 min
Wars first start in the mind. Without inner education, all the scientific knowledge and technological advancements merely provide more sophisticated tools to those who are internally ignorant. Mass awareness is the solution. It must begin with you; it must begin with me. There is no other way.
What does “Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya...” mean?
What does “Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya...” mean?
24 min
We love saying, 'Yada-yada hi dharmasya – whenever there is evil, then Krishna comes.' The Lord does not physically drop from the heavens. The metaphor must be understood. It simply means that whenever the ego inflates, it results in suffering, and suffering itself calls for its cessation. This call for cessation of suffering itself is the coming of the Lord.
The Sixth Mass Extinction has started!
The Sixth Mass Extinction has started!
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To date, mass extinction has occurred five times on Earth. Mass extinction means the complete destruction of all living beings. Five times in history, the Earth's temperature increased beyond limits, and life on the planet came to an end.

And now, the sixth mass extinction has begun! The reason for

The Many Images of Krishna: Their Utility and Limits
The Many Images of Krishna: Their Utility and Limits
9 min
If you're obsessed with the lover-boy image of Krishna, then you will miss Krishna when he does not come as a charming lover. And he will not always come as a charming lover. If you are obsessed with Krishna, the male, then you will miss Krishna when he comes as a woman. Because, in your imagination, Krishna is the one wearing the peacock feather with the flute at his lips, appearing in attire that belonged to those ages, enjoying milk and butter, speaking Sanskrit.
Is Krishna Available Only to Arjuna?
Is Krishna Available Only to Arjuna?
14 min
Remember, it is not as if Krishna did not try with Duryodhana. Krishna goes to Duryodhana and what does Duryodhana do? He tries to arrest him. Krishna goes as the messenger of peace and Duryodhana says no, no, no! The action of Love is still taking place. He is not saying that I will leave Duryodhana to his fate. He says it is my responsibility to teach even Duryodhana. But when Duryodhana proves it beyond doubt, that he is incorrigible, then Krishna says, “Fine, now that the battle is destined, let the blows rain.”
Surprise! A Delicious Dish
Surprise! A Delicious Dish
5 min

Acharya Prashant: In general, human beings are not cannibals. We do not eat other men and women, do we? Why don't we ask ourselves: “Why don't we eat other men and women? If flesh is what we want to eat, then why kill animals?” There are many who say, “Eating

What Are the Four Ways to Krishna Darshan?
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
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

Why Indians Address People as 'Ji'?
Why Indians Address People as 'Ji'?
5 min
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.
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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

Bleeding Throat, Unyielding Spirit: Acharya Prashant’s Fight for the Voiceless
Bleeding Throat, Unyielding Spirit: Acharya Prashant’s Fight for the Voiceless
5 min
On the evening of November 15, just hours before a scheduled Gita session, a message arrived from Gauri Maulekhi, a prominent animal rights activist. She requested Acharya Prashant to join her in Patna the following morning to meet the Chief Secretary of Bihar and address the press about the Gadhimai festival in Nepal. This was no ordinary request. It was a plea to save thousands of animals and to raise a voice against a centuries-old practice of cruelty disguised as tradition.
You May Be Wrong About Death: Bhagavad Gita’s Answer
You May Be Wrong About Death: Bhagavad Gita’s Answer
17 min
We have to investigate the meaning of the word ‘death’. When Shri Krishna says ‘death’, what does he mean? Is Shri Krishna looking at himself as a body? No. There is no way the author of these lines takes himself as a corporal being. Is Shri Krishna referring to himself as merely the Ātmān here? Well, yes and no. He does refer to himself as the Ātmān here, but the role that he is playing is not of Ātmān but of Avatar. Had he been merely the non-doer, Supreme Truth, then he would not have been found mortally present on the battlefield instructing Arjuna. So, discount these two and see what you are left with.
Why Is The Planet Dying?
Why Is The Planet Dying?
13 min
Today, if you see AQI levels beyond tolerance, glaciers melting and the coral reefs being destroyed, the reason is very simple. We do not know what is the right relationship to have with the world around us. So, all we do is consumption and destruction. There can be therefore no scientific and technological solution to this problem. The solution is self awareness.
Wise Men Don’t Make Such Mistakes || AP Neem Candies
Wise Men Don’t Make Such Mistakes || AP Neem Candies
1 min

It indeed does help to feel like a victim. It does not help you , but it helps that within you which is a product of victimization. Because if you are a victim, then you are entitled to certain rights. All victims get entitled to special rights.

Operate from a

Punishment of Having a Wrong Goal || Neem Candies
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

Climate Change: Who’s the Real Culprit?
Climate Change: Who’s the Real Culprit?
9 min

Questioner: When we were studying at IIT, we used to think that climate change is actually a technological problem, that renewable energy sources and electric vehicles, etc. are the solution to the rising carbon dioxide levels, and we were even doing research on this. Consequently, I also had the same

Tree Plantation is False Climate Activism
Tree Plantation is False Climate Activism
9 min

Acharya Prashant: I will say something with respect to this tree plantation thing. You see, it is very well known that one tree over the course of forty years would absorb just one ton of carbon dioxide. How effective is that? Please. And that is if that tree gets to

What does it mean to Love a Jungle?
What does it mean to Love a Jungle?
6 min

Acharya Prashant: You look at the last few centuries. Even the declaration of the rights of man came just three hundred years back. Then came the declaration of the rights of slaves. And in the last century came the Declaration of the Rights of Women.

I am seeing that in

The Hypocrisy of Climate Warriors
The Hypocrisy of Climate Warriors
4 min

Acharya Prashant: The very urge for liberation, when it doesn’t find an outlet, becomes the urge to consume. Do you see this? Where does the tendency to consume so much come from? It comes from the misidentified and thwarted urge toward liberation. If you will not provide liberation to a

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

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,

How to Respond to Life's Problems?
How to Respond to Life's Problems?
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

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

There Is an Elephant in the Room (We Smoothly Ignore It)
There Is an Elephant in the Room (We Smoothly Ignore It)
23 min

Questioner 1 Thank you Acharya Ji for taking the time and giving us this opportunity to sit down with you and discuss climate change, veganism, and a lot of other questions that we have for you. With me I have on the panel today, Niharika Raizada Ji, a renowned actress,

How Will You Have a Fairy-Tale Affair? || AP Neem Candies
How Will You Have a Fairy-Tale Affair? || AP Neem Candies
5 min

Acharya Prashant: Had you been completely broken from the inside then there would have been nobody left inside to experience the hurt. What you call as the inside is just the ego inside and the ego is a very magical thing. It becomes stronger when it gets hurt. It is

To Give Birth is to Take Debt
To Give Birth is to Take Debt
4 min

Acharya Prashant: Parents have first of all committed the mistake of bringing another person into this world of agony, longing, and suffering that they compensate for by investing themselves in raising the kid. That is why it is imperative for parents to bring education to the kids, give food to

No Spirituality Is Needed
No Spirituality Is Needed
4 min

Questioner: Is penance a mandatory step in the spiritual process? If the mind is such that there is no attachment or suffering involved in relating with objects, then should it still practice austerity or abstinence?

Acharya Prashant: Austerity is needed because you are suffering in the company of your objects.

Confront Yourself before you Confront Others || AP Neem Candies
Confront Yourself before you Confront Others || AP Neem Candies
1 min

Acharya Prashant: You must never be afraid of questioning others. More importantly, you must never be afraid of questioning yourself. The second part is tougher. It is easy to question others, relatively easy at least. Questioning oneself hurts the ego, but that’s what one must practice.

Question yourself: “What am

Want Satisfaction? Maximise Consumption || AP Neem Candies
Want Satisfaction? Maximise Consumption || AP Neem Candies
7 min

Acharya Prashant: You might just say, “Well, no I am not looking for flesh, I am looking for money. I am looking for material success. I am looking to have another factory. I am looking to have a bigger house with better furniture.” You might talk of material things other

We forced the virus to come to us || AP Neem candies
We forced the virus to come to us || AP Neem candies
5 min

Acharya Prashant: What’s worse, there might be much more lethal and incurable viruses to come in the future.

We talk of the virus as the problem. In fact, if you go to social media to get a hang of how we are looking at the whole thing in a cultural