Vivekachudamani

The love for the Truth and the love for the world || On Vivekachudamani (2018)

Mumukshatva is the burning desire to free oneself by realizing one’s true self from all bondages, from that of egotism to that of identification with the body, which are bondages imagined due to ignorance.

~ Vivekchuramani (Verse 27)

Questioner: Dear Acharya Ji, Pranam. Desire seems to be the root cause… read_more

Know where your interest really lies || On Vivekachudamani (2018)

अतीताननुसन्धानं भविष्यदविचारणम् । अउदासीन्यमपि प्राप्तं जीवन्मुक्तस्य लक्षणम् ॥

atītānanusandhānaṃ bhaviṣyadavicāraṇam audāsīnyamapi prāptaṃ jīvanmuktasya lakṣaṇam

Not dwelling in the past, taking no thought for future, and looking with indifference upon the present, are characteristics of the liberated-in-life.

~ Verse 432

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Questioner (Q): My mind wanders into the past… read_more

10 min

Questioner: My wife has recently joined me on the spiritual journey, and she has been watching your videos since the last few weeks. She still feels strongly that she is the body and mind, and the possibility of being beyond body and mind is just a concept for her. The… read_more

The master and the shadow || On Vivekachudamani (2018)

13 min

छायया स्पृष्टमुष्णं वा शीतं वा सुष्ठु दुःष्ठु वा । न स्पृशत्येव यत्किंचित्पुरुषं तद्विलक्षणम् ॥

chāyayā spṛṣṭamuṣṇaṃ vā śītaṃ vā suṣṭhu duḥṣṭhu vā na spṛśatyeva yatkiṃcitpuruṣaṃ tadvilakṣaṇam

If the shadow of a man is touched by heat or cold, good or evil, it does not in the least affect the man, … read_more

To get rid of suffering, pass through a higher suffering || On Vivekachudamani (2018)

23 min

यावद्वा यत्किंचिद्विषदोषस्फूर्तिरस्ति चेद्देहे । कथमारोग्याय भवेत्तद्वदहन्तापि योगिनो मुक्त्यै ॥

yāvadvā yatkiṃcidviṣadoṣasphūrtirasti ceddehe kathamārogyāya bhavettadvadahantāpi yogino muktyai

As long as there is even a trace of poison left in the body, how can one hope for complete recovery? Even so, the yogi cannot attain liberation as long as a trace of … read_more

To understand something is to forget it || On Vivekachudamani (2018)

17 min

Questioner: When I read and understand any verse from the Upanishads, is that understanding emerging from a personal comprehension or is it universal? Is understanding personal or universal? Is there a way to touch upon real understanding? Also, emptiness, lust, anger, intoxication and darkness appear and disappear. They do not… read_more

What is meditation? || Acharya Prashant, on Vivekachudamani (2018)

6 min

Just as gold, by thorough heating and fire gives up its impurities and gains its own lustre. So too, the mind through meditation sheds its impurities of sattva, rajas, and tamas and attains the nature of Brahma.

~ Vivekachudamani (Verse Number: 362)

Questioner (Q): Dear Acharya Ji, is meditation the… read_more

The call beyond the personal universe || On Vivekachudamani (2018)

16 min

अत्यन्तवैराग्यवतः समाधिः समाहितस्यैव दृढप्रबोधः । प्रबुद्धतत्त्वस्य हि बन्धमुक्तिः मुक्तात्मनो नित्यसुखानुभूतिः ॥

atyantavairāgyavataḥ samādhiḥ samāhitasyaiva dṛḍhaprabodhaḥ prabuddhatattvasya hi bandhamuktiḥ muktātmano nityasukhānubhūtiḥ

For the extremely dispassionate man alone there is samādhi, and the man of samādhi alone gets steady realization, the man who has realized the Truth is alone free from bondage, … read_more

Is Religion Patriarchal? Exploring Its Impact on Women's Lives

30 min

Vedānta is about the person gaining liberation from both of these—body identification and mental conditioning. So, ideally spirituality should be the woman’s best friend. But practically, evidence has been rather mixed; in fact, evidence has been that religion historically has been on the side of the oppressors when it comes to the women, oppressors of the women. The reason is that religion itself has not been well understood. Religion itself has been a victim of contamination, and when religion is contaminated then religion becomes a tool towards exploitation of women.

How to Wake-Up Early?

Don’t sleep at all, and there would be no problem waking up at the right time. See, you cannot be trained in these things. It’s a matter of love. If waking up feels beautiful and full of love, you can bulldoze your habits. If you truly know something is right, you just do it. Keep knowing it deeply until your understanding transforms into loving action.

Rapid Fire Round with Acharya Prashant

10 min

Man and woman, classically, both are just Prakriti. So, both come under the umbrella name of woman, which is the human state, which is the human state. In some sense, all of us are women. You are a woman in just the biological sense; I too am a woman in the mental sense, right? So, the word woman describes entire mankind; you could say, “Womankind.”

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

Why Fast Minds Need to Master Slowness?

Speed comes later. The choice of the right road comes first. It’s far better to be slow on the right road, than to be lightening quick down the wrong road towards your own destruction!

Who is the real disciple?

12 min

The real disciple is the one who already knows the essential, full stop. And then, goes on to do whatever he wants to do, learn, unlearn, forget, remember. The real disciple cannot be a learner. He is the learned one. In fact, the word ‘learner’ is a very dangerous word because it’s a word of imperfection. The real disciple is the one who already knows.

Empowering Choices: Impact of Knowing What to Do and What Not to Do

9 min

We often say, ‘Oh, there is that little voice inside us; we call it conscience.’ Wisdom is to realize that your conscience is all artificial. 100% influenced. And that’s why the so-called inner conscience is totally outer and varies from person to person. People have done horrible deeds based on the advice of their conscience. Hitler, too, in his own eyes, must have been a man of conscience.

Ashtavakra Gita: Live in the World, Don’t Be Worldly

What is the world? You will see the world exactly as you are. As the subject changes so do the world. As the subject becomes lighter and lighter, the world also keeps becoming lighter and lighter. And as the subject dissolves totally, the world too, in its present form dissolves totally.

The Great Power That 'Om' Points To

11 min

In the Upanishads, "Om" is used as a powerful symbol of transcendence. It consists of three sounds: "A", "U" and "M". These correspond to the three states of consciousness. "Om" begins where one currently is—obviously, there can be no other place to begin with. You can only begin from where you are. So "Om' begins with "A", which is your current state of consciousness.

Does Following Myself Lead to Freedom?

If following others is slavery, the mind quickly wants to conclude that following oneself is freedom. No, following oneself is deeper slavery because what we call the 'self' is just an aggregate of internalized, pervasive influences, like a crow mistaking a cuckoo’s eggs for its own. True freedom is to be free of others and, more importantly, yourself.

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.”

The Dilemma of the Spiritual Path

16 min

Why is it that what you call the ‘spiritual path’ must be equated with leaving something? Do you find any renunciation in existence? Do you find anything in existence that is bent upon giving up something, or dropping something? If life were meant for dropping, then that whom you call as ‘God’ should have first of all dropped the universe. When he is running the universe, not dropping it, in spite of the world being as silly, as pointless and as rotten as it is, then why must you think of leaving all the desires behind, and going to the spiritual life, leaving all material behind, and doing something else?

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.

The Gap Between Understanding and Action

6 min

Understanding expresses itself through action. And understanding knows no other expression. Words are a very poor substitute for the right action and that is what Gibran is talking of here. He says that which is understood claim for its final expression as action in life. The poet often lets his understanding become his words. To that extent, there is a flow but if the words remain mere words and do not turn into life then there is no freedom yet. The imprisonment continues. Live what you love, otherwise, the punishment is tremendous.

Fighting your Weakness is more Important than Fighting the Enemy

3 min

Acharya Prashant: A fly comes and sits on my arm here (pointing towards the arm), I reject it, I discard it – Is the game over? Is she not ever going to return? Why? Because I discarded the fly and not my arm, so irrespective of how strong your resistance… 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

The Robot's ego

Why Do People Commit Suicide?

Questioner: Sir, I want to ask, Robot doesn’t have ego. So, now what is the intersection between the urge towards freedom and your ego?

Acharya Prashant: You could say, the robot does have an ego planted into it by its designer. Therefore, the ego of the robot is totally in… read_more

9 min

Questioner: Why do people commit suicide?

Acharya Prashant: They still have a lot of hope. They feel that suicide would redeem them. They have not given up everything. They are still carrying a lot of hope. If I do not know what is beyond life, how can I enter that… read_more

The Biggest Obstacle to a Spiritual Life || AP Neem Candies

1 min

Fulfillment is what you want, don’t you? There won’t be any fulfillment until you break your inner bondages. And the most central, critical, and primary bondage is body-identification.

Use everything that your birth, your body, and Prakriti (physical nature) have given you. Use all of that for the sake of… 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

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.

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

Love or Knowledge: Which is More Powerful for Liberation?

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

Secrets of an Authentic Personality

Acharya Prashant: Love is the fire that melts down the bondage that is you. Knowledge is merely the light in which you can see your bondages. Even if you are able to look at your chains in the light of knowledge, that does not rid you of the chains. In… read_more

How to Overcome Overthinking and Anxiety?

A. Objective and Fear

Wherever there is an objective, there would be fear associated with it. You hope to get something, and you fear that you may not get it. Don’t you see that a man who is chasing goals has condemned himself to live in fear?

It is possible… read_more

The Hypocrisy of Climate Warriors

Acharya Prashant: Immerse yourself in the right action, then where are space and the time to worry? Indeed you are stealing time away from work. So that you can indulge in worries and anxiety and fancy and all kinds. Young people fantasize, don't they?

Some fantasize about beautiful, pretty exciting… read_more

Why Lack of Clarity Complicates Life

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… read_more

How to Overcome Laziness?

Acharya Prashant: Confused world, a chaotic world, a world that makes no sense. And it’s not that the world is confused or chaotic or nonsensical. It is obviously the looker, the seer of the world who is not able to comprehend it with any clarity.

Lack of clarity is a… read_more

14 min

'Laziness' is an unnecessary pejorative. You’re imposing morality on Prakriti (physical nature) and calling it laziness. There’s nothing called laziness. In nature, there’s a tendency towards work minimization, which is logical—get maximum output with minimum effort. You view it through a moral lens and call it laziness. If something gives more output with less work, you’ll choose it. You call it laziness, but it’s simply efficiency. You calculate the pleasure-to-effort ratio, and if lying in bed offers more pleasure than working out, you’ll naturally choose the bed.

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

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

Where Is the Real Me?

How Do We Know Anything about Life? Where Do Our Thoughts Come from?

Acharya Prashant: It has been told to us that there exist two centers. I suppose it has been very freshly told to you right? Very recently. He says, “How do I know that I am living out of the right center? How does a young man know whether he’s not… read_more

You've Had Enough of This Person

Questioner: It’s well known that simple living and high thinking are what we should aim at, but how do we know what is simple living and high thinking?

Acharya Prashant: You talked of simple living and high thinking, and you said that it's well-known that simple living and high thinking… read_more

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… read_more

What Is Desh Prem Divas?

Where Science and Spirituality Converge

Acharya Prashant: Before we say love for the country, we should know what is this thing called country. If we don’t know what is country then whom do we love? If we don’t know what country is then what do we call love as?

This is just a machine (pointing … read_more