Shri Krishna

Shri Krishna is saying: the mind is conditioned to move towards objects and perceive only their surface, periphery, or form. Develop the practice of penetrating further. Let Truth be your practice. The moment you would look at something, and you are in no position not to look at things being embodied, you would look at things. Nobody said that you have to practice lust. Lust just comes. You might be a total fool, an utter retard, and still you will find yourself getting sexually excited once you reach a particular age. Did you need some practice? No, you didn’t. It just happened. But if you are to understand lust, if you are to cross over, if you are to be a master of your body, then it will require a lot of practice, and that will necessarily and obviously tell you about your predicament.

Drop the center of confusion, come to the center of clarity. Drop what the masses practice, come to the direct route of self-realization. That’s what it means.

For you to benefit from the darshan of Shri Krishna's statue, you should already have a relationship with Shri Krishna and the Gita. If you have had no prior connection with the Gita, then darshan makes no sense. Darshan is a great way to immediately bring back all that has been hidden under the dust of time. You could either re-read the entire Gita or simply look at Shri Krishna’s statue. It’s a fantastic method — but only for Gita lovers.

Overview

Fighting Duryodhana is Dharma. Fight Duryodhana in the way you can, that is swadharma. Dharma is the same for everybody, but swadharma varies according to your physical, social, temporal conditions.

But remember that swadharma can never be in contradiction of Dharma; swadharma will always be something…

Acharya Prashant: You will see that I'm repeatedly stressing on Shri Krishna as the demolisher, on Shri Krishna as someone who not only does not accept our prevalent definitions of right-wrong, true and false, humility, authority, right action, non-violence but, in fact, unabashedly and actively demolishes them. It is one…

Obsession with the future is a compulsion with the ego. The only way to be free of the future is to be free of yourself. Be free of yourself and flow like the wind. But will the right things happen to me then? Can you assure me? Is there a guarantee? So desireless, motiveless action and faith, they always go together. Somebody who's asking for guarantees, somebody who is craving for assurances, he is unfit to even touch the Bhagavad Gita. This is only for the courageous ones.

The question should be which one is relevant to you? What will you do by enquiring about Shri Krishna’s grace? That’s Shri Krishna’s prerogative, right? Shri Krishna will take care of his grace if he has to offer grace. Whatever he has to do, we do not know what grace is. We do not know who Shri Krishna is. How does it concern us to go into matters of his grace? What is it that’s in your control? Your own preparation, your own willingness. So, you take care of that.

The Gita is useful because its setting is extremely relatable. Just like us, Arjuna does not know himself—he's a victim of multiple identities and all kinds of conditioning. Therefore, the Gita is about letting Arjuna know who he is, and this illumination enables him to do what he must. So, first of all, see that you are Arjuna. Then, step by step, verse by verse, there will be some resolution.

देवान्भावयतानेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः। परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ।।

~ श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, अध्याय 3, श्लोक 11

अर्थ: यज्ञ से देवताओं को आगे बढ़ाओ, तो वो दैवत्य तुम्हारी उन्नति करेंगे। इस तरह परस्पर (आपस में) उन्नति करते हुए तुम परम श्रेय प्राप्त करते हो।

काव्यात्मक अर्थ: *यज्ञ से देवत्व बढ़े देवत्व से…

No, no, you don't have to be empty of anything. You just have to be empty of the choice to use anything in your defense. You are born with ammunition; you don't have to keep the ammunition aside. Let the gun be there with you—just don't fire at the teacher. That's all that Shri Krishna is saying. You don't have to empty the gun. Keep it loaded; it's all right.

Who are the people who never understand Shri Krishna? The ones whose minds are full of Karmakand. If your mind is full of Karmakand, Shri Krishna himself has very clearly said, you will never understand the Gita because Karma Kand deals with desire, because whatever you do, you do for the sake of desire.

If all that the Ego wants is liberation from itself, which means coming to see its own non-existence, then the only way to see its non-existence is by paying attention to itself. The more the Ego pays attention to itself, it sees that it does not exist. The more the Ego remains attached to this and that, all the sensory inputs, the Ego feels that is real and this is real.

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.

The word for a Guru does not really exist in the English language. So, they have borrowed Guru itself, Guru. But they have borrowed the word Guru and rather misunderstood it and misapplied it. So, anybody who seems to be an expert at anything, can be justifiably called a Guru in the English language. Now that's not the proper usage in spirituality or in Sanskrit.

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?

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.

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.

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!

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…

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

Work. Where is the time to devote to anxiety? Where is the space to be anxious? If you are anxious about something, that thing is obviously important to you. Else you wouldn’t be anxious and if that thing is important, work. Work for that thing. The thing is not only important but also stands incomplete. That’s the reason you are anxious. Correct? If it stands incomplete, work, bring it to completion. Somebody said action is the antidote to despair. Action. Don’t just sit and brood, work. And life will become intolerable if you are not a worker.

Acharya Prashant: Where Arjun was standing, Krishna could see that the right action for him was to fight.

Remember that it is already a battleground. Remember that Krishna himself has tried the utmost to avert war. He himself has gone as a messenger to the court of Duryodhana and tried…

If you want the Truth, you will certainly get Krishna. Krishna says very clearly, “I come to you in the form that you value and respect.” So if you respect pompousness, if you respect power and pelf, then you will get a grand guru who shines upon a podium just the way Duryodhana gets a guru like Shakuni because his central urge is not Krishna but throne.

Overview

We want to reach the end of wanting. We want completion, fulfillment in such a final way that we are left with nothing to want anymore. That’s the destination. Born a human being, you will have to act. Act rightly. Act for the right purpose. Live for the right…

There is such great fun in leaving yourself behind and turning a servant to the Truth. It’s almost like Krishna advising Arjuna, “Talk in everlasting words and dedicate them all to Me—*mām ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja, sarva-dharmān parityajya*.” And at numerous places in the *Bhagavad Gita*, he says, “Arjuna, you are not fighting for yourself, you are fighting for Me. As long as you fight for yourself, if you win, you suffer, and if you lose, you suffer. And when you fight for Me, then you are a victor even before the fight begins.”

So, when you have to decide what to do, when you are in a mess like Arjun, respond to the call of love, respond to the call of freedom. Go in that direction where truth lies even if it costs you a lot, even if it seems unreasonable, even if it scares and terrifies you, even if you cannot explain to others or even yourself, “Why are you moving in such a way or in such a direction? Still move in that way. Read more....

Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata abhyuttanam adharmasya tadaatmanaam srujamyaham

Acharya Prashant: How can I identify a master with my limited knowledge? How can I judge his words to be true or false? If I go by faith or seeing their simplicity or innocence, I’m labeled as a blind believer. What should I do?

What is all spirituality about? If…

Questioner: We have always been eating meat and drinking milk; it has been there since ancient times. So, my question to you is, is animal liberation or the vegan movement consistent with the ancient times of our land?

Acharya Prashant: There are a few myths that need to be dispelled.…

Questioner: Sir, so one when day I was taking a bath, I was applying soap so there was a moment when I realized - the one who is applying the soap, and to whom it is getting applied to, both are somewhere different but both are one. But there is…

Questioner: Hello, sir. I observed that Arjun has been basically called by Krishna by multiple names — Parth, Bharath, and then Kaunteya, that one clicked. So, I was just curious that it is just an ornamental value, or is there any significance to it?

Acharya Prashant: I think that's a…

Acharya Prashant: Latha is saying, why does she get angry so often even over small matters? Especially with some people, she is unable to control anger and she says she tried to change her attitude but hasn’t been quite successful. She is saying, now, how to change myself. Because anger…

The character of Radha is not present in any of the Upanishads, obviously, not in the Vedas. It is not sufficiently present even in the Puranas. With respect to the character of Sri Krishna, there are two Puranas mainly. There is the Shrimad Bhagavad Puran and there is the Harivansh Puran. These two are dedicated to Sri Krishna. Even in these two, Radha is scarcely mentioned. Read more....

Questioner: My question is, why is creativity, like poetry, dying these days? And poetry is a part of literature. And how much contribution of literature is there on the way to Adhyatma?

Acharya Prashant: See, the more you will lose touch with yourself, the more material your world will get.…

Acharya Prashant: Arjun has been taught that respecting elders is a virtue. Arjun has been taught that non-violence is a virtue. Arjun, has also been taught that defending your territory is a virtue. Now, these two things clash with each other. If he must defend his territory, then he must…

योगथः कु कमाण सगं यवा धनजं य।

सयसयोः समो भूवा समवंयोग उयते।।

yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya

siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga uchyate

Perform your actions, O Dhananjaya (Arjuna), Being established in or integrated with Yoga,

Abandoning attachment and Remaining even-minded both in success and failure. This evenness of…

Questioner: I’m reading the Bhagavad Gita for the first time. I know people who have read the Bhagavad Gita multiple times, yet they continue being the same. And if one goes to them, they have their own interpretations of the Gita. They tell me that the five Pandavas stand for…