Zen

आचार्य प्रशांत: प्रश्नकर्ता कह रहे हैं कि आपको अपनी बातों का, अपने सन्देश का प्रचार क्यों करना पड़ता है, अगर ये बातें सही हैं तो लोग खुद-ब-खुद आएँगे सुनने के लिएI ऐसा तुम्हारे अनुभव में है? दुनिया ऐसी है? ये पट्टी तुम्हें किसने पढ़ा दी? ये आदर्श तुम्हें किसने सिखा…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आजकल ये शायद उपयोगी आध्यात्मिकता है कि सन्तुलन बनाएँ। काफ़ी प्रसिद्ध लोग भी ये बोल रहे कि डोंट गो इन एक्सट्रीम (अति में मत जाओ), सामंजस्य बना कर रखो। संतुलन बनाओ हर चीज़ में। मेरा ख़ुद का भी पिछला उदाहरण है कि मैं एक्सट्रीम में चला गया था जैसे…

प्रश्नकर्ता: नमस्ते, आचार्य जी। मैं आपको पिछले एक साल से सुन रहा हूँ। मैंने एक अपनी मित्र के जन्मदिवस पर आपकि एक पुस्तक उसको भेंट करी थी, महिला सशक्तिकरण के बारे में। तो मैंने उससे कुछ दिन बाद पूछा कि तुमने क्या सीखा, क्या तुम्हें सही लगा। तो उसने उत्तर…

मन को संसार, लोगों और वस्तुओं से नहीं, सत्य में स्थिर रखना ही वास्तविक एकांत है। अकेलापन शरीर का नहीं, मन का होता है। जब मन दुनिया से पाने की आशा छोड़ देता है, तभी वह मुक्त होता है। वस्तुओं और रिश्तों का आकर्षण भी अंततः भोग की इच्छा से ही पैदा होता है, जबकि सच्चा प्रेम केवल सत्य, मुक्ति या श्रीकृष्ण के प्रति हो सकता है। संसार से आशा दुःख देती है, इसलिए मन को केवल सत्य की ओर लगाना ही योग है।

A boy’s face turns black with soot at the train window while his sister cries as the engine starts rolling. Their father says that to reach the destination we must learn to embrace the noise and the soot. We too wait for a day when suffering ends and joy begins, and the waiting only deepens the hurt. But joy lies in the courageous embrace of suffering, not beyond it. Can we look at what we are protecting when we run from pain?

A young athlete says she knows she should not be attached to winning, yet she is, because her coach, family and country are invested in it. Wanting to win on the court is fine; that is what a contest is for. But we never know who the next opponent will be, and the one opponent always present is ourselves. She also fears that starting at 14 was too late. The past is fixed, so what is left is to play the cards we are dealt. Where does our real contest lie?

Oil companies’ own scientists predicted the warming in the 1970s. Carbon isotopes now prove the extra CO2 is ours. And still, in the country that has emitted the most, many call climate change unreal. This is not a gap in knowledge. Denial is a defence: every doubt we keep alive gives us a safe place to hide, because accepting the carbon means accepting that our own desire is heating the planet. What are we protecting when we refuse to know?

A world champion asks why she cannot sleep when a teammate outperforms her, and why even big wins leave her restless. The restlessness is not a problem but unspent energy, a sign that we have more to give. When every bit of our time and attention goes to what we have chosen, there is no surplus left to worry with. The right fight is never only against an opponent; it is against the ego within. What would it mean to fight so fully that nothing is left to celebrate or mourn?

Physical weakness does not stay physical. It becomes mental weakness, and the ego, which turns everything into an identity, starts saying “I am weak” because that line brings support and spares it responsibility. Visible strength works even unused: it keeps the opponent outside wary and silences the one within, who can no longer claim to be helpless. Keeping the body strong is therefore a spiritual matter, not vanity. Are we holding on to weakness because it is convenient?

Superhero films appeal to our desire to escape inner inadequacy through external power. The fantasy of an ordinary, fearful person becoming extraordinary reinforces the ego’s belief that more strength, money, possessions, or status will bring happiness. Consumerism follows the same pattern, endlessly adding objects to fill an inner void. Real freedom does not come from becoming more powerful or acquiring more, but from honestly seeing and understanding the ego that feels incomplete.

Climate change is more than an environmental crisis—it is a crisis of human choices. Our patterns of consumption, consumerism and endless pursuit of more are putting increasing pressure on the planet. But meaningful change does not necessarily begin with new technology or stricter policies. It begins with a deeper question: what are we willing to change within ourselves?

The Bhagavad Gita deserves reverence not because of inherited beliefs about its author, but because of its power to dissolve falsehood and reveal Truth. Real devotion is not ritual or blind faith—it is understanding, inquiry, and living the wisdom of the Gita. Through sincere study, one discovers the true meaning of Krishna, making the Gita the most authentic path to knowing and worshipping Him.

तीस साल मछली खाने के बाद वो वीगन बनीं, और घर हिल गया। पति कहते हैं, बेटी 18 की होकर ख़ुद तय करेगी, तब तक उसे खिलाओ। शांति के लिए वो हर बहस से हट जाती हैं, पर मन पूछता है: कहीं बेटी यह तो नहीं सीख रही कि ग़लत को चुप रहकर सहना चाहिए? जवाब सीधा है, “शादी करी है, ईमान नहीं बेचा है।” और शादी से पहले? हम चेहरा देखते हैं, डिग्री और कमाई गिनते हैं, पर “उसका खोपड़ा झेलना पड़ेगा 24 घंटे”, यह कब देखते हैं?

True freedom begins when we question the beliefs that make us feel trapped. Most of our suffering comes not from circumstances but from unquestioned assumptions, attachments, and imagined obligations. By suspending our beliefs, even briefly, we allow truth to enter, revealing that life always offers choice. Transformation is born from love for truth, the courage to let go, and the willingness to step beyond the boundaries created by the ego.

“I lust after your body” is the ego speaking plainly. Tell it the ego is false, and it rephrases: “It’s not lust, it’s love. And I’m not the ego, I’m Atma.” So the Buddha said even this Atma is false, and we turned Neti Neti into one more belief. A PhD student asks which of the two works better. The answer: neither teaching was weak. “You give poison to the ego, that becomes nourishment.” Which holy word is doing that work for us today?

Who am I?' arises from a relatively unconscious state, simply meaning, 'I will not remain the one who asked it.' You will have to become conscious. So the one who asks this question will have to disappear to get the answer. 'Who am I?' is for the wise, who are no longer interested in remaining troubled.

Explore Books on Lord Shiv by Acharya Prashant, revealing deep Vedantic insights into Shiv’s true essence, symbols, and spiritual wisdom beyond misconceptions.

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.”

You are the quality of your present action. You are, right now, attention itself, if you are indeed listening to me. Unfortunately, this identity won't last. Soon you will be distracted. You'll become somebody else. The discipline lies in holding on to the highest identity possible, that which you know to be the highest, given your limited capacity. That's who you should be. That's the answer to — ‘Who am I?’

Our culture has turned attachment into value, very proximate to love. However, attachment is poison and has nothing to do with love. We don’t feel ashamed admitting that we are attached, as if something beautiful is happening. If you are with the wrong one, and not even prepared to see that you are with the wrong one — that’s attachment. And you can never be attached to the Right One; there is only dissolution.

अहंकार पूरी ज़िंदगी आत्मरक्षा के अलावा और कुछ नहीं कर रहा होता। 'मुझे अपने आप को बचाना है,' और अगर उसे अपने आप को बचाना है, तो वो अपने लिए कोई कठिन लक्ष्य चुनेगा क्या? यह मत कहो कि 'मुझे जो पसंद है, मैं वो काम करूँगा,' तुम वो काम करोगे तो फिर कुछ बदलेगा भी नहीं। जहाँ दिख रहा है कि कमज़ोरी है, वहाँ जाओ — भले ही वहाँ कुछ लाभ न हो रहा हो, भले ही वहाँ कोई पूछने वाला न हो। वहाँ पर ठीक है, पोल खुलेगी, थोड़ी बेइज़्ज़ती होगी, लेकिन कमज़ोरी टूटेगी।

Attachment is not a problem; the problem is being attached to something totally unworthy. If you are attached to someone, check out the facts of their importance. Ask yourself, “Does this person bring Truth, Fearlessness & Light into my life?” If you have been wise enough, or simply lucky enough to have the right person in your life, then continue to remain attached. But assess them well with Truth at your core.

युद्ध, मुनाफाखोरी और हिंसा का मूल कारण अहंकार है, जो अपने स्वार्थ के लिए दूसरों ही नहीं, स्वयं को भी नष्ट कर सकता है। समाज अपनी बुराई को स्वीकार नहीं करता और खुद को अच्छा मानकर धोखे में जीता है। इसी अज्ञान से शोषण, युद्ध और अन्याय चलते रहते हैं। समाधान केवल आत्म-अवलोकन और भीतर की सच्चाई को ईमानदारी से देखने में है।

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.

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.

A man has to give up on greed, on this and that. A woman has to give up on the feelings related to the body. On all the assumptions and other stuff related to the body. Leaving the house, for her, is like becoming naked. And then the rest of the journey is very easy for her. If you have a woman who can drop her physicality, who can get rid of the basic woman-ness, then you have a great saint in front of you.

Attachment is just a promise. A lack of fulfilment. It is a substitute for love because the real thing is not available. If you find yourself attached, it means there is a desire for love; it means there is a call for love. Know that a fake is presenting itself as a substitute for the real thing.

It is not others that you have to be cautious of. You have to be cautious of that within you which gets influenced by others, which does not know others but gets influenced by others. It does not live in knowing. It lives in indoctrination. How to know the real master? See, who is treating your disease. How do you know a doctor? Not by his degrees but by his ability to treat you.

शारीरिक रूप से तो परनिर्भरता रहेगी, लेकिन जब परनिर्भरता मानसिक बन जाती है, तो वह बहुत ख़तरनाक हो जाती है। अगर आप देह हैं, तो परनिर्भरता ठीक है, लेकिन आप देह भर नहीं हैं। जब हम स्वयं को देह ही समझ लेते हैं, तो देह का दर्द चेतना का दुख बन जाता है — यह बहुत बड़ी ग़ुलामी है। आपके भीतर कुछ ऐसा है जो आज़ादी के लिए फड़फड़ाता है। जब आपका होना किसी भी विषय के होने से आज़ाद हो जाता है, तब आपका होना सार्थक हो जाता है, और आप सही तरीक़े से जीने के लिए मुक्त हो जाते हो।