Education and Career

Ambition - the burning need to achieve || Acharya Prashant (2015)
Ambition - the burning need to achieve || Acharya Prashant (2015)
49 min

Acharya Prashant: We want to look at ‘ambition’. So, as I enter, I see that we have been singing Kabir; Kabir talking about achievement, about ambition, about greed and desire and he seems to be taking a clear position, it’s unmistakable. Let us not leave it ambiguous, there is a

Leadership Lessons for Success
Leadership Lessons for Success
5 min
To lead is to not be a fool. You're not there to—to charm people. You must first of all go within and figure out: what do you have for the other? It is great disrespect to the other, and injustice, to speak to him or her or even approach him before being internally sorted. I do not know my own life. I do not know the source of my own motivations. I do not know where my own desires come from, and I want to infect the other with the same desire in the name of leadership and motivation?
The stupidity of competition || Acharya Prashant, with youth (2013)
The stupidity of competition || Acharya Prashant, with youth (2013)
12 min

Questioner (Q): I think that life is a race and a competition. If you do not compete, you will lag behind and you will have to face the consequences.

Acharya Prashant (AP): What are the consequences?

Q: If we do not compete with the rest of the students, then we

Why Do We All Act so Blindly?
Why Do We All Act so Blindly?
18 min

Questioner: * I am Darshan, and my question is very simple yet complicated. So why do we not work? So even after knowing that if we work, we will get something that we are looking for. So, to take an example, I had the opportunity to interact with a lot

Living a selfish life? || Neem Candies
Living a selfish life? || Neem Candies
1 min

People talk of personal time as opposed to professional time, right? They forget that the profession that they have chosen has also been chosen by the person. So, even that which they are mistakenly calling as professional time is only personal time.

Our lives have only personal time. To be

How To Avoid Distraction?
How To Avoid Distraction?
14 min
You say you want something, but you are distracted easily. Ask yourself, "Why am I attracted to anything?" Unless you find that, you are just a plaything in the hands of situations. If you really know, then knowing itself decides for you. Then there is no question of indecision or distraction because there are no options left.
नकली व्यक्ति को कैसे पहचानें?
नकली व्यक्ति को कैसे पहचानें?
8 min
हम ठीक वैसा ही देखते हैं, जैसा हम होते हैं। जो यह तय करना चाहता है कि दूसरा नकली है या नहीं, उसे पहले अपने आपको असली करना पड़ेगा। दूसरों से सतर्क मत रहो, अपने आप से सतर्क रहो। तुम्हारा सबसे बड़ा दुश्मन तुम्हारे भीतर ही बैठा हुआ है। तुम्हें एक क्षण नहीं लगेगा नकली को नकली जान लेने में, अगर तुम असली हो गए। जिसको दूसरे की सच्चाई जाननी है, उसको पहले अपनी सच्चाई जाननी पड़ेगी। अपने भीतर ही समाधान खोजना पड़ेगा।
Why Are You Power Hungry?
Why Are You Power Hungry?
13 min
Hunger for power comes from an inner restlessness. And a deep hunger for power indicates a deep disease. The man who is running after power is the poorest man of all, because real poverty lies within. If you must have power, you must have power over your own mind. 'Before I try to influence anybody else, can I please change my own ways?'
इंस्टा मॉडल और एयर होस्टेस: ग्लैमर का गणित
इंस्टा मॉडल और एयर होस्टेस: ग्लैमर का गणित
22 min

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, मैं गर्ल्स हॉस्टल (लड़कियों का छात्रावास) में रहती हूँ, इंदौर में। तो वहाँ पर बहुत बड़ा हॉस्टल है। सौ-डेढ़ सौ लड़कियाँ रहती हैं तो उसमें से फ़िफ़्टी पर्सेन्ट या सिक्स्टी पर्सेन्ट (पचास या साठ प्रतिशत) कह सकते हैं, एयर होस्टेस (विमान परिचारिका) बनना चाहती हैं। मैंने पूछा

प्रतियोगी परीक्षा में असफल होने पर निराशा
प्रतियोगी परीक्षा में असफल होने पर निराशा
5 min

प्रश्नकर्ता: प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं में लगातार असफल होने के बाद मैं अब सांसारिक प्रयासों से अनासक्त हो गया हूँ। क्या अध्यात्म में मुझे शरण प्राप्त हो सकती है ताकि मुझे सांसारिक प्रयत्न फिर करने ही ना पड़ें?

आचार्य प्रशांत: रॉंग नंबर। ऐसे थोड़ी है की इधर से पिट गए, उधर से

तुम कमज़ोर हो, इसलिए लोग तुम्हें दबाते हैं
तुम कमज़ोर हो, इसलिए लोग तुम्हें दबाते हैं
10 min

प्रश्नकर्ता: प्रणाम, आचार्य जी। मैं बचपन से एक धार्मिक परिवार में पला-बढ़ा हूँ। बचपन से पूजा-पाठ हमारे घर में चलता था। रामायण-महाभारत हमारे घर में चलता था। तो उन सब का देखा-देखी मैं भी सबसे रामायण-महाभारत साझा करता था। लोग खुश होते थे और मुझे भी एक तरह का प्रोत्साहन

कैसे पता करें कि कोई कर्म ध्यान से निकल रहा है?
कैसे पता करें कि कोई कर्म ध्यान से निकल रहा है?
10 min

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, कैसे पता करें कि कोई कर्म ध्यान से निकल रहा है?

आचार्य प्रशांत: जब ये जाँचने की कोई ज़रूरत ही न पड़े, कि सर्वप्रथम मैं जो कर रही हूँ वो सही है या गलत और दूसरी बात कि मुझे जो लग रहा है, जो आन्तरिक निर्देश प्राप्त

खाली समय का कैसे उपयोग करें?
खाली समय का कैसे उपयोग करें?
19 min
समय मिले तो उसे तत्काल किसी सार्थक काम में लगा दो। समय का एक पल भी अपने लिए बचा लिया, तो मरोगे। व्यक्तिगत समय के अलावा और कोई नर्क नहीं है। हमें बड़ा अच्छा लगता है बोलना, ‘थोड़ा Personal Time मिलना चाहिए न।’ तुम्हारी ज़िंदगी के सब झंझट Personal Time में ही पैदा हुए थे। ये सज़ा मिली है समय चुराने की, कि आज सौ झंझटों से घिरे हुए हो।
What is Real Leadership?
What is Real Leadership?
5 min
Leadership is doing what you must. A leader doesn’t care about followers. The common perception of leadership is nothing but ego- that I am superior, I am enlightened, I have something to give, and you all follow me. This is not leadership. The real leader is essentially self-centred. Followers may be there, but they are incidental.
The Key to Progress || Neem Candies
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

वर्तमान में जीना: अध्यात्म या औद्योगिक छलावा?
वर्तमान में जीना: अध्यात्म या औद्योगिक छलावा?
8 min

प्रश्नकर्ता: कोई काम करते हैं या कोई बुक पढ़ते हैं, तो मन उस समय नहीं होता, वो भविष्य या भूतकाल में चला जाता है। ज़्यादातर प्रेज़ेन्ट (वर्तमान) में नहीं रहता है। तो क्या करें कि वो अधिकांशतः वर्तमान में ही रहे?

आचार्य प्रशांत: क्या करोगे तुम वर्तमान में रहकर?

प्र:

Secrets of an Authentic Personality
Secrets of an Authentic Personality
5 min

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

On Education, Corporate Life and Career Progress
On Education, Corporate Life and Career Progress
32 min

Questioner: Good evening everyone, my name is Saurabh Sardana and you are watching the first episode of season 2, ‘Recast.’ I’m so glad to have you with me today, Acharya Prashant Ji. I’m pretty sure, that most of you that most of you sort of follow him on one of

Want More Pleasure?
Want More Pleasure?
9 min

Questioner: Acharyaji, my question is that the greed of getting more and more pleasure is increasing with time, and finally I’m finding myself getting stuck in the vicious circle of getting more and more pleasure. Sir, what are the ways that you could suggest to me to get out of

Identity, Ambition, and the Search for Fulfilment
Identity, Ambition, and the Search for Fulfilment
12 min

Questioner: Pranam sir, I am Ram Surendra Singh, a research scholar from the Mathematics Department. Sir, we all are dealing with physical matter here but if we see a periodic table, all the elements in there, and if someone knows how to play with those elements they can all create

Sir, Why This After IIT-IIM-UPSC?
Sir, Why This After IIT-IIM-UPSC?
9 min

Questioner: Acharya Ji, I think this question may be on behalf of many of us sitting in this auditorium. Every student sitting in this auditorium had a dream not of getting admission in Lakshminarayanan Institute of Technology (where the session is being held), but getting into IITs. Then, after IIT,

Why most People Fail in their Goals || AP Neem candies
Why most People Fail in their Goals || AP Neem candies
3 min

Acharya Prashant: If I am incomplete, then sitting where I am, what would be the quality of my actions, thoughts, and imagination? They, too, would be of an incomplete nature.

So, incompleteness is projecting more incompleteness for itself and then trying with all its might to reach more incompleteness. How

Be Committed, even to your Wrong Choices || AP Neem Candies
Be Committed, even to your Wrong Choices || AP Neem Candies
6 min

Acharya Prashant: Whatever you are doing, there has to be honesty in that. What is important is that you do not say one thing and do another thing. If you look at the great scientific discoveries or inventions, the scientist or the explorer would be busy in his chosen area

Leader and Follower: A Dance of Power or a Loss of Liberty?
Leader and Follower: A Dance of Power or a Loss of Liberty?
9 min
How can you lead others if you are still dependent on others? The leader must first and foremost be a person who has attained his inner completion. Only then he can be of genuine use to anybody. “If I need others, I will exploit others. If I do not need others then I can give something to others. If I do not need others then I am in a position to give something to them and that is a healthy relationship”.
How to Stop Thinking About the Future?
How to Stop Thinking About the Future?
20 min
You think that since you have dropped a lot of material stuff behind, you can live at ease without any worry but that's not how it is. One central belief that does not allow man to live freely and fully – “I will be my own master. My intellect will decide the next step.” If you keep thinking about what you need to do next via the intellectual route, then you still haven’t dropped your misplaced belief, in your power to take care of yourself.
अध्यात्म और जवानी में क्या सम्बन्ध है?
अध्यात्म और जवानी में क्या सम्बन्ध है?
5 min
एक ओर तो शरीर को बनाकर रखना है, और दूसरी ओर शरीर से चिपक भी नहीं जाना है - जैसे शरीर एक उपकरण है, एक संसाधन है; इस्तेमाल करना है उसका। लेकिन जिस चीज़ का इस्तेमाल करना है, उसको इस्तेमाल करने के लिए ही सही, स्वस्थ और मज़बूत तो रखोगे न? मज़बूत रखना है, लेकिन इससे पहचान नहीं बाँध लेनी है। जब मौक़ा आएगा, इसको हँसते-हँसते त्याग भी देंगे। और शरीर की जितनी हम सेवा कर रहे हैं, जितना इसको तेल पिला रहे हैं, जितना इसको व्यायाम दे रहे हैं, इससे दूना इससे काम लेंगे।
Hard Work vs Luck
Hard Work vs Luck
8 min
Whatsoever affects you but happens without your choice, or without your will is luck. If you are master of your mind, then luck can have no effect upon you. Because battles are won or lost in the mind. When you are really-really enjoying, then you will find that you are doing so much of hard work without even realizing that you are working hard. Don’t work hard, enjoy what you are doing, and then a lot of hard work will happen on its own.
उस खास नौकरी की चाहत || (2021)
उस खास नौकरी की चाहत || (2021)
10 min

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, प्रणाम। जीवन में आगे बढ़ने के लिए मन बहुत कुछ पाना चाहता है; मूलत: इसमें आर्थिक लाभ भी छुपा होता है। लेकिन पाँच-छह महीने कुछ किया और फिर कुछ और करने को मन चाहता है। मन को समझने का प्रयास किया, आपके कुछ वीडियोज़ देखे। एक वीडियो

How to Do Career Planning?
How to Do Career Planning?
7 min
You've heard there's competition and you must plan to survive, but without understanding 'career' or knowing that a mind that is always competing becomes diseased. This fear is also implanted by others. It isn't yours, yet you've imbibed it. Understand the mind, the world. Then you will know what is worth doing.
Want to Beat the Competition?
Want to Beat the Competition?
13 min
Every human being wants to feel special, and therefore we want to believe that our own conditions are extraordinary. Competitiveness is there in our genes. We bring competitiveness to the corporate world, to the world of trade, business, governance, education, etc. from the jungle. If you go to the jungle—the place we all come from—what do you find there? Continuous competition. And if you listen to Darwin, he says evolution itself is a result of competition.
Why Is Our Attention-Span Declining?
Why Is Our Attention-Span Declining?
9 min
It is primarily not about the span of attention. The important thing is not really for how long you can hold your attention on an object. The important thing is, what is the quality of the object you are attending to, and the nature of the human consciousness is such that, only very specific type of objects can really hold your attention for long.
Things You DON'T Need to Have a Great Life
Things You DON'T Need to Have a Great Life
21 min

Questioner: I have something to say. There is a very famous line which is called─ the survival of the fittest. Now, I am an actor, and I’m also a medical practitioner. I studied cardiology, and as an actor, I have always advocated less makeup and simpler ways of life to

Sir, Are You Successful?
Sir, Are You Successful?
6 min

Questioner: Good afternoon and Jai Hind sir. My question to you is that people define success by different terms like influence, happiness, fame, name, etc. So, sir when did you start considering yourself success?

Acharya Prashant: First of all, thanks for inviting me here. I don't consider myself a success

Can Vedanta Address the Problem of Economic Recession?
Can Vedanta Address the Problem of Economic Recession?
10 min

Questioner: Good evening, sir. I'm Gauri. Sir, I would like to ask a question regarding the global recession. Sir, as we know the global recession has risen from 4.7% in 2021 to 8.8% in 2022. Because of this, we are facing a cost-of-living crisis in many countries. Thus, as a

Vivekachudamani: Dissolve the Mind by Concentrating It in the Supreme Self
Vivekachudamani: Dissolve the Mind by Concentrating It in the Supreme Self
11 min
When Shankaracharya says “Dissolve the mind by concentrating it in the Supreme Self” , what he is saying is that your mind is anyway always concentrated and the type of concentration that you have will not help. This verse just tells you that whatsoever you are concentrating on is going to disappoint you. The mind is always concentrated in all the worldly and miscellaneous things. It is beyond the mind to concentrate on the Truth. Because the Truth is not an object. So, concentration doesn't help, it is not a matter of concentrating, it is a matter of seeing the futility of concentration.
Shades of Comparison: Unpacking Its Impact
Shades of Comparison: Unpacking Its Impact
11 min

Questioner: Hello sir, my name is Pradeep. I am a third year student from IIT, Hyderabad. So, my question is — In spite of being told that we shouldn't compare ourselves with others, it's told, that everyone is different and they have their own journey, but still, we tend to

Smart Work vs Hard Work - Which Is Better?
Smart Work vs Hard Work - Which Is Better?
6 min
Smart work means being a little cunning, chalu (street smart), knowing shortcuts, and having connections in the right places. That’s what the world means by ‘smart work’. Unfortunately, choosing between hard work and smart work is like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. Whichever way you go, you are doomed. Hard work and smart work—what does hard work mean? Hard work means I do not know what I am doing, why I am doing it, or who is doing it, but I have been told that doing is important, so I am just doing and doing; that is hard work.
Stop Time Management, Start Value Management
Stop Time Management, Start Value Management
12 min
Time management is actually value management. If you know the value of something, you will give time to it. If you’re not giving time to something, it means you’re placing higher value on something else. Your time profile is a clear reflection of your mental and value profile. If you want to know who you are, write down where your typical day goes. The time distribution will reveal who you truly are. You are where you are spending your time—that's your identity, your name, your personality.
Financially Weak? Aspirations vs. Financial Constraints
Financially Weak? Aspirations vs. Financial Constraints
23 min
There are far more important things in life to give importance to, and also if you are leading a truthful life then you can’t be too short of money. You will do something, right? Otherwise, you will gain weight. And if you are a little intelligent, a little creative, why would you not earn anything? You would earn something and that would keep you going. Fear about one’s financial future is proportional to one’s disbelief in one’s own worth. Otherwise, one says, “We will see when we come to that, will be able to manage something. We are not so very unskilled or stupid or useless, we will do something, we will manage.
Sustainability Needs a Convergence of Economics and Spirituality
Sustainability Needs a Convergence of Economics and Spirituality
5 min

Acharya Prashant: People feel that because human intelligence knows no limits and human desire knows no limits, therefore the human race is going to keep expanding endlessly. They are taking inspiration from history. They keep saying that if you look at history, man has kept ceaselessly inventing; if you look

Understanding Conditioning: The Invisible Forces at Play
Understanding Conditioning: The Invisible Forces at Play
13 min

Question: We generally say, “Let me do this task and then I will be in awareness.” Why do we defer awareness? Why do we keep on postponing awareness?

Why are there forces, psychological and physiological, that work against awareness? If one must live in awareness, then why is maya against

Irrespective of what we want, we all want That same one thing || Acharya Prashant (2015)
Irrespective of what we want, we all want That same one thing || Acharya Prashant (2015)
17 min

Question: Sir, in the market place, everywhere, are they not selling just the ‘Identities’? For example, if we talk about a newspaper, one kind newspaper is read by one kind of intellectual people. They relate to it, they have an identity through which they relate to the newspaper.

Similarly if

What is meant by being vulnerable? || Acharya Prashant (2015)
What is meant by being vulnerable? || Acharya Prashant (2015)
11 min

Question: Sir, what is meant by being vulnerable?

Speaker: The word ‘vulnerability’ is not a very likable word. ‘Vulnerability’ to us is a consequence of the fact that there are forces outside of us that are hostile, aggressive and inimical, because we need to protect and defend ourselves against these

Our education fills us up with external knowledge,leaving us ignorant of ourselves
Our education fills us up with external knowledge,leaving us ignorant of ourselves
12 min

Question: Sir, what made you to leave your corporate job, and start this whole different line of work?

Speaker: There was a lot that was asking to be changed. Leaving the corporate was not really an objective. I wanted to do something, and if it could have been nicely done

How to drop the personality? || Acharya Prashant (2014)
How to drop the personality? || Acharya Prashant (2014)
21 min

Questioner: What are the practical ways by which we can move towards dropping personality?

Speaker: No! Going by the discussion we have had so far, look at the semantics of your question – “What are the practical ways in which we can move towards dropping personality?”

The solution is here,

You are the personification of the only Real; why then must you chase an ideal? || Acharya Prashant (2015)
You are the personification of the only Real; why then must you chase an ideal? || Acharya Prashant (2015)
18 min

Questioner: Sir, it is also not incidental that man has, throughout history, connected other worldliness with Truth or God, I mean this is the way that things have been propounded, right, in all the religions, in all the images…

Speaker: Not really, are we saying that *Dattatrey*a is outside the

A spiritual man is a really ambitious man || Acharya Prashant (2015)
A spiritual man is a really ambitious man || Acharya Prashant (2015)
10 min

Question: Sir, I understand that the work we are doing these days will help us. But, mostly I get the feeling that everyone in Advait has become too ambitious. They say do this, get that done. The office seems so much like a corporate.

Speaker: You do not know ambition;

सीता मैया नहीं कमाती थीं, तो हम क्यों कमाएं?
सीता मैया नहीं कमाती थीं, तो हम क्यों कमाएं?
12 min

आचार्य प्रशांत: (प्रश्न पढ़ते हुए) कह रहे हैं कि आप कहते हैं कि महिलाओं का कमाना उनकी आन्तरिक और भौतिक प्रगति के लिए ज़रूरी है, पर हमारी प्राचीन देवियाँ जैसे माँ सीता, देवी अनुसुइया, यहाँ तक कि साध्वियाँ जैसे मीराबाई भी कभी कमाती तो नहीं थीं, तो क्या वो सब

जिंदगी: मौज का मेला या विचारों का खेल?
जिंदगी: मौज का मेला या विचारों का खेल?
27 min

प्रश्नकर्ता: नमस्कार सर। सर, दुनिया में दो तरह के सिद्धांत चलते हैं — एक ये कि जवान लोग कहते हैं कि खाओ-पियो बिंदास जियो, और दूसरी ये कि बुज़ुर्ग या दार्शनिक लोग कहते हैं कि जीवन क्या है इसको समझो, अपना पुरुषार्थ दिखाओ, अपनेआप को जानो, इस तरह की बातें।

How to obtain a satisfactory future? || Acharya Prashant, with youth (2013)
How to obtain a satisfactory future? || Acharya Prashant, with youth (2013)
11 min

Questioner (Q): In this present college scenario, there is one thing, which is the academics which I focus on, and there is an equivalent pool of activities which will help me develop my personality, in the sense that if I get better in a specific activity, it might help me