Acharya Prashant Declares in the British Parliament: “India’s Real Identity Is Self-Knowledge, Not Culture or Cuisine”

On June 12, philosopher and author Acharya Prashant addressed a special gathering at the House of Lords in the British Parliament. Speaking as the Chief Guest on the theme “Indian Roots, Global Wings,” he presented the message of Indian philosophy and Vedanta in a global context. He said that true Indianness lies beyond culture, tradition, festivals, or cuisine, and that India’s real identity rests on her emphasis on self-knowledge pursued through self-enquiry — the fundamental question, “Ko’ham?” — “Who am I?”

Acharya Prashant delivered his address within the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the British Parliament, which over the decades has been the setting for landmark addresses by some of the world’s most distinguished figures — among them Queen Elizabeth II, Pope Benedict XVI, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and General Charles de Gaulle. Among the dignitaries present were Lord Bilimoria (Karan Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria of Chelsea); Lord Nagaraju (Baron Nagaraju of Bloomsbury), founder of AI Policy Labs; Barry Gardiner, Labour Member of Parliament for Brent West; Indian Deputy High Commissioner Kartik Pande; and Amit Tiwari, National President of INSA.

Acharya Prashant said that Indian roots are not merely a matter of cultural identity but represent a rigorous commitment to self-exploration. It is from this honest enquiry, he observed, that Vedanta, the Buddha, Saint Kabir, and other major Indian philosophical streams have emerged. He noted that global expansion and success are often mistaken for freedom, whereas real freedom does not come from external achievement but from recognising and dropping one’s inner bondages.

Reciting the Upanishadic prayer “Asato Ma Sad Gamaya, Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya, Mrityor Ma Amritam Gamaya” in the chamber, he delved deep into its meaning. He explained that it is not a religious or sectarian expression but a call to all of humanity for an inner journey — from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, and from death to the deathless. He also invoked the Katha Upanishad’s summons, “Uttishthata Jagrata, Prapya Varan Nibodhata” — arise, awake, and learn from the wise — and the method of negation, “Neti Neti,” not this, not this. India’s real message, he said, is of outward expansion arising from inner dissolution.

Speaking to IANS just outside the Parliament premises, Acharya Prashant turned to the climate crisis. “For example, the climate crisis is a problem of the human being’s internal order, and lawmakers have to acknowledge that. It is not an emissions problem. It is a consciousness problem.” Such crises — climate change, social fragmentation, mental unrest — all have their roots in the inner disorder of human beings, he argued, and cannot be solved through laws, policies, and technological measures alone.

Referring to his recent dialogues at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford and now the British Parliament, he remarked, “The truth is not a product that I can redesign differently for different markets.” Language and presentation may vary with the audience and setting, he clarified, but truth itself does not change. On the relationship between Vedanta and modern science, he observed that both converge on a single question: “For whom?” Science studies objects; Vedanta investigates the knower who experiences all objects.

On his upcoming climate engagements, he added, “What I’m saying is that without mass self-education, you are not going to succeed.” Green technologies, policies, and economic measures may be necessary, he said, but they cannot be sufficient unless they address the limitless human urge to consume.

Acharya Prashant, founder of the PrashantAdvait Foundation, described his UK tour as an effort to meet global problems with the philosophy of the self. India’s greatest contribution, he said, is not its cultural symbols but a self-knowledge that remains indispensable to all of humanity.

“The truth is not a product that I can redesign differently for different markets.”

Acharya Prashant, at the House of Lords