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Question: What is meant by Advait in Everyday Life ?

Acharya Prashant: Advait in everyday life, what is it that we call as our everyday life? This sleeping, this waking, this trying, this reaching, this hope, this despair, getting ready, achieving, not achieving, this is what we call as our… read_more

A strange situation is that a beautiful woman’s life is perhaps more complex than an average-looking woman’s life, because a beautiful looking woman has a lot of men eyeing upon her, and she can get whatever she wants. And what you will get for your beauty, that is the real… read_more

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… read_more

Now, mind is movement, right? Why does the mind move at all? The mind wants to reach somewhere. Where does the mind want to reach? Is that place within the mind? The mind wants to reach somewhere. Every thought, every action, every motivation, every emotion rides on a desire, is… read_more

How should one interpret the coming forth of Krishna when righteousness is on decline? Does this statement have any significance at an individual level, or is it said in the social context?

Also, in Christianity it is believed that Jesus will come again on the judgement day. Please help me… read_more

Questioner: In light of our topic, one thing that really comes to mind is the concept of cancel-culture.

I am just summarising what it really means. Individuals on the platforms of social media or digital platforms, in general, have a kind of justice system, where someone can be kicked out… read_more

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… read_more

I had to unlearn a lot of things, and I am grateful to all the sources—the books, the people and the experiences that helped me unlearn. And I am grateful to that within me that had the courage to unlearn.

A lot of unlearning is needed. I often say you… read_more

I had to unlearn a lot of things, and I am grateful to all the sources—the books, the people and the experiences that helped me unlearn. And I am grateful to that within me that had the courage to unlearn.

A lot of unlearning is needed. I often say you… read_more

Something is very wrong somewhere. The first thing in liberation is: do not be dependent on somebody, at least for your bread, for your basic sustenance. What kind of empowerment is this that happily accepts dependence on somebody else’s money on a date, and also for an entire lifetime? It… read_more

Prarabdha refers to the sum total of (apparent)movements in time and space that have resulted in the (apparent) formation of the jiva – the human being, or any other being.Everything that the being appears to be is prarabdha . And prarabdha is all past.

So,– having 5 fingers is prarabdha … read_more

Questioner: Acharya ji, Adhyatma Upanishad says that you should destroy your ego and see that you are neither this nor that. So the one who is seeing is also ego? Please shed light. Acharya Prashant: The question is, “Upanishad says that destroy the ego, see that you are not this,… read_more

सङ्करो नरकायैव कुलघ्नानां कुलस्य च ।। पतन्ति पितरो ह्येषां लुप्तपिण्डोदकक्रिया: ।।1.42।।

saṅkaro narakāyaiva kula-ghnānāṁ kulasya cha patanti pitaro hy eṣhāṁ lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ

When the castes mix, that spells hell for the family. It destroys the family, in the way that the ancestors all fall because they are deprived of the Pindokdakriya.… read_more

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… read_more

प्रश्नकर्ता: सर, जो पुनर्जन्म की बात की जाती है, क्या हम उसको समझ सकते हैं?

आचार्या प्रशांत: देखो, पुनर्जन्म तो ठीक है, लेकिन ज़रूरी है यह पूछना – पुनर्जन्म किसका? आवश्यक है कि आप समझें कि पुनर्जन्म है, लेकिन कोई पर्सनल सेल्फ (व्यक्तिगत स्व) नहीं होता है जिसका पुनर्जन्म हो… read_more

Questioner (Q): If my parents tell me to concentrate on my studies but I fail to do so, does it mean that I don’t find it worth concentrating on or interesting enough?

Acharya Prashant (AP): The question that I must first of all address is, why must a twenty-two or… read_more

Questioner (Q): Acharya Ji, what is the source of fear?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Before I begin, I’ll like to tell you a small story. I just mentioned all the big animals that went extinct when man first reached Australia from Indonesia; that’s how Australia got colonized. Man reached Indonesia, and… read_more

Question: Sir, an Indian origin developer from Google recently released a version of ChatGPT called GeetaGPT, where the AI (Artificial Intelligence) basically acts like a God. And you could ask questions based on spirituality or philosophy, and it would answer as if it’s coming from Shri Kṛṣṇa himself. So, my… read_more

Questioner (Q): Hello Sir. My question is related to your statement that vegans are somewhat distanced from spirituality. I like to think of myself as an intersectional vegan who is not looking at the subject of animal rights in exclusivity, and in fact is trying to understand those from a… read_more

Questioner: Good afternoon Sir. I see all the people around me living a life cycle who are just working hard and struggling to survive in the society. My question is, how to actually live and not just survive? So that, when I am on my deathbed, I know that my… read_more

Questioner (Q): Sir, why is religion so obsessed with sex? In the sense that the normal kind of religious people, who are socially respectable, all that they have in their mind regarding religion contains a lot of sexual connotations. So, for example, they will keep saying that abstain from the… read_more

Questioner (Q): My name is Kuntal Joisher, I am a mountaineer. Sir, so glad to meet you again. I still remember our last panel discussion and we had a long conversation about the climate crisis and a lot of those topics. I thoroughly enjoyed a lot of your insights during… read_more

Questioner (Q): We have two daughters; one is in class twelve, the other in class three. With the elder one we are strict, but with the younger one we are a lot more allowing. We say, “Do whatever you have to do, just don’t trouble us.” So, she is always… read_more

Questioner (Q): My question is regarding coaching institutes. In recent years, coaching for competitive exams has certainly become more popular, and students are enrolled in it from a very young age, like sixth or seventh grade. This has happened in my family as well. Some of my cousins were forced… read_more

Questioner (Q): You have said that individual liberation is not possible: that either we go together, or nobody can go. So, we have to help others to cross-over. But I can’t help even the people close to me; they are caught up in routine work or indulge in entertainment; no… read_more

Questioner (Q): I have always found the profession of an acharya or a wisdom teacher to be quite amusing, because even Shakespeare said that a fool does think himself to be wise, but the wise does think himself to be a fool. Being an acharya or a wisdom teacher requires… read_more

Questioner (Q): I have always found the profession of an acharya or a wisdom teacher to be quite amusing, because even Shakespeare said that a fool does think himself to be wise, but the wise does think himself to be a fool. Being an acharya or a wisdom teacher requires… read_more

Questioner (Q): You have repeatedly said that instead of going directly to the Truth, one should eliminate everything that is false. How is it practically possible to eliminate everything that is false? Is that even possible within a single lifetime? Do we even need to reach the purity of the… read_more

Questioner (Q): You have repeatedly said that instead of going directly to the Truth, one should eliminate everything that is false. How is it practically possible to eliminate everything that is false? Is that even possible within a single lifetime? Do we even need to reach the purity of the… read_more

Questioner: I want to know how we can identify attachment or bondage, because sometimes we don’t even know what we are bound by. For example, I feel like I am not currently bound by anything specific, and that I can give up whatever I want to at any time. So,… read_more

Questioner (Q): If there is a fight going on with my wife, and she gets angry, and I too get angry. Won’t that create more friction?

Acharya Prashant (AP): You know what, you don’t get angry when fighting with your spouse, because you assume that she is not as strong… read_more

Questioner (Q): I have studied with several Advaita teachers. My old teacher’s emphasis was on seeing that the process of being and becoming is never-ending, that there is nowhere to escape to; that enlightenment isn’t about coming to the end of suffering but about finally starting to live, but now,… read_more

Questioner (Q): Ramana Maharshi says, “Liberation is not to be gained hereafter. It is there forever, here and now. The word mukti (liberation) is so provocative. Why should one seek liberation? One believes that there is bondage and therefore one seeks liberation. Just remove ignorance. That is all there is… read_more

Questioner: Ramana Maharshi says, “There is no difference between the dream and the waking state except that the dream is short and the waking state is long.” Further at another place he says, “Just before waking up from sleep there is a very brief state free from thought. That should… read_more

हिरण्मये परे कोशे विरजं ब्रह्म निष्कलम् । तच्छुभ्रं ज्योतिषं ज्योतिस्तद्यदात्मविदो विदुः ।।2.2.10।।

hiraṇmaye pare kośe virajaṃ brahma niṣkalam tacchubhraṃ jyotiṣaṃ jyotistadyadātmavido viduḥ

In a supreme golden sheath the Brahman lies, stainless, without parts. A Splendor is That, It is the Light of Lights, It is That which the self-knowers know. … read_more

Questioner (Q): Acharya Ji, Pranaam. Currently there is a lot of pressure on me to get married. I am completely confused about this decision, I am not mentally prepared for it right now. I feel incompleteness in my life, and I want to settle things in my life.

There is… read_more

दूसरों के ख़िलाफ़ जाना आसान है, अपने ख़िलाफ़ जाना मुश्किल

प्रश्नकर्ता: मेरा कॉलेज में जो अनुभव होता है वो कॉम्पीटिशन (प्रतिस्पर्धा) से, फ़ियर (डर) से और बहुत ज़्यादा प्रेशर (दबाव) से भरा हुआ होता है। इसके विपरीत जो अनुभव आपके वीडियो सुनने का होता है वो बहुत ही ज़्यादा शान्तिपूर्ण… read_more