
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…

You may celebrate Diwali, or you may celebrate Christmas—the weather would remain what it has to. Or is the weather exceptionally fine because today is Diwali? If it has to rain, it will rain. Life has nothing to do with your festivals or your sufferings.

Distinctions are a burden on the mind. If A is different from B, then one has to remember both A and B.
It is wonderful when A to Z are all one; then you can just remember A and forget everything else.
And if A to Z all are nothing,…

I say, if you have lived up to Rama for 364 days, only then must you celebrate the festival of Rama-ness. How is it that for 364 days your life had nothing to do with Shri Rama, and on the 365th day you jump up and join the bandwagon, the

Rama’s festival has become the festival of shopping, shoppers and shopkeepers—Rama, who never had anything to do with shops; Rama, who was never a buyer or a seller or a consumer; Shri Rama, who stands for that which can neither be bought nor be sold. This festival has turned into…

Just think if Rama was there in his bodily shape, in his mortal life, and were to see you celebrating his festival. What would he say? He would call you, “Hey you! Yes, you! Come here. You just did something taking my name? All this tamasha (commotion) is in my…

I say, if for 364 days you have really lived up to Rama, only then must you honestly celebrate the festival of ‘Rama-ness’. How is it that for 364 days your life really had nothing to do with Shri Rama, and on the 365th day you jump up and join…

Diwali, for most people, must be a festival of austerity, of repentance. We must, on this day, offer our prayers to Shri Rama and say, “We are very sorry, O Holy One! We are extremely sorry. We couldn’t live by your life, your message, your teachings. We are very sorry.…

Yes, Holika… Not to miss out on her. A smart woman, no? A smart woman with extraordinary powers. And it’s her smartness that brought her to flames. That’s a very important message to be remembered. The more smart you are, the more clever you are, the more are the chances…

The world’s oldest calendar comes from India. They never recorded when Krishna was born, never, and they never recorded when the character called Krishna died. This was out of a simple understanding and respect that He is not a character at all. Characters come and go, so dates can be…

आचार्य प्रशांतः जिसके दस सर, वही रावण। रावण वो नहीं जिसके दस सर थे, जिसके ही दस सर हैं, वही रावण। और हम में से कोई ऐसा नहीं है जिसके दस, सौ-पचास, छह-हज़ार-आठ-सौ-इकतालीस सर न हो।
(हँसी)
दस सरों का मतलब समझते हो? एक ना हो पाना, चित्त का खंडित…

आचार्य प्रशांतः मीनाक्षी का सवाल है, "आचार्य जी प्रणाम! त्योहार दिखावे से लगते हैं। परिवारों में इन त्योहारों पर बहुत पैसा और समय नष्ट होते देखा है। पुराने रीति-रिवाजों का साथ देना और उन पर चलना क्या सही है, गुरु जी?"
नहीं मीनाक्षी, बिलकुल भी आवश्यक नहीं है कि जो…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, होली पर लोग चिकन (मुर्गा) और शराब का सेवन करते हैं, इस पर कुछ कहें क्योंकि मैं समझा-समझा कर थक गया हूँ, मेरी तो नहीं सुनते।
आचार्य प्रशांत: होली का मतलब होता है: होलिका के दहन पर मनाया जाने वाला पर्व, है न? होलिका के दहन पर।…

Man has always been attracted towards the new. But attraction alone is not enough, especially when one is resistant to leave the old ways. 'New' comes with an opportunity to change, and equally with a responsibility to act to that change.
Bridging this gap between attraction and action, Acharya Prashant

Isa (Questioner is from Netherlands): It’s my first time in India and there are a lot of new things, lot of impressions and now that Holi is coming I really want to know what is it about? What does it mean?
Acharya Prashant Ji: What have you seen so far…

प्रश्न: नए साल को कैसे मनाना चाहिए या छोड़ ही देना चाहिए, क्या रखना चाहिए? क्या नया धारण करना चाहिए?
आचार्य प्रशांत: आँखे बाहर-बाहर देख ही रही हैं कि क्या चल रहा है । दुनिया है दुनिया उत्सव मना रही है, ये तथ्य है और ये आपको साफ़-साफ़ दिखाई दे…

आचार्य प्रशांत: देखो, त्यौहार तो एक ही होता है और त्यौहार की रोशनी भी एक ही होती है।
राम की कोई घर वापसी नहीं होती, आप की राम वापसी होती है।
त्यौहार का मतलब होता है- ‘आप राम की ओर वापस गए।’ त्यौहार का मतलब होता है कि अँधेरे को…

प्रश्नकर्ता: सर, अभी दशहरा आ रहा है और हर साल हम दशहरा मनाते आ रहे हैं लेकिन दशहरा का वास्तविक अर्थ क्या है?
आचार्य प्रशांत: जिसके दस सिर वही रावण। रावण वो नहीं जिसके दस सिर थे। जिसके ही दस सिर हैं, वही रावण। और हम में से कोई ऐसा…

वक्ता: नवदुर्गा का माॅहौल है। शक्ति के बारे में कुछ बातें करना प्रासंगिक रहेगा। शिव केंद्र है, शिव सत्य है। शिव वो हैं जिन तक मन, ‘मन’ रह कर पहुँच नहीं सकता। शिव को तो रहस्य रहना है सदा। शक्ति, मन है, संसार है। शिव में स्थिरता है, अचलता है।…

प्रश्नकर्ता: बासठ साल हो गए मुझे जन्माष्टमी मनाते हुए, आज आप उपलब्ध हैं यहाँ तो ये सवाल है मेरा कि जन्माष्टमी उत्सव का क्या अर्थ है और इसे कैसे मनाएँ?
आचार्य प्रशांत: दो तरीके से देख सकते हैं: एक तो ये कि कृष्ण-पक्ष के आठवें दिन जन्म हुआ था इतिहास…

Acharya Prashant: Another ‘new’ year is approaching, and we have a great desire for the ‘new’. See how we are eager to celebrate anything that appears new. See how desirous we are to change the old and get into the new. Surely, we aren’t quite contented with the old; surely,…

Every instance of freedom from…


Questioner (Q): Sir, as a woman, how should I perceive religion? Religion and culture are supposed to help, but I have practically seen that religion is associated with patriarchy and misogyny. Please tell me, as women how should I look at religion? Acharya Prashant (AP): See, the relationship…

समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न प्रिय:।
ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या मयि ते तेषु चाप्यहम्।।29।।
samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣhu na me dveṣhyo ’sti na priyaḥ
ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣhu chāpyaham
The same am I to all beings: to Me, There is none hateful or dear. But…

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skldjas claksn laksskldjas claksn laksskldjas…

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test articel. test articel. test articel. test articel. test articel. test articel. test articel. test articel. test articel. test articel. test articel. test articel. test articel. test articel.…



The UGC regulations are only a spark. The explosive material is something far more intimate: the unexamined conviction, lodged in the deepest chamber of the collective psyche, that birth determines worth and that this determination carries divine sanction. The atmosphere itself is the disease; the regulation is at best a painkiller. India’s foundational scriptures contain the strongest possible arguments against caste. The Upanishadic view begins where hierarchy ends.

ग्रेटर नोएडा। जीबीयू में आयोजित एक कार्यक्रम में पहुंचे आचार्य प्रशांत ने कहा कि महाशिवरात्रि केवल अनुष्ठान का पर्व नहीं, बल्कि यह मनुष्य को अपने भीतर झांकने के लिए प्रेरित करती है। उन्होंने कहा कि शिव को केवल मूर्ति या रूप में सीमित कर देना उनकी व्यापकता को संकुचित करना…

Sunday Guardian ColumnSunday Guardian ColumnSunday Guardian ColumnSunday Guardian ColumnSunday Guardian Column



हमारा मिजाज हमेशा दूसरों और परिस्थितियों पर निर्भर करता है। नतीजे आपकी उम्मीदों के मुताबिक नहीं रहे। इसलिए अब आपको मनोबल बढ़ाने वाले किसी प्रेरक वक्ता की ज़रूरत है। जैसे ही वह व्यक्ति चला जाता है, आपकी ऊर्जा भी थम जाती है। लेकिन जीने का एक और तरीका भी है। अपने भीतर गहराई में, मुझे एक ऐसा बिंदु मिलता है जिसे कोई बाहरी परिस्थिति छू नहीं सकती। जो कुछ भी होता है, वह सतह पर ही घटित होता है। वह स्थिर, उदासीन और तटस्थ बना रहता है। तब आप सचमुच स्वतंत्र होते हैं।

Questioner(Q): What is the process of clarity? Is it just listening with immersion and no resistance? What is Truth? How we decide it?
Acharya Prashant (AP): Listening without effort, plus if there is Truth in what you hear, there is change and transformation, and that Truth becomes the master. We…

अध्यात्म की रोशनी जीवन के हर क्षेत्र पर पड़ती है, तो राजनीति पर भी पड़ेगी ही पड़ेगी। ऐसा कुछ नहीं है कि आध्यात्मिक आदमी राजनीति के प्रति अंधा हो जाता है। बल्कि हक़ीक़त तो यह है कि राजनीति को आध्यात्मिक लोगों की बहुत सख़्त ज़रूरत है, क्योंकि राजनेता ताक़त की ऐसी गद्दियों पर बैठते हैं, जहाँ से वो आपके जीवन को बहुत तरीके से प्रभावित करते हैं। राजनेता अगर आध्यात्मिक नहीं है, तो देश रसातल में जाएगा। राजनीति त्यागनी नहीं है, सही राजनीति करनी है।https://acharyaprashant.org/en/articles/raajneeti-mein-adhyatm-kyon-zaroori-1_795988a15

How did the Buddha look then? Who is the Buddha? Let’s try to understand with the story of Gautama Buddha, The ‘Shakya Muni Buddha’ as we call him. So, who was he? Let’s look at his central characteristics. One, someone who is well versed in the knowledge of his time. Buddha had deep scriptural knowledge. He was born in a Hindu Kshatriya family, he was a prince and ever since his childhood he was quite talented. So, one thing about him is that he was quite well-read. Second thing is, he was deeply interested in knowing the depths of life. He did not want to remain merely at the superficial levels, so he would observe a lot, he would think a lot. https://acharyaprashant.org/en/articles/todays-buddha-1_4d1b6bf


Questioner: A lot of students that I talk to — it’s the fear of the society, it’s the fear of the unknown, it’s fear of the expectations that they are carrying, that pushes them to become an engineer and then they figure out that probably this is not something that they wanted to be. And that is the reality of a lot of individuals and not just engineers. Probably, here is something that is stopping me from taking a plunge of starting something of myself, right? Fear is something that is stopping somebody who is in a relationship for ten years to take that step to get married. Where does this fear come from? Acharya Prashant: Lack of love, which comes from lack of self-knowledge. You see, when I tie my sense of existence, my very identity, to something that is unreliable, I will have to be afraid. It’s like putting my heart on this table. Now, how can I live in security? The heart is out there on the table, anybody can take it away, anything can happen to it. Or the heart might grow legs and walk away on its own. My very existence has been subjected to something that is not in my control. Something that is definitely going to deceive me at some point, that is fear. My sense of self-worth comes from my monies, my bank account, I will be afraid. That bank account can be closed anytime, anything can happen. My sense of self-worth comes from my physical appearance. I very well know, time will take it away, I will be afraid. Right? Who am I? I am the one who is praised or worshipped by the society. Oh! I will be so afraid, so afraid! You talked of people working for their images, they would be living a cursed life. Because, their heart is out there in the hands of strangers. Their entire identity is tied to their image and the image is in the eyes of other people. So, the image can be distorted or can disappear any moment. Just imagine, how afraid they would be all the time. That’s with the ego. Because, the ego, as I said, is a fundamental sense of incompleteness. Therefore, to complete itself, it just associates itself to anything possible. And the things that you are associating yourself with, they are not reliable. They belong to the world and the world can take them away. They belong to time. They came with time and with time all those things will disappear. And you have tied your identity to those things. Now how can you rest in peace? That’s fear. If you do not have self-knowledge, you will always be afraid. My identity is linked to my husband’s identity. Now the husband has two legs. And the husband has a brain, a mind of his own. If your identity comes from your husband’s name, as happens in India at least, you would always be afraid as a wife. The husband can change his mind any day. You would always be, you know, having one eye on his secretary, and the other eye in his email and mobile phone. What’s he getting into? Who’s texting him? Why is he on the phone so late in the night? Because you are afraid if husband goes away, what happens to you? Your very existence depends on the husband. That’s fear. When you operate from the ego centre and make something very, very important for yourself and that something belongs to the world, it can go away anytime, and you are afraid. And in that fear, there can never be love, never be love. If you are afraid of losing something, you will be very violent towards it. Nobody lets his money go and have a walk down the road. What do you do? You lock up your money. That’s violence. When something starts becoming very meaningful to you, you lock it up. You don’t want it to have freedom. And that’s violence. So, love and fear just cannot go together. If you are dependent on something or somebody, you will be afraid. And that dependence cannot be called love. And that is a confusion, we often get into it. Just because you depend on somebody and somebody depends on you, you start feeling as if it is love, it is not. Questioner: Just like the way political parties think that people love them but it actually is fear. Acharya Prashant: Exactly! Love is a rare quality and rarer in politics. Questioner: So, if I am interested in a particular profession, do I not pursue it wholeheartedly? Do I pursue it wholeheartedly knowing very well that the results can either be zero or one? Acharya Prashant: One has to go into the very nature of interest. Aren’t we interested in cricket? Aren’t we interested in seeing songs in movies? Practically, everybody in India is interested in cricket, nobody in Brazil is. And nobody in India is interested in ice hockey. So, that’s how flimsy the whole thing about interest is. In India, if you don’t get a movie with songs, you say, “I am disinterested.” The movie would bomb. In Hollywood, if you have a movie with songs, that would raise eyebrows, what’s going on? Occasionally, you have an OD song but typically there is no song. So, that is the nature of interest. It is never something of the heart. Love and interest are not the same thing. Interest is something that is given to you by your body, by your environment, by random chance, your circumstances and all these. So that’s how your interests come to you. So, if you are interested in a vocation, first of all, you have to ask yourself, “Just two years back, I was interested in something else and two years before I was interested in that and when I was four years old, I was interested in becoming a fighter pilot. What happened to all those interests?” Today, I smile at those things and just shrug them off, “I don’t want to be a fighter pilot.” What you want to be today? Oh! I want to be an investment banker. What happened to the fighter pilot? You were so interested in that. And how do you know, tomorrow you will not be looking at this I-banker, just the way today you are looking at the fighter pilot. The self of a five-year old appears so naïve and immature when you are twenty-five. How do you know that at thirty-five, you will not look back at this twenty-five year old self and say, “What the hell! How was I taking this fellow so seriously?” So, interest is something that you must look at with healthy contempt. Interest, mind you, can even be induced in you. Interest can be aroused in you. That’s what the entire advertising industry is about. They can make you feel Interested in things that is intrinsically worthless to you. So, of what value is this thing called interest? But, then in today’s world, we place so much premium on this word 'interest.' Do what interests you, this, that. Whereas, it is wisdom to realize that interest is the last thing that you should ever go after. Then people come up and say, “No, should we do things that we are not interested in? No.

पृथ्वी को बचाने के लिए यूनाइटेड नेशंस की सीओपी ने यह शर्त रखी थी कि 2030 तक वैश्विक तापमान 1.5 डिग्री से अधिक नहीं बढ़ना चाहिए। हमने वह सीमा 2025 में ही लांघ दी है। यह आने वाले बहुत-बहुत बड़े विनाश का संकेत है। आदमी के इतिहास में इससे ख़तरनाक पल कभी नहीं आया। उस ख़तरे को चुनौती देने के लिए ही यह "ऑपरेशन 2030" है, जिसका उद्देश्य है कि आम आदमी में चेतना जगाई जाए — “देखो, तुम्हारा ग्रह विनाश की ओर कितनी तेज़ी से बढ़ रहा है। तुम अपने बच्चों के लिए एक ऐसा ग्रह छोड़कर जा रहे हो, जहाँ आफ़तें ही आफ़तें होंगी।”

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, एक तरफ़़ तो फ़िल्में हमें मनोरंजन देती हैं, हँसाती हैं, रुलाती हैं और दूसरी ओर उसी इंडस्ट्री से दुःखद और चौका देने वाली खबरें भी आती रहती हैं। कुछ कहिए।
आचार्य प्रशांत: सबसे पहले तो हमें इस धारणा से बाहर आना होगा कि फ़िल्में हमें मात्र मनोरंजन…


How do you, asks the chief of police, patrol a city, where the butcher shops are guarded by vultures, where bulls get pregnant, cows are barren, and calves give milk three times a day, where mice are the boatmen, and tomcats row the boats, where frogs keep snakes as watchdogs,…

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…

The woman is simpler, more innocent. I would dare to say the woman is simple and innocent just as animals are, because woman, just like animals, is biology-driven. She is emotional, and her emotions do not really arise from understanding, not even from intellect. Her emotions arise from her body, from her biological conditioning, from her hormones.

If you do not like the result that comes from the right action, then your like is not right. The result is still right. Challenge your likes and dislikes, not the rightness of the result.

कृष्ण का खुद ऊँचा होना, कृष्ण के पूरे जीवनवृत्त में, उनकी ज़िंदगी की जो पूरी कहानी है उसमें और श्री कृष्ण की प्रेमकथा में एक सूत्र है जो साझा पिरोया हुआ है। गीता की ऊँचाई, कृष्ण के जीवन की ऊँचाई, और कृष्ण के प्रेम की ऊँचाई तीनों एक हैं। ऐसा नहीं हो सकता कि कृष्ण बहुत ऊँचे हों और उनका प्रेम निचले तल का हो जाए। ये संभव नहीं है।

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…