Destiny

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…

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…

Luck means that you are getting something unexpected and big, right? That’s what you call as being lucky.

Keep working hard. Do not wait for luck. You can force luck. You can tell him, “I am working so hard that you will have to come to me.”

Force luck. Don’t…

All powerlessness is just a pretense. Even in your feeblest moment, you are still powerful enough to exercise choice, and you must always hold this very close to your heart.

The world can take anything, everything away from you, but nothing and nobody ever can take away from you your…

We are being continuously told that there is something seriously wrong with us and we must do something about it.

You don’t have a house? There is something wrong with you.

Your car is small? There is something wrong with you.

Come buy our new product! Oh, you don’t wear…

We have a very unfortunate ability to make peace with our circumstances, to settle down wherever luck situates us. You do not find many people fundamentally dissatisfied with life. Superficially, everybody is dissatisfied; that’s not really the case. People lead very satisfied lives at very wrong places. There are very…

Questioner (Q): There are some scriptures in the Hindu tradition which suggest that everything we do is predestined and we are actually being controlled by Brahman. If that is the case, what is the incentive for me to put any hard work into my life?

Acharya Prashant (AP): No,…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, अध्यात्म में भाग्य या किस्मत मान्य है?

आचार्य प्रशांत: मान्य क्या वो तो होता ही है। उसमें मान्य की क्या बात है? अध्यात्म तथ्य को पूरा सम्मान देता है और सत्य के सामने समर्पित रहता है; तथ्य को सम्मान और सत्य को समर्पण।

तो प्रारब्ध तो होता…

यज्ञदानतप:कर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत् ।

यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि मनीषिणाम् ।। 18.5 ।।

yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma na tyājyaṁ kāryam eva tat

yajño dānaṁ tapaśh chaiva pāvanāni manīṣhiṇām

The work of Yagna, gift, and austerity should not be relinquished, but it should indeed be performed; (for) Yagna, gift, and austerity are purifying…

प्रश्नकर्ता: प्रणाम, आचार्य जी। कल आपने अनुशासन के बारे में कहते हुए 'शासन' शब्द को अलग करके उसके विषय में भी बताया था। आपने कहा था कि, "व्यक्ति वास्तव में जान जाए कि कौन है, जो सच्चा है और उसमें शासित हो जाए।"

मैं जब अपना जीवन देखता हूँ तो…

(आचार्य जी के नवीन लेखों के बारे में जानने के लिए व उनसे मिलने का दुर्लभ अवसर प्राप्त करने हेतु यहाँ क्लिक करें)

हुकमी हुकमु चलाये राहु।

~ नितनेम

आचार्य प्रशांत: वो अपने हुक्म से राह पे चलाता है। राह तो सामने ही है। जहाँ खड़े हो वही से चलती…

आचार्य जी: अच्छा, यह सब जो दिख रहा है, इसमें एक अपनी व्यवस्था है, या नहीं है? तुमनें कहा कि नदी दिख रही है, पेड़ दिख रहा है, सूरज है, पक्षी हैं, हवा चल रही है। यहाँ मछलियाँ हैं नदी में, बाहर और जानवर हैं, ये कुत्ता खड़ा है। कुछ…

Acharya Prashant: Well, here is this flower, it’s been plucked, its fate now is to shrivel down, lose its moisture, tenderness, and then meet the soil. If I toss it up, its fate is to? It’s entirely predictable. If I tell you, how much force I exert in tossing it…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, मन में एक प्रश्न बहुत उठता है। जैसे आज आपने कहा कि जिसमें आनंद मिले वही सत्य, तो जैसे मुझे पढ़ने में बड़ा आनंद मिलता है, सिर्फ पढ़ने में और मैं काम भी करता हूँ, जॉब भी करता हूँ। तो बहुत बार लगता है कि जो रोज़…

प्रश्नकर्ता: सर, मेरा प्रशन यह है कि भाग्य नाम की भी कोई चीज़ होती है जो ज़िंदगी से जुड़ी होती है या केवल कर्म ही सब कुछ होता है?

आचार्य प्रशांत: प्रश्नकर्ता ने कहा कि, "क्या कर्म ही सब कुछ होता है या भाग्य का भी कोई महत्व है?" दोनों…

Questioner (Q): Is our life destined?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Of course it is destined. Don’t you see that? Otherwise, why would life exist? Life exists, so that it may meet its destiny. And as long as it doesn’t, it remains restless. Mind exists, so that it may meet its destiny.…

Questioner (Q): Can you talk about the relationship between free will, destiny, and the law of attraction?

Acharya Prashant (AP): All three do not exist.

(Laughter)

Free will belongs only to the Truth. Your destiny is to reach the Truth. And only the Truth really attracts you.

Free will —…

*.*

Question: Are we born with destiny or choices? Why don’t things happen as per our wish?

Acharya Prashant: Is it not a great mercy that things don’t happen as per our wish? Do you really want existence to punish you by granting all your wishes?

Your wishes…

Acharya Prashant: The topic today is ‘Destiny and Freewill’. The mind has always been interested in knowing about these. The individual that we sometimes call as man, sometimes refer to as ego, sometimes as the self – the fragmented self – is always curious about this particular topic, because it…

प्रश्न: ‘असंबद्ध’ होने का भाव महसूस होने लगा है। चाहे वो किसी जगह से हो, लोगों से हो, या अपने ही मन के भावों से हो। खोया-खोया सा महसूस करती हूँ। कहीं भी अपनेपन का भाव नहीं महसूस नहीं होता। अपने आप को कहीं से, या किसी भी चीज़ से…

Question: Is there anything called ‘destiny’?

Speaker: There is surely destiny. There is no doubt about it. You are born in a particular home, you are born as a human being, the color of your eyes, the situations of your birth, everything that goes around you in the universe, all…

प्रश्न: ज्ञान और भाग्य में बड़ा क्या है? क्या ज़्यादा महत्व रखता है – ज्ञान या भाग्य?

वक्ता: पहली बात तो हमें यह समझना पड़ेगा कि प्रश्न क्या है। ज्ञान से तुम्हारा अर्थ है – वो सब कुछ जो तुमने अर्जित किया है, जो तुमने पाया है। ज्ञान से तुम…

Question: Whatever we are doing in this life, whatever is happening in the universe, is this already defined by God, and we being mere players? Or is God nowhere in the picture?

Speaker: These are the two options that your mind has come up with. One- all is predestined, with…

आचार्य प्रशांत: ये भी संवाद का एक बड़ा आम सवाल रहता है कि प्रारब्ध ज़्यादा महत्वपूर्ण है या पुरुषार्थ। ‘पुरुषार्थ’ मतलब, ‘मैं करके दिखाऊँगा’ और प्रारब्ध मतलब, ‘मैं क्या करूँ? सब पहले से ही तय है।’ दोनों ही अहंकार के लिए ही हैं।

प्रारब्ध भी अहंकार का है और पुरुषार्थ…

*श्रोता:* सर क्या किस्मत जैसी कोई चीज़ होती है ?

*वक्ता:* जिसे तूम दुनिया कहते हो, उसमें जो भी कुछ तुम्हें दिखाई देता है, सुनाई देता है, जो भी भौतिक है, वो cause and effect के दायरे में आता है, कार्य-कारण के दायरे में।जैसे कि कोई…

इन सब से मुक्ति का एक ही तरीका है, वो बचो ही नहीं जो मूर्ख जाकर के दुनिया से, जगत से, प्रकृति से कामना पूर्ति की आशा रखता था, वो बचो ही नहीं। उसके अलावा और तुम कितने भी हथकंडे लगा लो, अतीत तो लौट-लौट के बार-बार आएगा और सर पर चढ़ेगा ही चढ़ेगा।

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: 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…

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…

प्रश्नकर्ता: पिछली बार चंडीगढ़ तरफ़ से आया था जी, आपसे जुड़ा था। तब मैं अकेला आया था, बिलकुल हताश, परेशान था। आज मेरी साथ श्रीमती जी भी आई हैं। मेरा प्रश्न यह है जी, जैसे संतों ने कहा है—

"प्रेम-गली अति सांकरी, तामे दो न समाहिं। जब मैं था तब…

यदा नाहं तदा मोक्षो

यदाहं बन्धनं तदा।

मत्वेति हेलया किंचिन्-

मा गृहाण विमुंच मा॥८- ४॥

अनुवाद: जब तक 'मैं' या 'मेरा' का भाव है तब तक बंधन है, जब 'मैं' या 'मेरा' का भाव नहीं है तब मुक्ति है। यह जानकर न कुछ त्याग करो और न कुछ ग्रहण ही…

The world is your playground. So don’t be so particular about moving only within your pre-existing circle. If your cause is worth it, show some courage and move out.

If you have a tender and precious sapling in your palm, would you plant it in a desert? No. You will…

The one relationship that is of maximum importance is the one you have with yourself.

When you are not alright with yourself, obviously you will seek an alternative to your company: “Can there be somebody to relate to? Can there be somebody to sit with, fill myself up with, form…

Worrying is the other name of hope. When you think negatively about the future, you call it worry. When you think positively about the future, you call it hope. So, worrying is just as equally bad as hoping.

Conserve your energy. Train your thoughts. Discipline your little self. Time is…

Hope is a very dangerous animal. It can make you do the most stupid things. It can make you fall in the same trap one million times.

There was the Cricket World Cup in 2003, and the finals were played between India and Australia. I know of a man who…

We all need space. Man’s inner nature is freedom. When I say man, I mean both man and woman, mankind. Just as you need free mental space, you also need free physical space.

In fact, I find the idea of a shared bed quite vulgar. The double bed is an…

Spirituality just needs basic self-honesty, self-awareness. There is nothing mystical, nothing magical about it, but that is what it has been associated with. I am not talking of chanting; I am not talking of chakras; I am not talking of flying snakes; I am not talking of magical seeds. Not…

There is only one way to test whether you have done the maximum you can. If you have done the maximum you can, then you will find that things have started happening on their own, in unexpected, unplanned, unprecedented ways. You are now helpless; you can do no more, but…

“I am pious and I have holy intentions”—this was the first piece of fake news invented by man. All attempts, all intentions, all likes and dislikes, all decisions ultimately boil down to just the prakritik narrative—food, comfort and sex. That’s what we live for, that’s what we act for, and…

If Facebook is satisfying you, it is not called as time wasted. Full stop. If the purpose of time is your satisfaction, and if doing all kinds of nonsense on Facebook satisfies you, then you cannot call it as wasted of time.

The only thing that determines whether time or…

Love is about giving yourself the highest. When you love somebody, do you want to stop short of giving them the highest possible? Similarly, when you love yourself, would you stop short of giving yourself the highest possible?

The highest possible is not contained in pleasure nor in happiness. Both…

Know your duty and give yourself totally to it. Will there be pleasure? No sir, not at all. There would be some higher than pleasure, more fulfilling, more satisfying than pleasure. Pleasure is a turncoat: today one thing, tomorrow another thing.

The one who lives by his duty, his dharma…

You are a bird; your nature is to fly. You don’t need to be taught your nature; you need to be freed from the cage.

But we are pretty special characters. Instead of opening the door of the cage, we try to teach the bird to fly within the cage,…

Real courage is needed only when you fight a real battle, and the real battle is against yourself.

Not all problems are worth facing. Most problems you must totally avoid, even if that means that you will be called a coward by others.

Not all battles are worth fighting. In…

We deeply disagree with freedom. We may keep saying we want it, but we agree only with the cage. Why do we agree to the cage? Because the cage gives us fruits and vegetables. Freedom means, no more fruits and vegetables. Freedom means, now you are on your own. Go,…

Take care of yourself, and you have taken care of the kids. When the kids see a radiant mother, a radiant father, their darkness disappears. Be first of all concerned about discovering your own radiance. If you have nothing but darkness, all that your kids would get from you is…

What is self-love? Self-love is really possible only when the self is worthy of being loved. For self-love to happen, the petty and divided and confused self has to be elevated to the point where it is clean and shining and expansive and fearless. That is real self-love.

Now you…

You must learn aloneness before you relate with people. You must be very, very comfortable with yourself. If you are someone who cannot be with herself comfortably, easily, gladly, then kindly spare the other person. If you are not alright with yourself, then don’t start piggybacking on the other—and usually…

You must learn aloneness. Before you relate with people, you must be very, very comfortable with yourself. If you are someone who can not be with herself comfortably, easily, gladly, then kindly spare the other person. If you are not alright with yourself, then don’t start piggybacking on the other.…