Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda has said, “First of all, our young men must be strong; religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to heaven through football than through the study of the Gita.”

Swami Vivekananda was no soccer evangelist. His…

स्वामी विवेकानंद अनूठे हैं, बहुत कम तुमने साधु-संत-सन्यासी देखे होंगे जो इतने सुघटित सुडौल शरीर के हों, जितने विवेकानंद थे।

खेल की, कसरत की उनकी दिनचर्या में बंधी हुई जगह थी। और यही नहीं कि बस व्यक्तिगत रुप से खेलते थे, अपने साथियों से कहें – व्यायाम आवश्यक है।

जिस…

Questioner: I am very inspired by Swami Vivekananda. How can I challenge my conditioning, reject distractions, and maintain continuity with the scriptures?

Acharya Prashant: You have a giant no less than Swami Vivekananda to get your answers from. See what he did: he lived by his conviction. Merely being impressed…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, स्वामी विवेकानंद के जीवन से क्या सीख मिलती है? अध्यात्म और जवानी में क्या सम्बन्ध है?

आचार्य प्रशांत: देखो, किताबी ज्ञान देने वाले तो हमेशा से बहुत रहे हैं। स्वामी विवेकानंद अनूठे हैं उस आदर्श से जो उन्होंने जी कर प्रस्तुत किया। बहुत कम तुमने साधु-संत, सन्यासी…

Questioner (Q): What is the purpose of our current education system? Why can’t this system produce more Vivekanandas? What will it take for the system to create one?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Every system is designed by someone, for some purpose. Can you blame the car if it doesn’t travel to…

Take up one idea.

Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea.

Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone.

This is the way to success, and…

The world is great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong. ~ Swami Vivekananda

Acharya Prashant: By being in the world you reach the source of all strength, what happens in the gymnasium by being in the gymnasium? Where do you reach?

To your strength.

The implication is, the…

Jesus stands for the Truth and Truth is omnipresent.

He is present here, and right now, in the hearts of those who love him.

Jesus is not a mere mortal. Jesus is the source of light; the root of all flowers and beauty. In one form, he disappears. In another,…

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What is the root cause of unhappiness? Why strength is necessary for liberation? Why ego can not reflect on itself?

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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

"I am fully in support of learning in all ways from everywhere and everybody but I am not at all in support of foolishness and hypocrisy. Get the difference please. I am absolutely in support of learning from wherever it is possible to learn but I am not at all in support of using the various avenues to learn to not to learn."

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अब देखिएगा, क्या हो रहा है। कोई कृतज्ञ कब अनुभव करेगा? जब पहले उसकी हालत ख़राब हो और कोई बचाए। आपके भीतर अभी यह इच्छा शेष है कि आप कृतज्ञ अनुभव करती रहें और कृतज्ञता अनुभव करने के लिए ज़रूरी है कि कुछ गड़बड़ हो और फिर उस गड़बड़ से आप उबार ली जाएँ। तो फिर आप कृतज्ञ अनुभव करेंगी कि, अरे, मेरा सौभाग्य कि मुझे किसी ने बचा लिया।

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…

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…

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…

श्रद्धावान् लभते ज्ञानं तत्पर: संयतेन्द्रिय: | ज्ञानं लब्ध्वा परां शान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति || ४, ३९ || जितेन्द्रिय, साधनापरायण और श्रद्धावान मनुष्य ज्ञान को प्राप्त होता है तथा ज्ञान को प्राप्त होकर वह बिना विलम्ब के तत्काल ही भगवत्प्राप्तिरूप शान्ति को प्राप्त हो जाता है। —श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, अध्याय ४, श्लोक ३९प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी,…

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\n\n29 अप्रैल से 1 मई, 2022 तक आयोजित हुए वेदांत महोत्सव के एक प्रतिभागी की प्रेरणास्पद कहानी\n\nमेरा नाम राकेश कुमार है। मैं कानपुर नगर से हूँ। पिछले चार माह से मैं हर…

प्रसंग:

भारत या इंडिया? इंडिया से नाम बदलकर भारत रखना चाहिए क्या? क्या इंडिया नाम विदेशियों ने दिया है? क्या है इंडिया और भारत का इतिहास? क्या देश का नाम बदलना आवश्यक है? कॉलोनाइजेशन और डी-कॉलोनाइजेशन क्या हैं? क्यों कहा जाता है कि भारत का कॉलोनाइजेशन हुआ है? भारत को…

आचार्य प्रशांत: प्रकाश से आशय होता है — वस्तुओं का संज्ञान। प्रकाश न हो तो ऑंखें किसी भी वस्तु का संज्ञान नहीं ले सकतीं; और जब प्रकाश होता है तो प्रकाश स्वयं नहीं देखा जाता, प्रकाश में वस्तु देखी जाती है। तो जैसे हम हैं, हमारे लिए वस्तु तभी है…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, जो आत्मबल है उसमें आत्म का तो पता है, पर यह बल कहाँ से आएगा?

आचार्य प्रशांत: आत्मा का बल कभी आत्मा स्वयं प्रदर्शित करने नहीं आती। वो अपना बल किस पर प्रदर्शित करे, उसके अतिरिक्त तो कुछ है नहीं। तो आत्मा कभी स्वयं नहीं आएगी अपने…

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…

भारतीयों को शायद यह लगता है कि हिंदुस्तान से बाहर जहाँ कहीं कोई मिलेगा वह ‘अंग्रेज़ी’ ही बोल रहा होगा। एक तो यह बहुत बड़ी ग़लतफ़हमी है – बाहर जैसे ही हम निकलेंगे वैसे ही जो मिल रहा होगा अंग्रेज़ी ही बोल रहा होगा। हिंदुस्तान बेचारा बस पिछड़ा हुआ है,…

कथं न ज्ञेयमस्माभिः पापादस्मानिवर्तितुम्। कुलक्षयकृतं दोषं प्रपश्यद्भिर्जनार्दन ॥३९॥

"तो कुल क्षय से होने वाले दोष को देख-सुन कर भी हम लोगों को इस पाप से निवृत्त होने का विचार क्यों नहीं करना चाहिए?"

~ श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, अध्याय १, अर्जुन विषाद योग, श्लोक ३९

आचार्य प्रशांत: इसी आशय के तर्क आगे भी…

When does one finish being a student? When the resistance to being a student is finished.

Who is the teacher? The teacher is the most obedient and voluntary of all students. The teacher is not a non-student; the teacher is the first student, the best student, the most voluntary student.…

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…

Fight for the right cause and let it consume you fully. That is the only way of living life. Fight for the right one and devote yourself totally to him. That is the only way of living and fighting. Give yourself up so totally that you cannot now be blamed…

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…

When you say that you go to your workplace for a purpose, the purpose is never work, or is it? The purpose is the salary cheque. In fact, if work could be bypassed and you could straight away reach the salary cheque, then who would want to work? Now, why…

Let nobody say that he or she is making the right choices in life because she does not know. We all know. We prefer to suppress the inner knowledge. It’s an inner conspiracy against ourselves, just because we want to continue enjoying certain privileges in life—certain physical privileges, material privileges,…

Both the genders have become even more anchored to their physical identity. The more you do that, the more you are in misery because, really, the body is not who you are.

There are places better and higher than the place of your gender specific hormones. Why do you want…

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…

If your goals are small, they are no goals. You will be frustrated if you don’t achieve them, and you will be doubly frustrated if you achieve them. Having achieved them, you will find that the next goal is waiting for you, and that is deep frustration. You will feel…

When you are serious about victory, you do not strike at the enemy without being fully prepared. Those who just plunge themselves into battles without having checked their preparedness are the ones who don’t love victory too much. Because this battle is important, and because this battle must be won,…

Man has the capacity to choose, and man must take responsibility of how he is living his life, what he has turned the Earth into.

In fact, I feel impelled to say this: When I was in the process of quitting my corporate career and moving to teaching, I was…

Emotions, they can do whatever they want to do. It doesn’t matter how I am feeling. What matters is what I must do.

Ask yourself: Had you not been feeling this way or that way, what would have you done? And you will get a very good answer.

When you…

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…

Every young person who is about to choose a career, decide on work in life, must keep this in mind, my humble advice: See what is it that really, really troubles you, and then work should be the medicine for your trouble. That’s the way you must choose work.

Therefore,…

Pay attention to all your thoughts, emotions, actions. Something unknown is waiting there for you. Most people know nothing about themselves.

If you are angry, it tells you that there is something within you that is resisting the world now. Why is it resisting the world? Go into it. Try…

Man wants progress, and progress means an ascension, an elevation. It is as if man wants to be elevated to some high sky. That’s what you say, right? “I am rising up, I am progressing.” What is the intention of this tendency to keep progressing? The intention is to progress…

If you want to know an atom, you have to go to nuclear physics. There you do not just proudly claim, “Oh, I know atoms. Everything is an atom. I have been with atoms since my birth!” There you want to read a book. There you want to consult somebody…

As long as the goal is not tremendously big, life has no real purpose. If your goals are small they are no goals. You will be frustrated if you don’t achieve them, and you will be doubly frustrated if you achieve them. Having achieved them, you will find that the…

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…