Not long ago, but recently, in search of water that could quench my thirst for dissatisfaction, and soap that could cleanse the clutter of my mind, which had been filled with various visages and pictures causing irritation, restlessness, and frequent headaches, I found myself browsing through several motivational and mindfulness videos on YouTube. Suddenly, a short video appeared, followed by another in the queue.
The innocent face and magical words of the speaker in the video captivated me, prompting me to watch them repeatedly. His words were piercing yet filled with love, and I absorbed them word by word. With his words, I felt someone magically tending to my wounds of ages, cleansing and healing me entirely.
As I listened to him, tears streamed down uncontrollably, accompanied by a loud cry to be free from the pains burdening my mind, heart, and bosom for so long. Soon, I found my mind and heart lightened and unburdened from the garbage I had carried for ages.
In the first video titled “The World, Maya, and Krishna,” he said, “That which does not come from the mind is called Maya: Saint Kabir Saheb.” “And the mind should only be with Krishna, united only with Krishna, not with any others. Those worldly matters that cast shadows on the mind are illusions. None should visit your mind. Every time you allow various persons or things to wander in your mind, consider it a transgression. Every time the noise of the world echoes in your mind, every time worldly people become significant to you, every time you think of them with attachment, hatred, affection, or jealousy, chaos ensues, and you lose your integrity. Your mind becomes crowded; you don’t know whose faces and voices have entered your mind, which is wrong. And those who enter the mind do so with hopes of achieving something. But what or whom are they hoping to achieve? You should aspire only for Krishna.”
As the video ended, I felt as though half of my burdens had lifted. His words shattered thousands of knots of worries and anxieties from my mind, washing them away with the flood of his words. These words were different from what the world preaches; they were a real miracle—a panacea that cleansed and healed the turmoil and chaos lying deep within my mind.
Moving forward in search of more, I clicked on the next video, tears still flowing freely. The words of this video accomplished two things: they dispelled the ignorance that bound me and filled my heart with love, connecting me with the One, Krishna, the Truth.
This video was titled “The Meaning of Being Meera.” Here, he said, “Meera says, ‘Since we’ve been separated, my love, I’ve never found peace or rest.’ When did our beloved become separated? Can you tell me? Do you know how our beloved becomes separated? It happens when multiple false beloveds enter your life. The more your life is filled with fake owners, friends, company, and husbands, the less space you have for the original husband. Here, husband doesn’t refer to any male but to the Supreme Being or the Truth. Fake husbands are those who capture and control your mind, becoming your masters. You see how many husbands you have. Being Meera means having only one husband—Krishna, the Truth.”
It felt as though a rock had been heated, melted, and transformed into water, flowing out in the form of tears. My eyes rained like a monsoon. Though his picture was on my mobile screen, he entered my heart. With love and surrender, I knelt and wept, gratitude blooming in my heart towards the speaker.
The speaker radiated from within with fearlessness and dauntlessness, as if divinity itself had descended upon him. With his saintly beard and profound words, he plundered my shallow world, replacing it with richness within minutes. The great man was named “Acharya Prashant,” the vastest ocean, the epitome of peace within.
Excitedly, I researched more about him, discovering that he was a Vedanta teacher who had forsaken high-ranking civil service positions after graduating from IIT and IIM to dedicate his life to spreading the true meanings and knowledge of the Upanishads and other sacred scriptures from around the world, along with the Bhagavad Gita.
Further investigation revealed that he had founded the “Prashant Advait Foundation,” on a mission to awaken people who slumbered in ignorance, blindly consuming and destroying themselves and the earth. His foundation focused on four main areas: animals, birds, and other non-human organisms; youth; women’s empowerment; and spiritual seekers. Additionally, he addressed contemporary issues such as environmental crises, climate change, superstitions, and current affairs, aiming to awaken people through true Dharma and Vedantic education.
His foundation had uploaded over 15,000 videos on YouTube and published thousands more on various social media platforms. An app named “Acharya Prashant App” hosted numerous videos on life education, career guidance, relationships, and liberation from bondage. Through Zoom classes offered on the app, thousands worldwide attended live sessions on courses like the Bhagavad Gita, Vedanta Samhita, Bodh Pratyusha, and Sant Sarita, where he intertwined teachings from the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, saints’ literature, and philosophical works with contemporary issues.
Millions of people across the globe were connected to his foundation, regularly listening to him and sharing how his videos had transformed their lives, enabling them to live authentically and fight their existing problems. I count myself among these individuals.
The world is in the need of the education he is spreading, from individual, family, society, nation to the world to erase the fragmentation among people on several issues like religions, developments, global wars, and human to human discrimination. The core of his education is that these all the problems can solved through only one way that is spirituality, the science of knowing oneself through self-knowledge, the understanding of ‘I’.
