Acharya Prashant

Some Lesser Known Facts About Acharya Prashant

• Acharya Prashant is an Indian author and a Vedanta teacher. He is popular for his teachings on Gita and Upanishads. In 2015, he founded a non-profit socio-spiritual organization, PrashantAdvait Foundation.’

• In his childhood, he was an avid reader and an introvert. He later received an NTSE scholarship to pursue his education.

• In an interview, he revealed that his love for reading began during his childhood. He mentioned that at the age of five, he started reading about the Blue Star Operation. As he grew older, he developed an interest in classical and spiritual literature, which he began reading at a young age.

  

• According to Acharya Prashant, he decided to pursue engineering from IIT as he believed that it would help him get selected for the administrative services as most of the candidates back then came from the IIT background.

• In 2000, he cleared the CAT and UPSC exams. Later, he got selected for the Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS); however, he decided to leave the IRPS Services to dedicate his life to teaching Advaita Vedanta (a Hindu sadhana) to the younger generation. His AIR was 184.

• After quitting his railways training, he continued to study at IIM Ahmedabad.

• After completing his post-graduation in 2003, he started working in a corporate company called ‘GE Capital,’ situated in Gurgaon. He worked there as an assistant manager for more than one year and left the job in 2004.

• He worked as a senior consultant at ECS Private Limited, Gurgaon for more than a year (2004-2005).

• In 2005, he joined a media company named ‘Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd’ in New Delhi, as a Senior Manager. He worked there for more than one year and resigned from the job in October 2006.

• In 2010, he began visiting remote locations with 25 to 30 people in the Himalayas and conducted his first camp there. The camps lasted from three to six days.

• During his tenure in the corporate sector, Acharya Prashant used to teach MBA students on weekends. He taught a self-designed course called ‘Perspective in Leadership through Literature.’ In 2011, he began recording his live sessions, which he subsequently uploaded to his YouTube channel. He also taught students at IIT Delhi, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Symbiosis, and Institute of Management Technology.

• Acharya Prashant started a private limited company called ‘Advait Life Education’ in 2006. Through this company, he introduced ‘Life Education Courses’ in various higher educational institutions across different cities and states. He also organized programs called ‘Student Development Programmes’ (SDP) and ‘Management Development Programmes’ (MDP) to help students develop their skills.

• In an interview, he talked about the challenges he encountered during the early stages of establishing the company. He also revealed that on recognizing that his teaching faculty fell short of achieving his desired objectives, he personally took charge of delivering lectures at the host colleges. This commitment led him to travel extensively for nearly five years, as the host colleges were scattered across different cities and states. He delivered his first interactive lecture in 2008 and later continued conducting open seminars. In 2011, he began recording his live sessions, which he subsequently uploaded on his YouTube channel.

• In December 2015, Acharya Prashant founded a non-profit organization called ‘PrashantAdvait Foundation.’ The primary purpose of this organization is to eliminate falsehoods present within individuals and society. It aims to promote a scientific and spiritual approach towards self and life.

• Through the foundation, Acharya started conducting online courses based on Advaita Vedanta (a Hindu sadhana). In these courses, he taught about seventeen different versions of the Gita and sixty different versions of the Upanishads.

• Apart from teaching in its own organization, the foundation actively collaborates with esteemed engineering and management institutes in India. The foundation has successfully organized online Vedanta classes by Acharya Prashant in prestigious Indian institutions such as IIT Delhi, IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay, NIT Jamshedpur, and Banaras Hindu University.

  

• Acharya Prashant is a prolific writer who has contributed articles to numerous esteemed newspapers. He has authored over 85 books on spirituality.

• One of his notable books, titled “Karma: Why Everything You Know About It Is Wrong,” gained significant recognition by reaching the top position on Nielsen Bookscan’s bestseller list in August 2021. In October 2021, the book further secured the eighth position on the bestseller list published by The Asian Age.

  

• His other notable books include ‘Advait in Everyday Life,’ ‘Karmayoga,’ ‘Ghar Ghar Upanishad,’ ‘Jaaka Gala Tum Kaatiho,’ and ‘Maya.’

• In addition to teaching and writing, Acharya Prashant takes on various other responsibilities to contribute to society. He advocates for environmental causes, emphasizing the importance of protecting and preserving our natural resources. He also promotes veganism, encouraging individuals to adopt a plant-based lifestyle that avoids the use of animal products. In an interview, while talking about veganism, he said,
  

  Veganism is nothing but the logical culmination of vegetarianism. Where does vegetarianism come from? The feeling that I will not kill the animal—I don’t want to harm the animal. That same feeling finds its final expression in veganism.”

• He also supports scientific endeavours, recognizing the significance of scientific exploration and its impact on human progress. He campaigns against superstitions, promoting rational thinking and questioning beliefs that lack a scientific basis.

• Acharya strongly supports the significance of fundamental human freedom and actively promotes individual rights and freedoms. He believes in empowering individuals to live authentically and pursue their true potential.

• He frequently gives lectures at TEDx events.

  

• He has also developed a mobile application called “Acharya Prashant,” which provides access to a collection of wisdom quotes, posters, short videos, long videos, and articles by Acharya Prashant.