u/TrueSpeaker1

**🦁 A Lion Has No Choice. You Do. That Changes Everything.**

One day, while I was out for a walk with a friend who eats meat, she asked me a thought-provoking question:

*"Why do you think not being vegan is wrong? A lion hunts a deer. Violence exists throughout the food chain. So why is it any different when a human being participates in it?"*

It was a question I had reflected upon after listening to Acharya Prashant, and his explanation completely transformed my understanding.

The difference lies in **choice**.

A lion is biologically incapable of choosing to eat grass. Its body, instincts, and survival mechanisms determine its behavior. It acts according to its biological programming. In that sense, the lion is innocent. It does only what nature has equipped it to do.

Where there is no freedom to choose, the idea of violence becomes meaningless.

Violence begins only when there is a choice.

Human beings are fundamentally different. We possess intelligence, awareness, and the capacity to consciously decide our actions. Unlike other animals, we can question our instincts, examine our desires, and choose compassion over cruelty.

That is why only a human being can truly be violent or truly be nonviolent.

When we knowingly choose an action that causes unnecessary suffering despite having a better alternative, we become responsible for that choice. And that responsibility is what distinguishes us from other animals.

**Ahimsa (nonviolence)** is not merely about avoiding physical harm. It is the conscious resolve to make the right choice whenever a choice is available. It is an expression of awareness, compassion, and responsibility.

A life guided by right choices is a life of nonviolence. And a life rooted in nonviolence is a life lived in alignment with truth.

**Here is a question for every reader:**

**If nature has given us the freedom to choose compassion over violence, what justifies choosing the violence when it is no longer necessary?**

**More... More... More... and Never Enough...**

The climate crisis is not a distant threat-it is the emergency of our present. Yet we continue to behave as if accumulating what we call our "needs" is more important than protecting the very planet that sustains us.

The truth is that the ego is never satisfied. No matter how much it acquires, it always demands more. More wealth, more power, more possessions. This endless hunger gives rise to the desire for domination at the global level and fuels the same compulsive consumption at the individual level.

More goods. More gadgets. More children. More vacations. More vehicles. More emissions.

All of these are not separate problems. They emerge from the same source-an insatiable center within us that constantly seeks fulfillment through accumulation but never truly finds it.

Unless we understand and transform this inner source, no external solution will be enough. The climate crisis is not merely an environmental crisis. It is a crisis of human consciousness.

​

Growing up, many of us are taught that if a man and a woman are close, there must be something romantic underneath. Attraction, expectation, or some hidden motive.It almost feels like friendship alone isn't considered enough.

But I've started wondering if that's more about conditioning than reality.

Some of the most meaningful conversations I've had came from people I wasn't trying to date or impress. Just two human beings meeting without the pressure of roles, labels, or expectations.

Maybe that's what a fuller way of living looks like: seeing the person before seeing their gender.

Do you think genuine friendship between men and women is actually rare, or have we simply been taught to misunderstand what closeness can be?

👩 How is freedom taken away? Not in a day, but slowly, bit by bit

🧕 After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, women’s lives changed drastically.

🧕 It began with a dress code in government institutions, and in 1983 wearing the hijab in public spaces was made legally compulsory. For decades afterward, there were protests and debates over these restrictions.

This is where a question arises.

Is freedom always lost by losing a war?

No.

🧕 Many times it is gradually curtailed in the name of tradition, religion, security, or culture until society starts accepting it as normal.

🧕 This is exactly how a popular religious order functions: when injustice stops being something to resist, and becomes just part of everyday behavior.

🧕 But this doesn’t mean that only the outer system is to blame. Every oppressive system needs minds that care more about protecting their identity, beliefs, and sense of security than about truth.

🧕 That is why just laws and institutions are indispensable for the protection of freedom. But it is just as necessary that a person recognize within herself that ego which elevates her beliefs above truth. This very tendency gives rise to oppression from the family level all the way to society and the nation.

❓ The real question is not how some society in history lost its freedom. The real question is: have we too started accepting some injustice as normal, in the name of convenience, identity, or tradition?

🔗 Source

BBC News

Iranian women: Before and after the Islamic Revolution

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47032829

AP FRAMEWORK

https://acharyaprashant.org/en/ap-framework

Posted by Vidya-Avidya on Acharya Prashant App.

Over the last few days in London, attending Acharya Ji’s sessions has been a deeply moving experience for me.

What touched me the most was the simplicity, humility, and childlike openness with which Acharya Ji shares and interacts.

During yesterday’s BG session, it felt as though the verse was being explained directly to me. I cannot fully put into words what I experienced, but it felt like peace, joy, love, gratitude, and a profound sense of fullness-all at once.

Even after the sessions ended, I found myself reluctant to leave, with a quiet wish for the night never to end.

I also felt an unexpected affection for the fellow participants and team members. Beyond names and first impressions, I began to recognize in each person the same love and dedication to Truth and the teachings that had brought us all together.

I keep wondering how to carry this remembrance back into my daily life. I want to live it in every moment, even when the surroundings are not favorable.

Posted by Chinmayee Parija on the Acharya Prashant App.

Believe it or not, this isn’t a Delhi event, it’s a Gita session in London. The hall is packed; there isn’t even space left to sit on the floor now.

And this, despite the venue having to be changed at the last moment. The roots of the Gita Community have grown deep in Britain as well. 🔥

Posted by Anupam on Acharya Prashant App.

🍽️ It’s 9 at night. The child isn’t eating. The mother is walking behind her with the plate. The father has come home tired from the office. Then someone picks up the phone, plays a cartoon, and the child opens her mouth. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

But no one asked what price that relief came at.

📊 In a study done on 4,758 children between 2022 and 2024 it was found that two-year-old children who watched screens for about 5 hours a day could speak only 53% of the expected words. Those whose screen time was 44 minutes could speak 65% of the expected words.

According to a The Guardian report dated 27 June 2026, the World Health Organization has set a one‑hour limit for children aged 2 to 4 years. Yet 98% of two-years-old watch screens every day, and their average time is 127 minutes per day.

🎥 Children’s cartoon channels today are being watched billions of times. One channel was bought for 3 billion dollars and has more than 200 million viewers. In an interview with Fortune, the creators say they design content purely based on children’s response data.

Experts consider this an intentionally addictive design.

🧠 In a study on 670 children published in Curious magazine, higher screen time was linked to irritability, loneliness, and sadness. According to The Lancet, violent video games make children less sensitive to other people’s suffering.

Researcher Brad Bushman says that even cartoon violence can increase aggression by up to 47%.

🌍 A January 2026 report in The Guardian says that screens are snatching away conversation, play, and books from children. Researchers have called for infant screen-risk assessments, accurate information for families, and a ban on content that targets infants.

🪞 The child ate his food while watching the phone and we assumed the job was done. But what really happened was that we handed over our own inner emptiness into his hands.

Ego is exactly this incompleteness. To escape it, we put a screen in between, and felt as if the account had been settled.

💰 We think: the child didn’t cry, he ate properly, that means we are good parents. This thought isn’t really ours; it’s borrowed. Society and the market sell exactly this notion, and a multi‑billion‑dollar industry stands on top of that emptiness.

✨ Reducing screen time is important, but the real question comes even before that. Why do I not want to simply sit with my child? It’s not enough to just look; the intention must be right too. The kind of intention that says every evening, today I will sit in front of the plate, not the phone.

📱 The question is not about the child. The question is: is that child sitting before the screen still, in some way, actually us-only our plate has changed?

📌 Sources:

AP Framework:

https://acharyaprashant.org/en/ap-framework

The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/27/screen-time-damage-under-twos-development-study?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/11/excessive-screen-time-limits-vocabulary-of-toddlers-experts-warn?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

On June 26, the London School of Economics (LSE) hosted a profound dialogue between Acharya Ji and distinguished philosopher and animal consciousness expert Professor Jonathan Birch on the theme, "Animal Consciousness and the Environment: Insights from Science and Vedanta."

The event was part of Acharya Ji's historic UK tour, through which he is taking the message of Indian philosophy and Vedanta to prestigious global platforms, including the Cambridge Union, the University of Oxford, the UK Parliament's House of Lords, and London Climate Action Week. The dialogue was attended by a large gathering of students, researchers, and faculty members.

The discussion stood as a powerful meeting of the highest traditions of Eastern and Western thought. Professor Jonathan Birch is among the world's foremost scholars shaping scientific research and public policy on animal consciousness. Through the lenses of science and Indian philosophy, the dialogue explored profound questions surrounding animal consciousness, the environment, compassion, law, the climate crisis, and human consciousness. Acharya Ji emphasised that compassion towards animals is not merely a matter of scientific evidence or legal frameworks, but fundamentally a question of human consciousness.

Professor Birch acknowledged that the Vedantic vision of inner transformation offers a powerful new direction to contemporary scientific and ethical discourse. The dialogue was followed by an engaging Q&A session, during which students enthusiastically raised a wide range of thought-provoking questions. Speaking to the media outside the London School of Economics after the event, Acharya Ji described his conversation with Professor Birch as deep and enriching.

🎥 The full video of this landmark dialogue will be shared with you soon.

My salutations to you, Acharya Prashant Ji. 🙏

I want to share something. My mother and I are both working in the Foundation’s Outreach Department.

This is my mother. While your arrival in our lives has certainly transformed my life, in my mother’s life I have witnessed nothing short of a complete transformation.

She has been selected for the Foundation’s Outreach Department and has been working there for the past two days.

Today, I see her as an empowered and aware woman, or rather, as a complete human being.

Earlier, she was the kind of woman who depended on a man even for the smallest of tasks. Cooking for the family, washing dishes, decorating the house, and keeping everyone happy - these alone had become the purpose of her life. (The issue is not with these tasks themselves, the problem begins when they become your entire identity and your whole life. The purpose of life is to rise higher, not merely to cook food.)

She was deeply identified with the body, fearful, timid, and burdened with suppressed violence. She could not even go to the market alone. There was also a great deal of superstition.

Since childhood, I had seen my mother being exploited in the name of “duty”: standing at the stove cooking, living behind a veil, enduring taunts, constantly being belittled, then coming to her room in tears and skipping dinner at night. All of this pained me deeply, yet I used to believe that this was simply the way things were, that a woman’s condition could never change.

But my mother was not like this as a child.

She used to top her class, and not just academically, she excelled in art and music as well. She wanted to continue her studies, but after graduation she could neither study further nor do anything that would help her become self-reliant.

The question then arises: if my mother was not like this from childhood, who made her this way?

The answer is: the body, society, and circumstances.

A woman’s body, the family she happens to be born into (and later the life partner she receives at a young age through marriage), and society-these three forces together can reduce a complete human being into “just a woman” for the sake of exploitation.

A woman often fails to recognize the conspiracy being woven around her. She calls it love, duty, and sacrifice, and then makes it her entire life.

I have been listening to Acharya Ji for the last three years. My mother did not listen initially, though she never stopped me from doing so. I tried many times to explain things to her, sometimes by confronting her condition directly, and sometimes by lovingly talking with her for hours.

When I brought her out of that environment and we began living separately, she started spending more time with me. Gradually, she too began liking Acharya Ji’s talks, and for the past year she has been listening regularly.

She would accompany me to the book stall and sit through the sessions as well.

For some time, she was unable to attend the sessions because her phone had stopped working. A few months ago, I got her a new phone and connected her to the sessions again. Since she wanted to become self-reliant and contribute to the right work, I filled out the Outreach Department application form on her behalf as well.

Today, my mother has become so strong that she goes out and handles all her work independently, without anyone’s assistance.

For the Outreach training, my mother and I traveled all the way from Prayagraj, India to Delhi, India by ourselves.

Today, she has the courage to call the useless “useless” and the unnecessary “unnecessary.” She is no longer afraid. Instead of choosing adornment, she is choosing struggle; instead of comfort, she is choosing growth. She is becoming self-reliant and moving toward a higher life.

She often says, “I won’t be able to do it. I don’t know anything.”

I tell her, “But you are already doing it. You have chosen this path. From here onward, leave it to Acharya Ji and the Foundation. Just keep your intention pure and keep learning. I don’t know much either, but since we have come this far, we will continue moving forward and learning.”

And because it is through Acharya Ji’s teachings and sessions that we have reached this point, we must continue walking ahead.

Acharya Ji says, does he not, that merely listening to the sessions is not enough? We must bring them into our lives, we must live them.

And there can be no better opportunity than this to live what we have received. We must begin exactly as we are and from exactly where we are. Even with a thousand imperfections, we must keep our intention pure and continue learning.

Thank you, Acharya Ji, for helping a woman rediscover herself as a complete human being. 🙏🪔

Posted by Mudita Pandey on Acharya Prashant's Gita Mission App.

70th Bihar Public Service Commission Final Result.

Acharya Ji,

I have been selected by the Bihar Public Service Commission.

I received this news on the 20th, in the middle of the activities and sessions at Greater Noida Camp conducted by you.

In my view, this was not merely a coincidence but a journey that began in 2024 with your arrival in my life, and whose culmination happened so close to your presence.

Since the 20th, my mind has been completely immersed in “Weekend with Master” program conducted by you. It feels as though I have received so much worthy knowledge in these few days that I am unable to fully absorb it all. Inside, it feels as if a churning of the ocean is taking place. Amidst all this, I have neither had the time to celebrate the result nor do I feel like celebrating it, because I have understood both the reality of a government job and the place within me from which this desire arose.

Ever since I connected with the sessions, I have understood only one goal regarding work, with two possible paths.

First:
To be directly involved with the Foundation and contribute momentum to the Mission.

Second:
To choose another field of interest and support the Mission indirectly from there by contributing numbers, resources, and other forms of assistance.

Acharya Ji, your teachings are having a profound impact on my life, bringing clarity, realization, and self-knowledge.

Many desire-driven elements were involved in this selection, but your teachings were quietly giving me the inner strength to walk the path of Truth in a desire less manner.

There are many incidents from this journey that I could share, but there is one in particular that I wish to mention.

In 2016, my father passed away.

That year, at the age of thirteen, I suddenly became an adult. So grown up, in fact, that while I was waiting for my school bus, a man who knew my family and was buying alcohol at a nearby shop said to me:

"Girl, tell me, who is going to get you married?"

I did not answer.

Then he asked:

"Tell me, will your maternal uncle do it, or your paternal uncle?"

I replied:

"My mother will."

I managed to answer him, but I continued carrying the burden of countless such filthy questions on my young mind. Gradually, I developed the habit of shrinking into corners and hiding myself.

To free myself from all this, I became somewhat rebellious by the time I reached the 11th standard.

But when I was hurt during that period and faced failures in competitive examinations, despair spread across my life.

After trying everything else, I joined the Gita Community.

I came very late, Acharya Ji. That is why I still feel afraid to speak up. I realized this during the session on 21 June, when I was sitting so close to you and yet could not gather the courage to ask a question.

However, there is also a sense of relief that I have tied a strong thread to the Gita Mission. For now, I have opted for automatic enrollment until 2037.

I have become aware of the instability of my life and the tricks of my ego, so I have deliberately left myself with no option to move away from the Gita.

Acharya Ji,

In the end, I want to say only this: I do not really know what a father is, but through your presence I have come to understand that only an awakened and realized human being can truly be a father.

You are my Bodh Father.

Thank you, Papa, for coming into my life, even if a little late. ❤️🙏

Posted by Santosh Choudhary on Acharya Prashant's Gita Mission App.

Look what I have found. Another version of Negation (Neti Neti, Nakarana).

This bronze memorial plaque is installed on the footpath near the New York City Library.

Posted by Manali.

Salutations, Acharya Ji. 🙏❤️

I had never imagined that I would be able to do so much in this life. For me, doing all this was a huge and challenging task, because my child is still very small and my husband is also differently-abled. But I drew so much courage from you that now it no longer seems possible to live a life dependent on anyone else. In my weakness, I no longer find any rest.

There is still a lot to do. It’s been 6 months since I started riding a scooter, and for the last week I’ve been learning to drive a car. 😊 After this, I’ve firmly decided to take up a job. I’m currently looking for work. I had never learned anything with the aim of employment, so I’m facing a lot of difficulty. My parents gave me a little education and then got me married. Apart from household work, I don’t know much else, yet nothing is impossible. I’ll surely find some small job.

Now it feels as if there is very little time. Each day is slipping away. As long as there is breath, I must keep moving forward.

To write something worthy of Acharya Ji, I have neither the pen nor the paper. 🙏🙏

सब धरती कागज करूँ, लेखनी सब वन राय। सात समुद्र की मसि करूँ, गुरु गुण लिखा न जाय॥

This reflection is shared by Aradhana

When a rocket goes into space, the biggest challenge is not altitude, but energy. To break free from Earth’s gravity, such enormous power is needed that ordinary fuels are not enough. This very need gave birth to Cryogenic Technology, counted among the most complex achievements of modern rocket engineering.

 

A cryogenic engine runs on two extremely cold propellants:

 

��Liquid Hydrogen (LH₂) — approximately −253°C

 

��Liquid Oxygen (LOX) — approximately −183°C

 

At such low temperatures, gases remain in liquid form and deliver very high energy for relatively low weight. That is why cryogenic engines are considered among the most effective propulsion systems for heavy satellites, lunar missions, and deep space expeditions.

 

⚙️ But this is exactly where the real challenge begins

 

It is not easy to safely store hydrogen at −253°C. At such temperatures, the properties of metals can change, even a tiny fuel leak can be dangerous, and a small fluctuation in temperature can affect the entire system.

 

This is why the cryogenic engine is often called the “Everest of rocket engineering.”

 

����For India, this was not just a technological challenge, but a strategic one as well. In the 1990s, due to international sanctions, India could not obtain this technology from Russia. After that, ISRO chose the path of indigenous development. After years of hard work, testing, and failures, India developed its own cryogenic engine.

 

��Today, rockets like GSLV and LVM3 use this very technology. The success of Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 and many other Indian space missions rests on this technology.

 

��AP Framework's Take:

 

The most interesting thing about a cryogenic engine is not its power. The most interesting thing is how extraordinarily fine the care has to be in order to harness such immense power.

 

To send a rocket into space, more fuel alone is not enough. If the temperature goes slightly off, the pressure changes a little, or the flow becomes slightly unbalanced, the entire mission can fail. The greater the power, the greater the sensitivity required.

 

Human life is quite similar. We assume that the problem is a lack of resources. So we run after more money, more knowledge, more influence, and more achievements. But the major failures of life often arise not from scarcity, but from imbalance.

 

It is easy to increase power; it is difficult to handle it.

 

History has seen countless people who acquired resources, attained success, gained influence—yet never understood themselves. The result was that the very power they had became a source of danger for them and for others.

 

The cryogenic engine reminds us that heights are not attained by power alone. Heights are attained by the capacity to keep power oriented in the right direction.

 

✨ A rocket’s flight needs fuel, but its success needs the right center. In life too, achievements move you ahead, but understanding gives direction.

 

��Sources:

https://www.isro.gov.in/mission_GSLV_D5GSAT_14Indigenous.html

 

��AP Framework:

https://acharyaprashant.org/en/ap-framework

This video by Acharya Prashant conveys a powerful life lesson: always give your best and never complain. Give your best to every effort, but do not let the outcome determine your peace of mind.

Whether you achieve the result you expected or not, keep smiling. Success should not make you arrogant, and failure should not make you lose hope. What truly matters is the sincerity of your effort, not just the final result.

Give your best in every exam, challenge, and opportunity that comes your way. If success arrives, celebrate it with gratitude. If failure comes, embrace it as a teacher and celebrate the lessons it brings. Every setback carries the seed of growth, wisdom, and resilience.

Life is not about winning every time; it is about learning, growing, and moving forward with courage. The person who can smile even in failure is often stronger than the one who smiles only in success.