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Acharya Prashant
Indian spiritual leader, philosopher, author and former civil servant From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Acharya Prashant (born Prashant Tripathi; 7 March 1978) is an Indian spiritual educator,[12][13] philosopher, author,[14][15] poet, and public speaker who interprets Advaita Vedanta for modern audiences. In 2015 he founded the PrashantAdvait Foundation,[16] a non‑profit which promotes practical spiritual study through courses and retreats based on the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and related Vedantic texts. He conducts live Gita sessions both offline and online, where he teaches seventeen forms of Gita and sixty forms of Upanishads with eastern and western philosophy and religion.[17][18]
Prashant graduated with a B.Tech. from IIT Delhi[19] in 1999 and earned an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad in 2003. He briefly joined the Indian Civil Services[20] in 2000 before shifting to spiritual and philosophical pursuits.[21][22]
His teachings engage Vedantic principles in dialogue with contemporary issues—environmental ethics,[23][24] promotion of scientific temper, women's empowerment,[25] animal welfare,[26][27] superstition eradication, and social reform.
A vocal advocate for animal rights,[28][29] climate action, biodiversity loss prevention, he was named PETA India's "Most Influential Vegan" in 2022.[30][31] A prolific writer of over 150 books— including Karma,[32] Ananda,[33] and Maya.[34]
He is especially noted for engaging with younger audiences through public talks and online platforms.[13][35] As of July 2025 his YouTube channel—featuring discourses on Vedanta—ranks among the world's most subscribed spiritual channels with over 57 million subscribers and more than 4.2 billion video views,[36][37] and has been described by media outlets such as India.com and Entrepreneur India as "the world’s most followed spiritual leader on YouTube".[38][39]
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Early life and education
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Prashant was born on 7 March 1978 in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, the eldest of three siblings. His father served as a bureaucrat, and his mother was a homemaker. He spent his childhood in various parts of Uttar Pradesh, where he completed his primary and secondary schooling.
Early influences and formative years
An introvert by nature, Prashant preferred to seek counsel primarily from his father, absorbing other observations and ideas through personal reflection rather than discussion. He has described his youth as characterized by sustained curiosity and a deliberate lack of long‑term planning, focused instead on "continuously trying to understand" life's complexities without a predetermined blueprint.[40] His father took special efforts to ensure Prashant's access to books by organizing trips to larger cities when local bookstores were unavailable. Prashant later attributed his wide-ranging intellectual interests—from comics to academic theses—to this unstructured, exploratory reading habit.[40]
Schooling
Prashant developed a passion for reading at an early age, consistently excelling in academics. Even as a child, he displayed a wide-ranging temperament—from playful mischief to deep contemplation—and consistently excelled scholastically, topping his classes in both sciences and humanities. He was recognized as an ICSE board topper and an NTSE scholar, and teachers noted his proficiency in mathematics, languages, English, and Hindi.[41] Parents and teachers found him to be a child who could often be quite mischievous, on occasions, and then suddenly, deeply contemplative. Friends too recall him as having an unfathomable temperament, often not really sure whether he was joking or serious. A brilliant student, he consistently topped his class and received the highest commendations and prizes possible to a student. His mother fondly remembers how she was honoured several times as ‘Mother Queen’ for the academic performance of her child. Teachers would say that never before had they seen a student who was as brilliant in Science as in Humanities, as adept in Mathematics as in languages, and as proficient in English as in Hindi. The then Governor of the state felicitated him in a public function for setting a new benchmark in the Board examinations, and for being an NTSE scholar.[42]
Higher education
Raised in a family familiar with the Indian civil services, Prashant initially viewed that career as a clear path to social impact. His decision to attend the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi was influenced less by a specific interest in engineering and more by the practical consideration that many top UPSC candidates hailed from IIT backgrounds. He later explained that he saw IIT admission as a strategic choice while he continued to seek clarity on his ultimate vocation.[13]
In 1999, Prashant graduated from IIT Delhi with a B.Tech in Textile Technology. In the years at the IIT Delhi, he'd go on to learn how a prime institution of academic rigor operates, involve himself in the labyrinth of college politics, deepen his reading, and establish himself in debating, dramatics, creative writing, hockey, and table tennis.
During his final year, he attempted both the Common Admission Test (CAT) for entry to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) where he was ranked among the top scorers in the test and the Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Examination (UPSC CSE) where he was ranked 184th in 2000.[43] He initially joined the Indian Civil Services training, but resigned later in 2000 to devote himself full‑time to the study and teaching of Advaita Vedanta.[44] He says that the service allotted based on his rank didn't turn out to be the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the only one he thought of as useful for his purpose. So he turned to head toward IIM Ahmedabad to continue his journey.
In 2003, he earned an Master of Business Administration (PGDM) in General Management from IIM Ahmedabad, where he continued his engagement with campus activities, notably participating in dramatics, Theatre Acting, debating, creative writing, and student activism.[45]
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Corporate and early career
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After completing his MBA in 2003, Prashant entered the corporate sector. He joined GE Capital as an Assistant Manager in July 2003 and remained there until August 2004.[46] From July 2004 to September 2005, he worked as a Senior Consultant at ECS Private Limited, based in Gurgaon.[46] He then served as Senior Manager at Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. (Times Group) in New Delhi from September 2005 to October 2006.[46]
During this period, Prashant also began engaging with educational institutions, delivering weekend lectures that integrated classical texts with modern leadership principles. He would "pick up books that I especially loved, and figure out how they could be used to deliver leadership concepts," then travel to institutes like IIT Delhi, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Symbiosis, and the Institute of Management Technology to pilot a weekend course blending wisdom literature with modern management. One batch of executive‑education participants even turned out to be older than their 26‑year‑old instructor—"I found I was younger than the youngest student in that class," he recalled with a laugh. According to published interviews, this phase marked the beginning of his transition from the corporate world to a full-time focus on spiritual education and public speaking.[13]
Rather than a single "Eureka" moment, Prashant later explained, his shift away from corporate life was a slow, organic process: "We have this picture where a special moment upends a person’s life. Actually it doesn’t happen that way. Behind every Eureka moment is a long continuous unspectacular period of attentive work."[13]
Prashant has described how, during these years, he was already "seeing for myself where all the suffering comes from," teaching "practical experiments" in the classroom on how "the monster of misplaced confidence and ignorant ambition" arises—and how spiritual self‑knowledge actively combats it. By late 2006, having cleared his student loans and tried three very different industries, he felt he had "done what I needed to do" in the corporate sector: "Once my dues were cleared, I said, ‘I’m out.’"[47]
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Advait Life‑Education and PrashantAdvait Foundation
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Advait Life‑Education
In 2006, Prashant founded Advait Life‑Education[48] to give his emerging leadership and self‑awareness curriculum an organizational framework. The centerpiece offering, renamed the Holistic Individual Development Program (HIDP), was designed as a long‑duration course aimed primarily at school, undergraduate, and postgraduate students—over 90 percent of whom hailed from engineering (B.Tech) programs.[47] The HIDP combined experiential activities drawn from classical wisdom literature with modern management principles to foster personal insight and self‑awareness.
Within two years of its launch, Advait Life‑Education had recruited approximately 100 instructors and delivered the HIDP to more than 20,000 students across over 50 educational institutes nationwide.[47] Although initially structured as an in‑person weekend program, the logistical complexity of coordinating multiple campuses tested the organization’s operational capacities and honed Prashant's management skills.
By 2008, on turning 30, Prashant shifted the HIDP’s emphasis from leadership training toward deeper spiritual engagement. He introduced large‑scale, dialectical seminars under the banner "Samvaad", and rolled out two thematic modules—"Kabir on Campus", based on the poetry of the saint‑poet Kabir, and "So Said the Sages", drawn from Upanishadic verses.[47] These more overtly spiritual elements generated pushback from some host institutions, parents, and faculty, who questioned the programs’ practical benefits for conventional academic and career outcomes. Nevertheless, continued positive feedback from participants ensured the seminars remained in place and eventually gained acceptance.
PrashantAdvait Foundation
In 2015,[49] Prashant founded PrashantAdvait Foundation,[50] which is a non-profit organization. The foundation characterizes itself as a self‑clarity movement, aiming to integrate ancient and contemporary wisdom literature to promote clarity, integrity, and self‑knowledge. As of 2025, the foundation conducts programs both online and in person. On June 24, 2024, the PrashantAdvait Foundation set a historic record with the Largest Gita Exam, in which 7,314 students of the Bhagavad Gita sessions (led by Acharya Prashant) appeared for the examination. [51] [52]
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International outreach and programs
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In 2010, Prashant led his first Himalayan retreat, a residential self‑awareness program held in remote mountain locations. Each retreat, attended by 20 to 50 participants, lasted between three days and one week. The curriculum combined in‑depth study of classical wisdom texts from multiple spiritual traditions with guided group discussions and meditative practices. It was during these retreats that Prashant began to be referred to by the honorific "Acharya," reflecting participants’ perception of his teaching presence.
Prashant's teachings expanded rapidly into digital media. By 2025, his organization had produced over 30,000 videos and articles, freely available on online platforms. As of mid‑2025, his main YouTube channel has accumulated more than 4.8 billion views. His social‑media following across platforms exceeds 90 million, and he publishes an average of two new books each month.
In addition to free online content, Prashant runs a structured Bhagavad Gita study program with over 80,000 registered students worldwide. In June 2025, he organized what was reported as the largest Gita examination event in history, with tens of thousands of participants testing their understanding of the text.
Beyond scriptural teaching, Prashant has been publicly active on social issues such as climate change, animal rights, women's empowerment, and the eradication of superstition. Through both in‑person retreats and online offerings, his work aims to make non‑dual spiritual teachings accessible to a global audience.
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Teachings and Philosophy
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Advaita Vedanta
Acharya Prashant's work is rooted in Advaita Vedanta, the non‑dual school of Hindu philosophy, with a primary focus on self‑knowledge and inner clarity. He holds that true liberation arises when individuals disentangle their identity from transient thoughts and emotions, recognizing the contrast between physical pain (an unavoidable aspect of embodied life) and psychological suffering (the mental narrative that attaches to pain).
Acharya Prashant grounds his teachings in Vedanta, viewing it as the highest expression of the Vedic tradition and the essential path for addressing modern humanity's greatest challenges. He contrasts historical struggles—poverty, disease, hunger, illiteracy, and material scarcity—with today's deeper inner crisis, in which individuals wield unprecedented external power yet remain enslaved by unexamined desires and mental patterns.
A cornerstone of his teaching is the principle that personal suffering does not originate in external circumstances but in the mind's resistance to reality and its habitual self‑misidentification. In lectures and writings he frequently invokes the ancient injunction to "know thyself", positioning this introspective inquiry as the essential path to freedom from mental distress.
According to Prashant, Vedanta's core inquiry—"Who am I?"—is more urgent now than ever. He teaches that while technological mastery has tamed the external world, the undiscovered self continues to drive excessive consumption, unchecked ambition, and inner turmoil. In his view, true freedom arises only when one disentangles identity from fleeting experiences and recognizes the mind's habitual resistance to reality.
Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads
Prashant's curriculum includes comprehensive commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita—which he refers to as the "17 forms of the Gita"—and on the Upanishads—the "60 forms of the Upanishads"—through which he explores Vedantic concepts in depth. He further enriches his seminars by integrating devotional and poetic texts, notably the songs of the 15th‑century mystic Kabir and select Upanishadic verses, using these sources to exemplify non‑dual insights in a relatable, experiential format.
His pedagogical style is marked by a frank, direct approach that deliberately challenges conventional spiritual clichés and dogmas. Rather than offering abstract or esoteric theorizing, Prashant emphasizes the practical application of Vedanta to contemporary concerns such as interpersonal relationships, leadership development, social reform, and personal ethics. Through this blend of traditional scripture and modern relevance, he seeks to cultivate a lived understanding of non‑duality in his students’ daily lives.
Prashant applies this non‑dual perspective in two complementary ways:
- Scriptural commentaries He has delivered extensive lectures and produced written works on the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, elucidating their teachings in a contemporary context. His courses—often referred to by titles such as "17 Forms of the Gita" and "60 Forms of the Upanishads"—break down classical verses into practical insights for self‑inquiry and inner transformation.
- Practical Q&A and problem-solving Through tens of thousands of open online sessions, Prashant addresses everyday dilemmas—relationships, career decisions, emotional challenges—demonstrating how Vedantic principles can be applied to resolve real‑world issues. By weaving scriptural wisdom into candid dialogues, he encourages seekers to confront ignorance about their own minds and to cultivate sustained clarity of consciousness.
Through this dual approach, Acharya Prashant aims to make Vedanta accessible to a global audience, proposing that sincere self‑knowledge is the key to resolving both personal suffering and broader social and environmental crises.
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Social advocacy and influence
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Acharya Prashant has extended his Advaita Vedanta teachings into a range of social and ethical causes, shaping the beliefs and practices of diverse audiences.
Animal rights and environmentalism
Drawing on the view that human misunderstanding of self underlies exploitation of other species, Prashant promotes a plant‑based lifestyle as a means to reduce suffering and environmental impact. His lectures and writings argue that millions of farmed and wild animals have been spared through widespread adoption of vegetarian and vegan diets, and he is frequently cited as a leading voice in India's animal‑rights movement.[53]
Youth engagement
Prashant's programs address the practical and existential challenges faced by young people—ranging from academic and career pressures to questions of identity and purpose.[54] Through campus seminars, retreats, and online content, he offers tools for self‑inquiry and decision‑making clarity. Testimonials and participant surveys credit his interventions with guiding youths at critical junctures, helping them navigate relationships, career choices, and personal development.[55]
Women’s empowerment
Recognizing that social and economic reforms alone cannot secure individual liberty, Prashant emphasizes the importance of inner freedom for women.[56] His workshops and publications encourage female students and professionals to transcend limiting self‑images shaped by cultural conditioning, fostering confidence and autonomy. Reports from women's study groups note improved self‑esteem and assertiveness among participants.[57]
Spiritual seekers
Prashant distinguishes between superficial or ritualistic approaches to spirituality and a disciplined path of self‑knowledge. He challenges seekers who view spiritual practice as mere escapism or entertainment, instead offering rigorous inquiry into the mind's patterns of attachment. Dedicated practitioners describe his guidance as instrumental in overcoming deep-seated fears and achieving tangible shifts in awareness.
Through these efforts, Acharya Prashant has built a multifaceted movement that links non‑dual philosophy with contemporary social concerns, positioning self‑knowledge as a catalyst for ethical living and personal transformation.
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Awards, honours and records
- 8 June 2025 – Prashant Advait Foundation honoured with "Best Animal Welfare Organisation" Award[58]
- 5 June 2025 – Acharya Prashant receives "Most Impactful Environmentalist" award on World Environment Day[59][60]
- 26 April 2025 – Outstanding Contribution to National Development Award, IIT Delhi[61]
- 5 February 2025 – Longest discourse hours on Vedanta (India Book of Records)[62]
- 13 August 2024 – Largest online examination on the Bhagavad Gita (India Book of Records)[63]
- 17 February 2023 – PETA India's "Most Influential Vegan" Award[64][65]
- 28 August 2022 – IIT Delhi Alumni Association Award[66]
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Works
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Books
The following is a selection of major works by Acharya Prashant:
Other works include books on relationships (e.g. Sambandh), leadership, self-awareness, poetry (e.g. Raat Aur Chaand), and children's stories. His publishers note that Karma, Ananda, and Maya form a widely read Vedanta trilogy that distills key aspects of his teachings.[87]
A more complete bibliography is available on the author's official website and on publishing platforms.
Poetry
Acharya Prashant's poetic work is expressed through his Bhagavad Gita course, where he shares simple poetic translations of each Gita verse. These short, wisdom-filled poems are also easy to sing.[88] He has also written poems on deep and sensitive aspects of life, compiled in a book called "Raat Aur Chaand" (Night and the Moon).
A few poems from the book "Raat Aur Chaand":
- Sone Ka Haq
- Jab Geet Na Arpit Kar Pao
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Reception
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The Times of India, in their review of Acharya's Karma: Why Everything You Know About It Is Wrong, remarked that while the book "presents the cryptic teachings of the Upanishads in a contemporary and relatable manner", its usage of terms from Advaita Vedanta makes it a difficult read for a layman.[89] The Financial Express wrote that the four sections of Karma mirror the four stages in the life of a seeker, and that the book "is not a classic case of prolific and bestselling authors in self-help segment repackaging and remarketing their existing body of work."[90] Dainik Bhaskar observed that the author has quoted from the Vedas and spiritual texts like the Bhagavad Gita and Ramcharitmanas to substantiate his perspective on the concept of Karma.[91] A "micro review" of Karma in The Times of India called it a book which helped the reader understand their Karma better.[92] In August 2021, the book topped the Nielsen Bookscan's bestseller list,[90] and in October 2021, secured eighth position in the bestseller list released by The Asian Age.[93]
Dainik Jagran wrote about Acharya's Sambandh that "the best part about the book is that it has been written in the everyday spoken language and contains examples that are easy to understand. It is, however, difficult to keep pace with his [author's] thoughts and writings."[94] Punjab Kesari called Sambandh "a mirror to human relationships"; and highlighted the need for better structuring of the book.[95]
In an article titled New Light on Ancient Texts: Illumination or Nebulation published in The North East Times, Acharya Prashant was criticized for his interpretation of some central Indic concepts like reincarnation (punarjanma), enlightenment (moksha), liberation (mukti) and action (karma). Some of his interpretations were reported to be strikingly at odds with the ones provided by some of the ancient and acclaimed commentators, forming the core of the common Indic identity. Shubham Ahuja concluded his article by the comment, "It is hard to believe that many of the well-known gurus and commentators whose interpretations are openly and strongly refuted by Acharya were fundamentally mistaken."[96]
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Media and public engagement
Spotlight
- 15 July 2025 – "Climate Crisis: A Mirror to Our Inner State"[97]
Acharya Prashant argues that climate change is not just technical, but reflects the confusion in the human mind driven by unexamined wants and fears.
- 13 July 2025 – "Does Mankind Deserve Religion?"[98]
He proposes that true religion arises not from tradition but from an inward question—why am I not at peace?—as an honest response to suffering.
- 7 July 2025 – "Operation 2030: Acharya Prashant’s Bold Climate Campaign Challenging Global Consumption"[99]
Introduces Operation 2030 as a call to inner clarity, asserting that wiser choices follow once we understand our own wants rather than imposing more rules.
- 1 July 2025 – "Acharya Prashant: The Spiritual Leader Women Admire For His Powerful Voice On Women’s Rights"[100]
Describes how his Vedantic teaching—"you are not the body at all"—offers women freedom beyond social roles and labels.
- 10 July 2025 – "गुरु पूर्णिमा पर आचार्य प्रशांत का संदेश" (Lokmat News)[101]
Recasts Guru Purnima as homage to the inner vision‑giver rather than to any person or institution.
- 28 June 2025 – "The Crisis Within: When Clarity is Replaced by Content"[102]
Warns that our culture of instant outrage and reaction has turned even grave events into mere noise, making true understanding optional.
- 21 June 2025 – Yoga Day messages featured in The Hindu, News Nation and The Week, restoring yoga to a state of poise and lived truth rather than mere postures.[103]
Podcasts
- 20 September 2024 – In Conversation with Prakhar[104]
- 20 February 2025 – Neeraj Chopra's Questions, Acharya Prashant's Guidance – Aim for the Sky[105]
- 31 May 2023 – Does God Exist? with Dhruv Rathee[106]
- 16 December 2022 – Acharya Prashant on The Ranveer Show[107]
- 26 March 2025 – Unfiltered Chat with Dr Sid Warrier[108]
- 7 November 2024 – On Parenting, Marriage & More with Bharti[109]
- 28 May 2025 – Conversation with Dr Tanu Jain on women's empowerment[110]
- 5 February 2025 – Acharya Prashant in Conversation with Sarthak Goswami[111]
- 9 June 2025 – Conversation with Vijendar Chauhan on service and purpose[112]
- 23 September 2024 – Science of the Bhagavad Gita with Dr Sid Warrier[113]
- 28 August 22 – Acharya Prashant on Israel‑Palestine, Identity & Diet | Lallantop Interview[114]
- 9 July 24 – Acharya Prashant in Exclusive Interview with Dainik Jagran[115]
- 25 June 2024 – Acharya Prashant in Coversation with Kunal Kamra and Prof Dilip Mandal[116]
- 14 May 2023 – Acharya Prashant in Coversation with Poorva Joshipura, PETA India CEO
TV appearances
- 20 June 2025 – Special interview on Bharat Express: "True Meaning of Yoga"[117]
- 19 June 2025 – ABP Live exclusive on the Ahmedabad plane crash: "Crashes happen in our consciousness"[118]
- 15 June 2025 – NDTV India special: "Can the Bhagavad Gita uproot the caste system?"[119]
- 5 June 2025 – Deccan Herald feature on Most Impactful Environmentalist award[120]
- 6 June 2025 – Punjab Kesari special on animal sacrifice and Eid[121]
- 21 May 2025 – NDTV interview at IIT Delhi on Outstanding Contribution to National Development award[122]
Institutional sessions
- 31 March 2025 – IIT Delhi Samvaad: "Curious Minds" discussion on AI, free speech, climate and delimitation[123]
- 10 November 2022 – IIT Bombay session: "And still not happy?"[124]
- 2 April 2023 – IIT Guwahati campus talk on real-world challenges[125]
- 9 April 2025 – BITS Dubai open session on Vedanta in everyday living[126]
- 21 April 2025 – MANIT Bhopal Q&A on life's central questions[127]
- 9 June 2025 – Kirori Mal College, DU: "Gandhi, Ambedkar and the debate between reform and rebellion"[128]
- 20 March 2025 – SRCC, DU: "Curious Minds" open discussion[129]
- 22 February 2025 – University of California, Berkeley: entrepreneurship and purpose[130]
- 11 March 2025 – IISc Bangalore interactive session on science and spirituality[131]
- 10 March 2025 – IIM Bangalore round-table on leadership and Dharma[132]
Media articles
- 29 May 2025 – "Confluence of Wisdom: The Living Voice of the Great Masters in Acharya Prashant" (News24)[133]
- 3 May 2025 – "आचार्य प्रशांत ने जाति जनगणना पर दिया क्लियर मैसेज" (Navbharat)[134]
- 2 May 2025 – "Use Caste Census for Affirmative Action" (The Print)[135]
- 27 April 2025 – "Acharya Prashant Receives ‘Outstanding Contribution to National Development’ Award"[61]
- 25 May 2025 – "Operation 2030: Confronting the climate crisis within"[136]
- 18 April 2025 – "Dr B.R. Ambedkar: A Visionary Beyond Politics"[137]
- 21 April 2025 – "Acharya Prashant Live at PVR INOX: Bhopal Series Begins"[138]
- 1 June 2025 – "World Environment Day: The climate crisis and the need for inner awakening"[139]
- 8 June 2025 – "PrashantAdvait Foundation honoured with ‘Best Animal Welfare Organisation’ Award"[140]
- 5 June 2025 – Coverage of Most Impactful Environmentalist award[59]
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See also
External links
References
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