Biography:Acharya Prashant

Short description: Indian Author And Speaker

Acharya Prashant
Born	Prashant Tripathi
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Indian Institute of Technology Delhi Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Occupation	Advaita Teacher Author
Organization	PrashantAdvait Foundation
Notable work	Karma: Why Everything You Know About It Is Wrong
YouTube information
Channels	आचार्य प्रशांत
Years active	2017–present
Genre	Advaita Vedanta Spirituality
Subscribers	2.5 Million
Total views	447 Million
Updated 20 August 2021
Website	acharyaprashant.org

Prashant Tripathi, known as Acharya Prashant, is an Indian author, and an Advaita teacher. He teaches seventeen forms of Gitas and sixty forms of Upanishads. His recent Amazon bestseller book Karma: Why Everything You Know About It Is Wrong, is published by Penguin Books. Acharya regularly writes and speaks, connecting everyday topics of life to spirituality. He is the founder of a non-profit organization named PrashantAdvait Foundation and is a vegan activist.

Early life and education

Prashant Tripathi received his bachelor's degree in engineering from IIT Delhi and later did post graduation in management from IIM Ahmedabad. He worked for Indian Civil Services briefly before starting as a Vedanta teacher and an author.

Reception

Navbharat Times in their review of Acharya's work Sambandh remarked that the book does well in communicating to the reader the essential difference between emotion and compassion. The reviewer Rakesh Jha wrote that although there have been innumerable books in fiction category which have dealt with human relations as a subject, this book stands apart because it could address the psychological intricacies of the subject while maintaining to be a good read.

Dainik Jagran wrote about his work 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 the pace with his thoughts and writings."

Avinash Prabhakar at News Nation wrote about Book of Myths that "Although the ideas presented in the book are quite interesting, a part of their impact is lost due to weak presentation. The reader is made to straightaway dive into the deep waters of thought without much warning, since the book opens without an introduction on what is to follow, and what should one expect. As the reader begins to get used to the ideas from one chapter, he is taken onto another wholly new idea in the next one. While the wealth of knowledge provided is much appreciated but it seems to come out all too quickly and suddenly."

Daiji World reviewed Book of Myths and stated that "What makes the book truly interesting is that the author quotes from scriptures of various religions. He refers to the Quran, Bible, and Bhagavad Gita alike and quotes Guru Nanak and Guatama Buddha, reinstating that religions are not the gatekeepers of the path to self-discovery and truth. But what is problematic here is a lack of empathy for the seeker in the sense that sometimes what is said assumes or demands a certain level of spiritual training or understanding from the reader (seeker)."

The Pioneer (India) published about The Beautiful Heart that "While reading the book, one feels that they are going through a journey where progressively complex questions were examined and answered through use of logic, common sense and also a bit of humor!. A better structure and rationing on the information could have helped in building a better rapport with the reader. The first half of the book is a little more pedantic in nature."

The Times of India wrote about Karma: Why Everything You Know About It Is Wrong that "In an age when philosophy is dying, this book presents the cryptic teachings of the Upanishads in a contemporary and relatable manner, inviting the readers of 'self-help' and 'spirituality' to revisit their concepts."

Criticism

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.

See also

• Advaita Vedanta
• Upanishads
• Veganism