Purāṇas in Contemporary Vedānta Discourses: Acharya Prashant Decoding Stories of Divine Beings

Abstract

The meaning of the Puranic stories (paurāṇika kathāeṃ) is traditionally not revealed primarily through their narrative content but emerges within the contexts of their reproduction. In the words of Acharya Prashant, these stories function as ciphers, encoding fundamental principles of existence (astitvagata siddhānta) to communicate them effectively to audiences. Their decoding requires the guidance of a guru who has realized these principles (cf. Acharya Prashant 2021).

Acharya Prashant is a contemporary spiritual teacher who extensively utilizes social media, to disseminate his vision (darśana) of non-duality (advaita) to promote individual, familial, societal, and ecological well-being. His outreach includes a comprehensive website, a YouTube channel with 54.5 million subscribers, an Instagram presence with 5.4 million followers and 4,900 posts, and a channel on X (formerly Twitter) with 1.2 million followers (as of January 14, 2025). His contributions also find a place in the Hindi-language press, such as Navabhārata Ṭāimsa, Dainika Jāgaraṇa, and Dainika Bhāskara. In alignment with traditional pravacana literature, Acharya Prashant draws upon Puranic stories to communicate his visions.

This study examines a selection of Acharya Prashant’s Hindi-language articles to explore how stories of divine beings such as Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, Śiva, and Devī are interpreted in relation to contemporary issues. These include nationalism, the radical Hindu mythology vs. history debate, and broader questions concerning the individual, society, and the environment. By employing discourse analysis, the study investigates how the Puranic world is reproduced from the perspective of a contemporary Advaita proponent.