Are You Ready to Call Yourself a Modern Rishi?

The Modern Rishi does not escape life, but transcends illusion.

For many years I have said that Vedanta is not blind belief, ritual repetition, personality worship or spiritual entertainment. It exists to produce clarity. It helps us examine what we have assumed, see the forces that shape our thinking, and recognise what is real beneath inherited identity, fear and conditioning.

The Modern Rishi Movement is the next step in that work.

It is for people who question what others repeat, who examine what others merely believe, and who would rather face an uncomfortable truth than live inside a convenient illusion.

This movement is not for everyone.

If you repeat mantras daily without ever asking what they mean, you will find nothing here. If you prefer inherited belief to direct understanding, or want another guru to follow, another personality to worship, another comforting system to tell you what to think, look elsewhere. And if you are unwilling to question your own assumptions, identities, loyalties and conclusions, you are not ready for this yet.

A mantra is not a mechanical refuge from thought. A teaching memorised while life continues unchanged has achieved nothing. The words of Vedanta and the Srimad Bhagavad Gita have to be examined and understood before they can mean anything at all. They exist to transform perception, bring clarity to action and free the mind from confusion.

Who is a Modern Rishi?

A Modern Rishi lives fully in the world without being ruled by its noise, acts with awareness rather than reaction, and values truth above emotional convenience.

There is no withdrawal from responsibility here. The Modern Rishi works, creates, leads, protects and serves, but is not imprisoned by status, praise, fear, ideology or the demand for approval. Divisions of gender, religion, nationality, class and wealth are recognised as conditions of human life, not as the truth of what one is.

None of this means passivity, detachment or indifference to suffering. It means living with greater attention, discipline, courage and compassion.

Why this movement now?

Information has never been more abundant. Clarity is still rare.

People inherit beliefs before they are capable of examining them. They are taught whom to admire, whom to fear, what to defend and what must never be questioned. Political identity, religious identity, social labels, media narratives and group loyalty colour perception until people can no longer separate what they see from what they have been trained to see.

The Modern Rishi Movement begins with the willingness to examine that colouring. It asks:

What do I actually know?
What have I only repeated?
What has shaped the person I take myself to be?
Am I seeing clearly, or through filters handed to me?

How Tavamithram Led to the Modern Rishi Movement

Through Tavamithram, I have presented Vedanta and the Srimad Bhagavad Gita as instruments of understanding and freedom, never of religious authority or blind faith.

The Modern Rishi Movement carries that work into a wider space. It examines perception, identity, social conditioning, inherited belief and intellectual courage, and how these forces shape the way we think, react and live. Its foundation is Vedanta; what it addresses is life as it is lived now.

The movement formally begins on 15 August 2026. Until then, the new Modern Rishi site will introduce its vision, principles, films and reflections.

Are you ready?

You do not need to agree with me, accept a doctrine or surrender your intelligence to anyone. You do need to be willing to look. Question what you have inherited, investigate what you repeat, and examine whether your convictions arise from understanding or from conditioning.

If you are ready for that, enter.

Atma Bodha: A Complete English Rendering of the 68 Shlokas

Many people spend years looking for guidance, blessings, secret methods, special experiences, and spiritual personalities to follow but somehow never take the small step of reading the texts that actually contain the teaching.

The Srimad Bhagavad Gita, at least a few of the principal Upanishads, Nirvana Shatkam, and Atma Bodha are not hidden. They are freely available. They do not require theatrical devotion, emotional dependence, or loyalty to a personality. They require a serious mind.

Atma Bodha, said to have been composed by Shri Adi Shankaracharya about 1400 years ago, is short enough to be read in about half an hour. Yet, if approached with an open mind, it can give extraordinary clarity. Its purpose is not to create a believer. Its purpose is to remove confusion and delusional beliefs, including religious ones. The 68 Shlokas can be divided in thre movements, which I have compressed the three sections in this post on Substack. CONTINUE READING ON SUBSTACK.

This video is for those who want to approach Vedanta with clarity, seriousness, and direct enquiry.

Watch the full video here, or if you want the compressed version first, you may go to the Substack post.

Don’t believe. Know!

Overcoming Mental Suffering: Clarity Beyond Self-Pity

Why do we suffer so much in our own minds, even when nothing is actually going wrong?

This short video explores a familiar psychological pattern, the self-centred question “Why me?”, and shows how it becomes a source of unnecessary mental suffering.

Drawing on Stoicism, Vedantic psychology, and direct observation of the mind, the video explains why we suffer more in imagination than in reality, how anticipation and fear distort perception, and why overthinking creates anxiety where no real danger exists. Instead of offering comfort or emotional validation, it focuses on mental clarity, responsibility, and mastery over thought patterns.

If you are interested in understanding the mind without superstition, self-pity, or motivational fluff, this reflection points to the same clarity explored in The Ever-Relevant Gita, which examines fear, suffering, and self-inquiry rationally and practically.

This is not about belief.
It is about seeing the mind clearly.

The Secret Battle Inside Your Head (And How to Win It)

The mind presents a profound paradox. It is a collection of beliefs, attitudes, delusions, and illusions, yet it remains the core of our intellect. It can craft either ‘heaven’ or ‘hell’ within the span of a single breath. Learning to manage this incredibly powerful instrument, which can also act as a destructive weapon, is arguably life’s most important mastery.

My talk, How to Stop Being Triggered | The Way Out of the Mind Trap, shows how Vedanta provides the ultimate framework for understanding, training, and ultimately transcending the restless mind.

Engage with this talk, reflect deeply, and uncover the hidden mechanism behind every emotion, along with the path to freedom from it. By the end, it becomes clear that whatever is experienced arises in the mind, and that life and one’s world can be transformed by working on one’s perception and reaction.

Letting Go: The Illusion of Stillness Explained

A Deeper Look into Stillness, Identity, and the Final Trap

Have you ever tried letting go of your worries, your fears, or your attachments, only to still feel like something remains?
You’re not alone. For many sincere seekers, the final barrier is subtle: it’s not your thoughts, not your ego, not even your desires. It’s the silent identity hiding behind all of them. The witness.

In my latest video, I unpack what I call the final illusion: the quiet and respectable identity of the “observer”, the one who is calm, still, and watching.
But here’s the truth: stillness too is a role. And unless that role drops, freedom will remain just out of reach.

Watch the Video: Why Life Gets Better When You Let Go

This is not about theory. It is not spiritual entertainment.
This is PURE VEDANTIC CLARITY, aimed at dismantling the last mask the mind wears, even in meditation.

If you have ever searched for:

  • How to overcome suffering through awareness
  • How to let go of mental attachments, or
  • How to go beyond thought and ego

Then this video will show you what lies beyond even those answers.

No beliefs. No rituals. No frills.
Just clear, unfiltered self-inquiry, rooted in the teachings of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

Timeless Vedanta – Don’t Believe. KNOW!

Introducing “Timeless Vedanta” – A Channel Dedicated to Non-Dual Wisdom

The Timeless Vedanta Channel on YouTube

Dear Readers,

“It brings me immense joy to announce the launch of my new YouTube channel, Timeless Vedanta – a space dedicated solely to sharing the pure essence of Advaita Vedanta in a clear, rational, and practical manner.

“In today’s world, which is saturated with noise, confusion, and often superficial spirituality, there is a deep hunger among thoughtful seekers – especially young minds – for clarity and truth. Timeless Vedanta is a space to gain such understanding

“This channel is not about religion, dogma, or blind belief. It is about direct exploration, deep inquiry, and the timeless truth of non-duality – the understanding that your innermost Self is not separate from the reality that pervades all existence.

What You Can Expect:

  • Thought-provoking explorations of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and Brahma Sutras
  • Connections between Vedantic thought and Western philosophies, including Spinozism and Stoicism
  • Simple, logical explanations of profound topics such as consciousness, existence, and the nature of reality
  • A firm rejection of superstition, ritualism, and unnecessary complexity
  • Content that encourages critical thinking, self-reflection, and most importantly, direct understanding

Why “Timeless Vedanta”?

Because truth does not age. It is not bound by culture, belief, or time. The teachings of Vedanta, when stripped of layers of tradition and theological interpretation, reveal a science of consciousness that is as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.

This channel is open to people of all cultural and religious backgrounds who have an open mind and a sincere desire to seek clarity.

This channel is an invitation to rediscover that wisdom, to see clearly, and to live freely.


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