In spiritual circles, we often hear about personal growth, stress relief, and calming of thoughts. Rarely does anyone bring up our daily treatment of animals. But one spiritual teacher has made it a key part of his work: Acharya Prashant. Acharya Prashant says that any path that ignores the pain of animals cannot be a real spiritual path.

While compassion and non-violence are often spoken of in a moralistic sense, he ties them directly to our daily actions: what we eat, how we act, how we treat others. He believes our treatment of animals shows a mirror to how much we truly understand ourselves. When that understanding becomes real, we won’t feel the need to hurt others, including animals.

He doesn’t always say things that will please the listener. His way of speaking is simple, clear, and often even uncomfortable. But it comes from the center of honesty.

For him, concern for animals isn’t something additional to be done. It comes on its own when one begins to see things as they are. He brings to the center the rights of the voiceless who can’t speak for themselves.

RECOGNITIONS AND ON-GROUND WORK

PETA recently gave Acharya Prashant the “Most Influential Vegan” award. In 2025, his foundation got an award for being the Best Animal Welfare Organisation for helping people live a more compassionate life and reducing the suffering of animals.

He is the only Indian spiritual teacher shown in the popular award-winning documentary Cowspiracy directed by Kip Andersen. He has also been featured in many other documentaries and conversations about animal cruelty and living with compassion.

He had a widely seen discussion with Maneka Gandhi, a well-known animal rights figure in India. Before the 2023 Gadhimai festival, where lakhs of animals are slaughtered, he went to Bihar and met officials and media to support steps to reduce the killing of animals.

He has spoken at more than 200 universities and colleges, including premier institutions like IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, BITS, and the University of California. In these sessions, he frequently asks students to look at not just the environmental impact of their food and lifestyle choices, but also the effect that they have on their own inner conditioning.

His talks and videos about the dairy and meat industries, and practices that involve animal cruelty, have reached over 80 million of his online followers and counting.

In 2024, over 50,000 families chose to go vegetarian after engaging with his work. That shift helped save more than one million animals in that year itself.

HOW HE STANDS OUT

Acharya Prashant’s words come from deep Vedantic clarity. He doesn’t promote superficial causes or trends. He says that when we stop acting from habit or inner confusion, caring for animals comes naturally.

He explains that seeing animals as objects of consumption is often a result of strong body-centeredness. As that tendency loosens, our actions also become more compassionate on their own, without explicit effort.

He has often mentioned that spirituality is not just about some quiet time or ritualistic worship. It should be visible in our daily choices, too.

What we eat, what we support, and how we behave, these are all a part of it. One cannot claim to live in truth while turning away from the suffering of fellow beings.

He isn’t asking for small changes. He’s asking people to look at themselves honestly and make choices from that honest seeing.

Even after influencing millions of people towards more compassionate living via his talks and writings, he frequently shows up on ground if the situation so demands.

Before the Gadhimai event, he didn’t just speak, he travelled, met officials, and took concrete steps. All of this shows his deep sense of responsibility.

Animal harm is often accepted without much thought. It is seen as normal, often even traditional.

Acharya Prashant asks people to stop and question all pre-existing notions and traditions. He doesn’t ask them to follow anyone or oppose anything for the sake of it. He just asks them to understand.

Animals feel pain. That’s a fact. Ignoring that is avoiding truth. Through both inner clarity and outer effort, Acharya Prashant is helping more people see this. He’s not just talking, he’s helping change the way we think and live.

– Ends