HDG AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Here Srila Prabhupada discusses the step-by-step process of reviving our original peaceful and happy condition, Krsna consciousness. He writes, “If we want to participate in the unlimited happiness, knowledge and eternal life which constitute our actual heritage in the spiritual world, we should not waste this life by working hard for sense gratification. We should accept a life devoted to the cultivation of Krsna consciousness, and then we will get unlimited happiness and unlimited pleasure. This is the sum and substance of the Krsna consciousness movement.”

Can one in modern times still lead a vedic way of life? Has the Vedas lost is importance in today’s fast paced life? Have you ever wondered “What is the real purpose of my life?” Does leading a spiritual life mean to be materially irresponsible? Get answers to many of such questions in these pages.

Our ?modern? educational system, is most defective because unless one knows what happens after death, one dies like an animal. An animal does not know that he is subject to death or that he is going to have another body. A living entity may have abundant supply of food for eating, or many nice buildings for sleeping, or good arrangements for sex life, or a good defense to protect him, but this does not mean that he is a human being. Since animals are also interested in these functions, human life is no different if he/she does not go beyond them. The distinction occurs when the human being becomes inquisitive and asks ‘Why have I been put into this miserable condition? Is there any remedy for it? Is there perpetual eternal life? I do not want to suffer but live happily and peacefully. Is there a chance to experience eternal happiness? What is the method or science by which this can be achieved?’ The answers to these questions are to be found in this book.

Every one of us might have read hundreds of books on philosophy and still would have barely known its meaning or landed ourselves in doubt. There may be others who are yet to start on their journey of knowing philosophy but never know how to take their first step? Be it newbies or veterans seeking for the conclusive answers, very few books have ultimate answers to ultimate questions that have engrossed great philosophers from Freud to Jung, Marx to Socrates and Kierkegaard to Darwin. Beyond illusion and doubt is such a masterpiece by H.D.G A. C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada that puts all the thoughts of 15 such philosophers in the light of Vedic literature. If one is interested in Self realization, spiritual development, analytical thinking, positive outlook, or leadership then this book is a must read. It comprehensively compares the Vedic view alongside the western views and outlines the process of bhakti yoga by which one can transcend the material nescience and attain spiritual perfection.

Every one of us might have read hundreds of books on philosophy and still would have barely known its meaning or landed ourselves in doubt. There may be others who are yet to start on their journey of knowing philosophy but never know how to take their first step? Be it newbies or veterans seeking for the conclusive answers, very few books have ultimate answers to ultimate questions that have engrossed great philosophers from Freud to Jung, Marx to Socrates and Kierkegaard to Darwin. Beyond illusion and doubt is such a masterpiece by H.D.G A. C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada that puts all the thoughts of 15 such philosophers in the light of Vedic literature. If one is interested in Self realization, spiritual development, analytical thinking, positive outlook, or leadership then this book is a must read. It comprehensively compares the Vedic view alongside the western views and outlines the process of bhakti yoga by which one can transcend the material nescience and attain spiritual perfection.

Every one of us might have read hundreds of books on philosophy and still would have barely known its meaning or landed ourselves in doubt. There may be others who are yet to start on their journey of knowing philosophy but never know how to take their first step? Be it newbies or veterans seeking for the conclusive answers, very few books have ultimate answers to ultimate questions that have engrossed great philosophers from Freud to Jung, Marx to Socrates and Kierkegaard to Darwin. Beyond illusion and doubt is such a masterpiece by H.D.G A. C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada that puts all the thoughts of 15 such philosophers in the light of Vedic literature. If one is interested in Self realization, spiritual development, analytical thinking, positive outlook, or leadership then this book is a must read. It comprehensively compares the Vedic view alongside the western views and outlines the process of bhakti yoga by which one can transcend the material nescience and attain spiritual perfection.

For thousands of years, people on a spiritual quest have consulted the intensely philosophical Upanishads. As the name implies (upa-near; ni-down; shad-to sit), one is advised to sit near a spiritual teacher to learn. Upanishad means “the supreme controller. the knowledge that brings one nearer to the Supreme Person, Krsna” This translation and commentary are guided by scholarship, and devotion in spirituality, in the ligne of the greatest Gaudiya Vaishnavas such as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Maharaja, the spiritual master of the author, which is directly descending from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The translation and commentary of Srila Prabhupada strictly adheres to the book’s intention, assuring you of a legitimate understanding of the depths of Upanishadic knowledge.
Sri Isopanishad is one of the first books Srila Prabhupada published in the course of establishing the Hare Krishna movement in the Western world. Its eighteen mantras—Vedic hymns—are meant to focus the mind in meditation on the Supreme Person, Krishna. The 108 Upanishads are considered the essence of all the Vedas, and Ishopanishad is foremost among them. Discover the distilled essence of all knowledge in these eighteen enlightening verses.For thousands of years, people on a spiritual quest have consulted the mystical, intensely philosophical Upanishads. As the name implies (upa—near; ni—down; shad—to sit), one is advised to sit near a spiritual teacher to learn. To learn what? This Upanishad’s name gives the clue: Isha means “the supreme controller.” Let us sit near the spiritual guide to learn about the supreme controller: God. The process is simple, provided one learns from an authentic guide. The translation and commentary of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada strictly adheres to the book’s intention, assuring you of a legitimate understanding of the depths of Upanishadic knowledge.

Sri Isopanishad’s mantras direct our attention toward how the Supreme Person is the complete whole of existence, and that all manifestations emanating from Him—including our bodies and the world we inhabit—are also complete in and of themselves. The Isa—”supreme controller”—for whom Isopanishad is named, is poetically described as being simultaneously far away and near, walking and not walking, within and outside of everything.

In the book’s Introduction—adapted from a lecture Srila Prabhupada gave in London in 1968—he explains how the Vedas’ teachings are perfect; Vedic sound is not of this world, not created by man, and thus not subject to human frailty and imperfection. Isopanishad is one of the principal Upanishads in Vedic literature that present the ultimate philosophical conclusions of all scripture.

Srila Prabhupada composed Sri Isopanishad with the same scholarly standards as his Bhagavad-gita As It Is and Srimad-Bhagavatam, providing the original Sanskrit verse, its English transliteration, word-for-word Sanskrit-English equivalents, translations and purports. In his words, “This makes the book very authentic and scholarly and makes the meaning self-evident.”