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Lord Kapila is a renowned sage and the author of the philosophical system known as Sankhya, which forms an important part of India’s ancient philosophical heritage.

Sankhya is a system of metaphysics that deals with the elemental principles of the universe; it is also a system of spiritual knowledge, with its own methodology, and culminates in full consciousness of the Supreme Absolute.

Lord Kapila, however, is not an ordinary philosopher or sage but an incarnation of God.

This book deals with his answers to his mother’s enquiry about how to overcome ignorance and delusion and attain spiritual enlightenment.

The underlying theme running throughout his answers and throughout Srila Prabhupada’s commentaries on them is that one can achieve this goal by practicing bhakti-yoga, the process of linking one’s heart to the Lord’s heart through loving devotional service.

This series, with original Sanskrit, translations, and purports, sheds light on such topics as the significance of the guru, the psychology of consciousness, the characteristics of a self-realized person, the science of meditation, the nature of transcendental knowledge, and the process of ultimate liberation.

Although there are many types of yoga practice, the Vedic literature explains that no matter which practice you choose, success is only achieved when bhakti is present.
What is bhakti-yoga, and how can you add it to your life or your current yoga practice? As bhakti is a pivotal element in any yogic or religious practice, it is known as the topmost yoga. In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna explains bhakti-yoga to his dear friend Arjuna, and here Srila Prabhupada expands these concepts in this introductory text. On July 29, 1971, Srila Prabhupada spoke at the University of Florida in Gainesville on the meaning and goal of yoga. The lecture was transcribed, edited, and later published as Krishna Consciousness, the Topmost Yoga System.

The Sanskrit word yoga, he told the students, originally meant much more than physical exercise; it referred to a lifestyle focused on achieving direct experience of God. Practitioners would live far away from mainstream society, restrain their senses, and perform austere meditation with the aim of transcending the physical body entirely.

Such a lifestyle isn’t so practical now; very few people these days are prepared to live a secluded, austere, or sense-controlled life. But anyone can still attain yoga’s ultimate goal via the practical, effective method of Krishna consciousness, bhakti-yoga, the system of devotional service to the Supreme Person.

In bhakti, the mind and senses are fully engaged in spiritual activity, rather than controlled by rigorous gymnastics. Every aspect of our lives—working, playing, walking, talking, thinking, feeling, willing—can be yoga, when done in the right consciousness. Sweat, spandex, and expensive mats are optional.