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ANCIENT WISDOM FOR MODERN LIVING

Queen Kunti, a tragic and heroic figure, emerges from an explosive era in the history of ancient India. She was a central figure in a complex political drama that led to a bloody fratricidal war for the Indian throne. Yet through all her sufferings she found an inner wisdom and strength that carried her people through the time of crisis.

Queen Kunti’s teachings are the simple and illuminating outpourings of the soul of a great and saintly woman, revealing the deepest philosophical and theological penetrations of the intellect.

Here the world’s most distinguished modern teacher of Vedic culture and philosophy, His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, presents the ‘Teachings of Queen Kunti’ with startling clarity and power.

The word “yoga” has varied connotations; to some it may evoke images of grim ascetics in far-off mountain caves, pushing the limits of human tolerance of austerity. To others, yoga is a household word, a label for some of the many forms of holistic exercise available on the market. Some are familiar with the practice of yoga but are only dimly aware of the philosophy behind its practice. Still more people have no idea what it means at all.

Until the late twentieth century, yoga was hardly discussed or practiced outside India, where—according to traditional wisdom—human beings have been practicing some form of yoga or another since before recorded history; before there were supposed to have been human beings at all.

When His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada began teaching the Bhagavad-gita to New York audiences in 1966, he saw the need to relieve his listeners of some popular misconceptions of yoga circulating at the time (which nevertheless continue to circulate). The point of yoga, he explained, is not to get a good body, increase longevity, or even to “become one” with the formless totality of all energy; there’s a lot more to it than that.

In the Bhagavad-gita—the central and foundational text of all Vedic wisdom—Krishna concisely explains the actual essence of yoga. There are varieties of yoga practice—intellectual, physical, devotional—but the ultimate goal of all yoga is one (an extremely lofty one); “union with God.” Krishna, speaking with the voice of authority as the Absolute Truth in person, gives His final opinion on the matter (Bg. 6.47): “And of all yogis, he who meditates on Me within himself and worships Me with devotion and faith is the highest of all.”

The Perfection of Yoga is an edited compilation of some of Srila Prabhupada’s earliest recorded talks on the Bhagavad-gita in New York City in 1966. Drawing upon his knowledge of not only the Gita but the whole Vedic tradition, he reminds us of some essential truths about ourselves that the human race has forgotten for a very, very long time. Such truths, when brought to bear in our daily lives, can invest our human experience with a degree of peace and purpose that is rarely even imagined. The Bhagavad-gita is the main source-book on yoga and a concise summary of India’s Vedic wisdom. Yet remarkably, the setting for this classic of spiritual literature is an ancient Indian battlefield. At the last moment, the great warrior Arjuna begins to wonder about the real meaning of his life. In the Bhagavadgita, Lord Krsna brings His disciple from perplexity to spiritual enlightenment. Bhagavad-gita As It Is is the largest-selling, most widely used edition of the Gita in the world.

The word “yoga” has varied connotations; to some it may evoke images of grim ascetics in far-off mountain caves, pushing the limits of human tolerance of austerity. To others, yoga is a household word, a label for some of the many forms of holistic exercise available on the market. Some are familiar with the practice of yoga but are only dimly aware of the philosophy behind its practice. Still more people have no idea what it means at all.

Until the late twentieth century, yoga was hardly discussed or practiced outside India, where—according to traditional wisdom—human beings have been practicing some form of yoga or another since before recorded history; before there were supposed to have been human beings at all.

When His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada began teaching the Bhagavad-gita to New York audiences in 1966, he saw the need to relieve his listeners of some popular misconceptions of yoga circulating at the time (which nevertheless continue to circulate). The point of yoga, he explained, is not to get a good body, increase longevity, or even to “become one” with the formless totality of all energy; there’s a lot more to it than that.

In the Bhagavad-gita—the central and foundational text of all Vedic wisdom—Krishna concisely explains the actual essence of yoga. There are varieties of yoga practice—intellectual, physical, devotional—but the ultimate goal of all yoga is one (an extremely lofty one); “union with God.” Krishna, speaking with the voice of authority as the Absolute Truth in person, gives His final opinion on the matter (Bg. 6.47): “And of all yogis, he who meditates on Me within himself and worships Me with devotion and faith is the highest of all.”

The Perfection of Yoga is an edited compilation of some of Srila Prabhupada’s earliest recorded talks on the Bhagavad-gita in New York City in 1966. Drawing upon his knowledge of not only the Gita but the whole Vedic tradition, he reminds us of some essential truths about ourselves that the human race has forgotten for a very, very long time. Such truths, when brought to bear in our daily lives, can invest our human experience with a degree of peace and purpose that is rarely even imagined. The Bhagavad-gita is the main source-book on yoga and a concise summary of India’s Vedic wisdom. Yet remarkably, the setting for this classic of spiritual literature is an ancient Indian battlefield. At the last moment, the great warrior Arjuna begins to wonder about the real meaning of his life. In the Bhagavadgita, Lord Krsna brings His disciple from perplexity to spiritual enlightenment. Bhagavad-gita As It Is is the largest-selling, most widely used edition of the Gita in the world.

Since birth and death deal with the essence of our being, it is a subject of the utmost relevance to everyone.
Our reincarnation after death is a predetermined fact until we choose to break the bondage. First we must become open to the possibilities of life outside our empirical understanding.
Harvard biophysicist D. P. Dupey writes, ?We may lead ourselves down a blind alley by adhering dogmatically to the assumption that life can be explained entirely by what we know of the laws of nature. By remaining open to the ideas embodied in the Vedic tradition of India, modern scientists can see their own disciplines from a new perspective and further the aim of all scientific endeavor: the search for truth.?
Coming Back gives common examples from the Vedas that point to the truth of reincarnation and how we can make progress toward releasing ourselves from coming back.

When law of karma acts on every individual and makes everyone responsible for the actions performed during one’s life, it also mysteriously determines ones destiny at the crucial moment called death. Near death experiences may have gained a lot of interest in the past few decades, but their intricate details and mysteries have been well documented in the ancient Vedic scriptures thousands of years ago. This amazing narrative by H.D.G. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is based on ancient Vedic scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita. The book will guide you to have a second chance, by employing techniques of Bhakti yoga to overcome the material obstacles of life, meet the challenges of death, and peacefully attain spiritual enlightenment.

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are not new phenomena; the Srimad-Bhagavatam, written thousands of years ago, recounts this NDE occurring in the much deeper past.

Ajamila, a young, religious student, is drawn astray to a life of debauchery and crime. At the appointed hour of his death, he witnesses an extremely unusual conversation between the agents of death and the agents of the Supreme Person, Vishnu. Ajamila receives a second chance to live, and his life is transformed forever.

During the winter of 1970-71, Srila Prabhupada was traveling in India with some of his Western disciples. They had heard him speak about Ajamila several times, and at their request he gave a systematic series of lectures on Ajamila’s history. This book includes the original Bhagavatam verses outlining Ajamila’s NDE, selections from Srila Prabhupada’s published commentary, and excerpts from transcriptions of his lectures during the ’70-71 India tour.