Long ago, in an age we know about only from the epics of ancient India , the great sage Kapila made His appearance on earth - from the womb of the saintly Devahuti. When her husband left home to seek spiritual perfection in the forest, Devahuti implored her divine son Kapila to lead her to enlightenment. Lord Kapila then showed her the way of Sankhya - the analytical pathway to a higher understanding of the world, the self, and the ultimate source of everything.

Here the world's most distinguished teacher of Vedic philosophy and religion shows us just how relevant Lord Kapila's ancient teachings are to us today. Through the way of Sankhya, as explained in this book, we learn about the qualities of the spiritual master, the science of meditation, the psychology of consciousness, the symptoms of the self-realized person, the secret of transcendental knowledge, and the attainment of supreme liberation.

Prahlada Maharaja, a five-year-old boy, had to undergo a great deal of suffering at the hands of his father, Hiranyakashipu, a demon who was torturing him for being a devotee. The boy was trampled by elephants, thrown from a mountain, placed in boiling oil and thrown into a snake pit, yet he was silent during this whole ordeal.

Prahlada Maharaja said: "My Lord, I am not suffering, for I know the art of being happy." How is this? "Simply by hearing about You and chanting about You I am happy." This is the business of a devotee - hearing and chanting about the Lord. This is sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam.