viii THE PATH OF PERFECTION fatroduction ix
| century mankind. Srila Prabhupdda’s talks probe questions This, perhaps, was Srila Prabhupada’s greatest contribution to
concerning the nature of consciousness, techniques of medita- Our age. Srila Prabhupada was an acknowledged master scholar of
| tion, Aarma, death, reincarnation, and even spiritual ecstasy. India’s ancient spiritual culture and of its linguistic foundation,
| The Bhagavad-gita, described by one contemporary psychologist the Sanskrit language. But he was not merely a textual scholar or a
as ‘‘a remarkable psychotherapeutic session,”’ appears to us in the philosopher or theologian engaged in the manufacture of interest-
form of an extraordinary dialogue between Lord Krsna, the ~ Ing philosophical or theological notions. He was a true spiritual

Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His warrior disciple Arjuna. ‘ genius who succeeded in bringing to life the essence of India’s

Perplexed and confused about his identity and purpose, Arjuna universal spiritual wisdom in a form which is easy for twentieth

turns to Krsna, who reveals “‘the path of perfection”’ to His able Century man to understand and practice. This was the unique

student. The essence of Lord Krsna’s teachings is that one must genius which inspired the late prime minister of India, Sri Lal
| become a yogi, that is, one whose life is centered on the practice of Bahadur Shastri, to declare openly that the writings of Srila
yoga. And what is yoga? The Sanskrit word yoga literally means Prabhupada ‘‘are a significant contribution to the salvation of
| ““union,”” and refers to the union, in love, between the individual Mankind.” The transforming quality of Srila Prabhupada’s writ-
consciousness and the Supreme Consciousness, the self and Ings was also appreciated by sociologist Elwin H. Powell, who
the Superself, the soul and God. Yoga is, indeed, ‘‘the path of commented on Srila Prabhudda’s best-selling edition of the
| perfection,’’ because it aims toward this most exalted human Bhagavad-gitd: ‘This transcendental mysticism from the East is
| attainment. flow takingrootin the ‘countercultures’ of the West and providing
| In the Bhagavad-gita, we discover four basic varieties of yoga for many a way out of the wilderness of a disintegrating civiliza-
described. Karma-yoga refers to the process whereby one per- Hen ... If truth is what works, there must bea kind of truth in the
| forms his work for God, without the selfish desire for personal | agavad-gita As It Is, since those who follow its teachings display
| gain. JAidna-yaga is the process of elevation to spiritual conscious- a joyous serenity usually missing in the bleak and strident lives of
| ness through the cultivation of philosophical knowledge. The contemporary people.”
| _ astdanga-yoga system, of which the modern ‘‘hatha-yoga’’ is a
watered-down version, is a mechanical, meditative practice meant —The Publishers
to control the mind and senses and focus one’s concentration on
H the Supreme. These three yoga systems culminate in bhakti-yoga,
the yoga of selfless, ecstatic, devotional love of God, Krsna. Lord .
| Krsna Himself states in the last verse of Chapter Six, ‘‘Of all yogis,
he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in
transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me
in yoga and is the highest of all.””
In The Path of Perfection, Srila Prabhupada offers a brilliant
| summary of the methods of bihakti-yoga, revealing the universal .
| applicability of this simple but all-inclusive form of yoga. He

shows how even those who are entangled in the complexity and
| chaos of modern materialistic life can begin an uncomplicated

practice which purifies the mind and puts one in touch with the
| Supreme Consciousness.
| ~
