210 - Most Exploited Commodity of 21st Century (“Path of Perfection” Introduction)

When we see a book with a title like The Path of Perfection, we may react with a bit of common skepticism: “Oh, another book claiming to give all the answers. One more do-it-yourself enlightenment scheme.” And certainly it seems that such skepticism is justified nowadays. Our natural desire for ultimate meaning, happiness, enlightenment, liberation, and salvation has become the most exploited commodity of the twenty-first century, creating what one contemporary theologian termed a disastrous “seduction of the spirit.” This seduction is, indeed, the most tragic kind of exploitation. And the unfortunate consequence of this exploitation is a kind of deadening cynicism that discourages our search for self-fulfillment and a means to attain it. The contemporary, thoughtful reader, weary of the current flood of speculative, simplistic books offering instant formulas for psychological or spiritual salvation, will find The Path of Perfection a welcome relief. Herein one will find a clear, intriguing explanation of the philosophy and practice of mankind’s oldest system of spiritual development – yoga. When we hear the word yoga, we may think of one of the myriad yoga studios throughout the country, filled with people of all ages struggling to stretch their bodies in various ways to improve their health, lose weight, or increase their agility. This is not what we mean by yoga. Here we are referring to an ancient philosophy and meditational system that has been practiced by millions throughout the ages. What has, in modern times, been reduced to a commercially exploited technique of bodily agility and unfocused meditation was once a comprehensive and easily applied form of self-realization. The Path of Perfection consists of a historic series of talks – elaborations on a previously published commentary – by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda (1896–1977) on India’s greatest spiritual classic, the Bhagavad-gītā. In these absorbing talks, Śrīla Prabhupāda explores deeply the philosophy of yoga as explained in the sixth and eighth chapters of the Gītā, showing clearly how these timeless teachings apply to twenty-first-century mankind. Śrīla Prabhupāda’s talks probe questions concerning the nature of consciousness, techniques of meditation, karma, death, reincarnation, and even spiritual ecstasy. The Bhagavad-gītā, described by one contemporary psychologist as “a remarkable psychotherapeutic session,” appears to us in the form of an extraordinary dialogue between the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa and His warrior disciple Arjuna. Perplexed and confused about his identity and purpose, Arjuna turns to Kṛṣṇa, who reveals “the path of perfection” to His able student. The essence of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s teachings is that one must become a yogi, that is, one whose life is centered on the practice of yoga. And what is yoga? The Sanskrit word yoga literally means “union” and refers to the union, in love, between the individual consciousness and the Supreme Consciousness, the self and the Superself, the soul and God. Yoga is, indeed, “the path of perfection” because it aims toward this most exalted human attainment. | read with us: biglink.to/pathofperfection