Elevation To Krsna Consciousness

The quality of our consciousness can go up or down based on how we see the world and act in it. When we act like the eternal spiritual beings that we are – small parts of a supreme whole – makes us happy. But if we focus our attempts at happiness on the temporary body and mind – on matter – and make those our life's priority, our consciousness will shrink and we’ll be miserable. Spiritual elevation – raising our consciousness to higher levels – happens quickly when we revive our God consciousness. In this compact book, Srila Prabhupada recommends seeing the world as it is – a temporary place full of anxiety – and then taking the road to higher consciousness by rediscovering our relationship with the Supreme Person, Krishna. Anyone can become elevated; the journey begins with a single step up.

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.

What we call love in the material world is all too temporary, but in the kingdom of God the profound loving exchanges Lord Krishna enjoys with His dearest devotees are eternal. Bhakti-yoga teaches us how to enter into that realm of eternal love.

In this little jewel of a book, based on the Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhupada explains that the king of knowledge is knowledge of God, his creation, and ourselves -- and the relationships between these. He explains that the way to attain this knowledge is through bhakti-yoga, devotional service to the Lord, beginning with the chanting of the maha-mantra, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In February 1969 Srila Prabhupada gave a series of lectures on the yoga system as it is discussed in the sixth and eighth chapters of the Bhagavad-gita. The Path of Perfection is a collection of these talks. The perfect life - the life that achieves the goal of yoga - is dynamic and full of activity, Srila Prabhupada says. It connects us with the Supreme Spirit in straightforward, practical ways and resonates with truth. These absorbing talks show us how the Gita's timeless teachings can help us walk the path of perfection.

Srila Prabhupada declares, "We don't say that this scientific knowledge is useless. Mechanics, electronics – this is also knowledge. But the central point is atma-jnana – self-knowledge, knowledge of the soul." In these thirty-one essays, talks, and informal conversations, Srila Prabhupada reveals the central point of essential self-knowledge – a knowledge that makes all other knowledge and activities pale in comparison. Brighten your life with the light of self-knowledge and gain a world perspective usually reserved for ascetics and saints.