Lord Kapila is a renowned sage and the author of the philosophical system known as Sankhya, which forms an important part of India’s ancient philosophical heritage. Kapila Muni, a renowned sage of antiquity, is the author of the philosophical system known as S??khya, which forms an important part of India?s ancient philosophical heritage. S??khya is both a system of metaphysics, dealing with the elemental principles of the physical universe, and a system of spiritual knowledge, with its own methodology, culminating in full consciousness of the Supreme Absolute. Kapila, however, is not an ordinary philosopher or sage. According to Vedic tradition, the tradition of India?s ancient scriptural literature, He Himself is an avatar (incarnation) of the Supreme Absolute Truth.
Kapila?s teachings are originally inscribed in the ?r?mad-Bh?gavatam, or Bh?gavata Pur??a, one of the most important scriptural documents of Vedic theism. Within the Bh?gavatam, Kapila?s teachings comprise Chapters Twenty-five through Thirty-three of the Third Canto. This book, Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devah?ti, is based on a unique series of lectures presented in Bombay, India, in the spring of this series, ?r?la Prabhup?da spoke from the Twenty-fifth Chapter, which contains the beginning of Lord Kapila?s teachings. ?r?la Prabhup?da is the author of a celebrated multivolume translation and commentary on the entire text of the Bh?gavatam, and at the time of the Kapila lectures he had already completed his written commentary on the section of the Bh?gavatam dealing with Kapiladeva?s teachings.
Sankhya is a system of metaphysics that deals with the elemental principles of the universe; it is also a system of spiritual knowledge, with its own methodology, and culminates in full consciousness of the Supreme Absolute. Lord Kapila, however, is not an ordinary philosopher or sage but an incarnation of God.
This book deals with his answers to his mother’s enquiry about how to overcome ignorance and delusion and attain spiritual enlightenment. In these special lectures, however, ?r?la Prabhup?da went into significantly greater detail in elucidating the verses and shed an even broader light upon these fascinating teachings.
The underlying theme running throughout his answers and throughout Srila Prabhupada’s commentaries on them is that one can achieve this goal by practicing bhakti-yoga, the process of linking one’s heart to the Lord’s heart through loving devotional service.
This series, with original Sanskrit, translations, and purports, sheds light on such topics as the significance of the guru, the psychology of consciousness, the characteristics of a self-realized person, the science of meditation, the nature of transcendental knowledge, and the process of ultimate liberation.