Book excerpt: 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. 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. 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.