Page 17 - Sri Canakya Niti

FOREWORD BY BHAKTI VIKĀSA SWAMI

I first met Patita Pāvana Prabhu in 1975, at the intergalactically famous
temple of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Londonīśvara. I was a raw recruit; he, a grand
old veteran of seven years. He found in me a ready audience for his
large repertoire of stories about Śrīla Prabhupāda and about India, and
for his many takedowns of Māyāvāda that he had imbibed from Śrīla
Prabhupāda and that he willingly imparted to me. As ordained by fate,
our ways soon parted, until about two years ago when we again met
(on the internet—where else?). We found ourselves to be still united
on the eternal platform of service to Śrīla Prabhupāda and his mission.
In the interim, we had both written and published books. Some thirty
years before, I had read the English edition of Śrī Cāṇakya-nīti which
he had produced, and when I learned that he was planning to issue an
expanded version, I suggested that he have it edited by my capable
disciple Kiśora Dāsa. After Kiśora’s work, I further reviewed it, and

the final result is what you now hold in your hands.
Cāṇakya was both an accomplished scholar and a practical man
of this world. While offering realistic directions for navigating the
complexities of life, he yet surpasses the sound advice offered in
the many wisdom traditions of the world. Due to his being fi rmly
grounded in Vedic culture, Cāṇakya’s realism extends beyond the blip
of our present temporary situation and points us toward our eternal
spiritual existence, clear knowledge of which is the distinguishing
feature of Vedic culture. Unlike his Artha-śāstra, which is advice

specifically meant for rulers, Cāṇakya’s Nīti-śāstra is more suitable
for those brāhmaṇas like himself whose aim is to instruct the rulers
of society. Thus Śrī Cāṇakya-nīti is most appropriate for ISKCON
brāhmaṇas, for whom Śrīla Prabhupāda envisaged such a role.
Although Cāṇakya was not a Vaiṣṇava, his guidelines can be valuable

for Vaiṣṇavas, as ratified in their having been often quoted by no

xv