“Seldom make fun about the future of any person; irrespective of present condition. Never underestimate the power of time; it turns even a worthless coal into a priceless diamond. ” “Speak the truth in such a way that it should be fair. Never speak that assumed truth, unfairly. Never speak untruth, even though it might be pleasant. This is the path of perennial Dharma.” “One must never place excessive faith on one’s Dhana (Wealth), Jana (People) and Yauvana (Youthfulness) for these three are the most transient in our lives – there today, gone tomorrow.” “Pursuing happiness is but the nature of every creature. But there is no happiness without Dharma. Therefore, pursue Dharma.” "Wealth cannot give happiness by itself. One has to understand that it is always a means, never an end. By recognizing wealth as an end, it becomes a source of misery. Wealth is temporary and unsteady. It moves from one to another. Greed drives people without knowledge of wealth to destruction. Therefore, knowledge and wisdom are crucial in earning, retaining and dissipating wealth, righteously." Kautilya a.k.a. Chanakya

In this book Mahesh Prabhu presents Vedic stories in their core essence, relaying and focusing their deeper meaning, not interfering with it or reducing it to alien and superficial concepts. His stories are short, poignant, and diverse, with multiple levels of meaning, like parables, conundrums, paradoxes and axioms (sutras). He has drawn these stories from many traditional sources in Sanskrit literature and reworked them in a concise and invocative manner. They feature the names and stories of famous sages, kings, places and the peoples of old India. Such exalted figures as King Bhartrihari or the Vedantic sage Ashtavakra visit these pages and come to life again through them.

Management is crucial - not just for individuals in leadership positions, but for anyone with responsibilities. Managing is about utilizing limited available resources to create value, generate wealth and achieve viable prosperity. While there is no shortage of appealing and entertaining definitions on the subject matter; the knowledge and approach to achieve these objectives are limited. The oldest works on management and leadership – Arthashastra and Artha Sutras - were written by the Vedic Rishis (sages) over thousands of years. These Rishis even offered Pro Bono services to the Kings; as their Rajaguru (Royal Mentors.) Some of these Rajagurus even helped to build some of the most powerful and prosperous empires of their times. Their teachings on management, leadership, and wealth creation are not driven by ephemeral processes; but by helping individuals to achieve and retain a clam mind to identify challenges, create credible strategies to achieve daunting objectives. In this book U. Mahesh Prabhu, a seasoned international media, management, and political consultant, presents as to how by knowing, understanding, and realizing, these timeless yet time-tested Vedic teachings modern individuals and leaders can achieve greater clarity, create fine opportunities, even amid great uncertainties, and attain sustainable prosperity.

Around two thousand years ago there was a person of great intellect, influence, and motivation. We don’t know much about his personal life, although there are many extraordinary legends about him. He was neither a warrior nor a ruler, nor a priest. He was a wise sage – a rishi - who rewrote two Vedic treatises, namely: Arthashastra and Artha Sutras. His name was Kautilya (a.k.a. Chanakya a.k.a. Vishnu Gupta a.k.a. Vishnu Sharma.) Kautilya’s Arthashastra contains many vital principles of management, governance, and polity that can be used with high efficacy to the present day. They can provide keys to solving a great many problems threatening our new high-tech world order by nurturing responsible and effective leadership. Although there are several translations of Kautilya’s Arthashastra, most of its in-depth knowledge and wisdom is neither properly understood nor utilized for various reasons. Also, much of its secrets remain hidden. Presenting his time-tested knowledge and wisdom with incisive insight for contemporary leadership, politics and diplomacy is the prime objective of this book series Kautilya: Understanding the Colossal Genius.