The book begins by describing Yogananda’s childhood family life to his search for his guru, Yukteswar Giri, to the establishment of his first school, Yogoda Satsanga Brahmacharya Vidyalaya to his journey to America where he lectured to thousands, established Self-Realization Fellowship and visited with Luther Burbank, a renowned botanist to whom this book is dedicated. Some of what you’ll read here is truly astounding and cannot be explained, but Yogananda writes with a conviction that rings with truth.The Autobiography of a Yogi takes the reader on a journey into the spiritual adventures of Paramahansa Yogananda. It has been a classic of spiritual literature for over half a century and I highly recommend it. I was moved by Yogananda’s story and the wisdom in this book. Those who reach this highest state of spiritual development merely let go of their physical body and remain in the spiritual realm. In kriya yoga, which Yogananda praticed, masters determine their own “death” (called maha samadhi). When he died in 1952, Yogananda’s body remained perfectly preserved for a number of days. Yogananda taught his version of yoga to many Westerners and founded an institute in California, the Self-Realization Fellowship that continues teaching his principles. The book paints a colorful picture of life in the early twentieth century. Yogananda also tells us of his meeting with Mahatma Ghandi, India’s simple leader who showed the world how moral courage alone could move mountains (or, in this case, move the British empire to finally give India its independence). Yogananda refers to Burbank as a saint because of his intimacy with plant life. He was close to Luther Burbank, the botonist who understood the nature of life. He was ever interested in “saints” of whatever religion. These saints somehow draw nourishment without the intake of food.
He also traveled far into the rural hinterlands of India where the residents had never seen a car and met with a lady who, like Neumann, did not need to eat. I enjoyed reading of his trip to Europe in which he traveled in an old Ford and met Therese Neumann, the Catholic saint who had the stigmata and who took no solid food. The book not only tells of the feats of these modest masters, it also chronicles the extraordinary events in Yogananda’s life. His devotion to his guru was total and his decision to leave India a difficult one, driven only by a desire to bring the benefits of yoga to those who knew nothing about it. In India, Yogananda witnessed some amazing sights, including materializations. The goal of a yogi is to reach samadhi, a state of union with the eternal. This type of yoga combines meditation with techniques to control the movement of life energy, moving energy and attention from outer distractions to inner concentration.
The yoga of Yogananda was not the type concerned with weird physical positions (that type is called hatha yoga), but rather the advanced spiritual type known as kriya yoga. Teaching Spiritual YogaĪ “yogi” is a person who practices yoga. His stories about his guru back in India who could bi-locate (be in two places at once), communicate psychically, and materialize objects makes for fascinating reading. He came to bring yoga to Westerners, to impart what he had learned through intensive spiritual study and the practice of yoga to the ignorant people of America.
He tells us in this fasccinating and entertaining book about his childhood and his trip on the boat to the US. Yogananda came from India to the US early in the twentieth century. I got this book from the library some years ago and it made such an impression on me that I remembered much of it and it continued to influence me until I finally bought a copy. This 1946 book has been in print for over 50 years!! Coming to America to Bring Yoga to the West
A spiritual classic by a master of kriya yoga whose words tell a story of “saints” who could bi-locate (be in two places at once) and communicate with their minds.