I was first introduced to Autobiography of a Yogi in 2003. Although I found it interesting and inspirational, I was drawn to other distractions at that time, focusing more on Native American ceremonies and hiding behind the aprons of others. Most of my time, money and energy was spent avoiding stepping into my own power.
Eighteen years later, much more solid on my awakening journey, Jesus continued to play a prominent role in my life and as a member of my SoulCleanse healing work. Although the teachings in the Bible are solid, Jesus walked the earth 2,000 years ago. I began praying for a more modern teacher of Truth for advice on making decisions and counseling my clients. For three days, thoughts and images of Paramahansa Yogananda plagued my mind.
I decided to purchase his autobiography. When it arrived, I felt Guided to read it three times, back-to-back, without taking any notes. The focus was to absorb the information and compare it to my current beliefs. I was happy to find that Yogananda’s teachings are quite similar to those of Jesus. There is a lot of conjecture that in Jesus’ “missing years” he studied with yogis in India. Although many Christians would consider this blasphemous, it would not surprise me.
“Autobiography of a Yogi is at once a beautifully written account of an exceptional life and a profound introduction to the ancient science of Yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. Profoundly inspiring, it is at the same time vastly entertaining, warmly humorous and filled with extraordinary personages.
With engaging candor, eloquence, and wit, Paramahansa Yogananda tells the inspiring chronicle of his life: the experiences of his remarkable childhood, encounters with many saints and sages during his youthful search throughout India for an illumined teacher, ten years of training in the hermitage of a revered yoga master, and the thirty years that he lived and taught in America.
The author clearly explains the subtle but definite laws behind both the ordinary events of everyday life and the extraordinary events commonly termed miracles. His absorbing life story becomes the background for a penetrating and unforgettable look at the ultimate mysteries of human existence.
Selected as “One of the 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century”, Autobiography of a Yogi has been translated into more than 50 languages, and is regarded worldwide as a classic of religious literature. Several million copies have been sold, and it continues to appear on best-seller lists after more than sixty consecutive years in print.”
If you plan to purchase this book, considering ordering at this link.
https://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/
Self-Realization Fellowship’s editions, and none others, include extensive material added by the author after the first edition was published, including a final chapter on the closing years of his life.