About the Book :
The value of Yogananda's AUTOBIOGRAPHY is greatly enhanced by the fact that it is one of the few books in English about the wise men of India which has been written, not by a journalist or foreigner, but by one of their own race and training--in short, a book ABOUT yogis BY a yogi. Translated to 18 languages circulated all over US and INDIA.
About the author :
Paramahansa Yogananda was born Mukunda Lal Ghosh on January 5, 1893, in Gorakhpur, India, into a devout and well-to-do Bengali family. On March 7, 1952, Paramahansa Yogananda entered mahasamadhi, a God-illumined master's conscious exit from the body at the time of physical death. His passing was marked by an extraordinary phenomenon. A notarized statement signed by the Director of Forest Lawn Memorial-Park testifies: "No physical disintegration was visible in his body even twenty days after death....This state of perfect preservation of a body is, so far as we know from mortuary annals, an unparalleled one....Yogananda's body was apparently in a phenomenal state of immutability.
My learning :
I was trying to find friends with spiritual interests in US and happened to get this book as a gift from one such friend to whom this book was life changing; yes! I am talking about people, devotees of the author, who follow methods laid out in this book in day to day life without fail. How can a book change someones life? This very fact had motivated me to read it, it is the only book which I read at a stretch and completed in 2 nights, in my life. It is very gripping as it is narrated in a short story style laid out in a sequence of occurrences in the life of Yoganandha. It will not be difficult for you to relate to these stories, as at some point of time we might have come across such situations or thoughts, without anything to do with spirituality or religion. It is Beautifully put in a thought provoking way, with a solution that is time tested method to give answers to many unanswered questions in the universe. Controversial enough to people who can't believe in one universal source of energy which is the reason behind every existence. As said by many great ones - do it to know it and believe it with your experience not because somebody asked you to, in other words self realization and the answer lies within you.
My opinion:
If you are someone who kind of are looking for answers to following -
* How did this universe started?
* I want to know who is god and what is this hype about nirvana?
* What do yogis do sitting all day long doing nothing and for what?
* Cycle of births, incarnations after incarnations, how to break the chain, get rid of suffering?
Definitely you will read this book one way or the other, I don't know how it came to me, in the same way it will it come to anyone who is seriously looking for such answers. As they say when you want something from the heart, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it. I cant stop talking this way as I didn't read this book to be a critic, I read this book as I thought it contained an answer I was seeking.
A Video that kind of speaks about experiences with yogis :
http://www.yogananda-srf.org/py-life/index.html
Further links :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MLIF1iUzg4
Reviewed by: Neelima Jonnalagadda
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