First published 2000
Paramahansa Yogananda tells the story of his spiritual development across two continents. Born in India, he describes his unusual childhood experiences and his quest to find an enlightened guru. After years of searching, he discovers his teacher and spends a decade training in traditional yoga practices at a remote hermitage. Yogananda then travels to America, where he lives and teaches for thirty years, introducing Eastern meditation and yoga philosophy to Western audiences. Throughout his narrative, he recounts personal meetings with notable figures including Mahatma Gandhi, poet Rabindranath Tagore, and botanist Luther Burbank. The author explains the principles behind both everyday occurrences and extraordinary phenomena that others might call miraculous. His personal journey serves as a framework for exploring meditation practices and yogic science, making ancient spiritual traditions accessible to modern readers.
Genres: 20th-century, autobiography, religion, non-fiction, biography-memoir, spirituality, eastern-philosophy, inspirational
Vibes: intimate, spiritual, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-journey, spiritual-awakening
Setting: India, America
Period: 20th-century
503 pages · Paperback · Self-Realization Fellowship