Autobiography of a Yogi

Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox book

Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda is a spiritual classic published in 1946. It recounts Yogananda's life, his search for his guru, and his teachings on Kriya Yoga. The book has introduced many to meditation and yoga and has been influential in both Eastern and Western spiritual circles. It has been translated into over fifty languages and continues to be widely read. Notable admirers include Steve Jobs, George Harrison, and Elvis Presley.

Paramahansa Yogananda was born as Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Gorakhpur, India, into a Bengali Hindu family.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Autobiography of a Yogi recounts his life and his encounters with spiritual figures of the Eastern and the Western world. The book begins with his childhood and family life, then finding his guru, becoming a monk and establishing his teachings of Kriya Yoga meditation. The book continues in 1920 when Yogananda accepted an invitation to speak at a religious congress in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He then travelled across the USA lecturing and establishing his teachings in Los Angeles, California. In 1935, he returned to India for a yearlong visit. When he returned to the USA he continued to establish his teachings, including writing this book.

The book is an introduction to the methods of attaining God-realization and the spiritual wisdom of the East, which had only been available to a few before 1946. The author claims that the writing of the book was prophesied by the nineteenth-century master Lahiri Mahasaya (Paramguru of Yogananda).

The book has been in print for seventy-five years and translated into over fifty languages by the Self-Realization Fellowship,<ref name="Y.org">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a spiritual society established by Yogananda. It has been acclaimed as a spiritual classic, being designated by Philip Zaleski, while he was under the auspices of HarperCollins Publishers, as one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century."<ref name="librarything.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="AbeBooks.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Spirituality & Practice">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is included in the book 50 Spiritual Classics: Timeless Wisdom from 50 Great Books of Inner Discovery, Enlightenment and Purpose by Tom Butler-Bowdon.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to Project Gutenberg, the first edition is in the public domain, <ref name=gutenberg>Template:Cite book (see "Bibrec" tab)</ref> at least five publishers are reprinting it and four post it free for online reading.

OverviewEdit

File:SRF ashram on the point at Swamis.JPG

Looking north along Swami's beach in Encinitas, showing part of the Self Realization Fellowship's ashram on the point, including (on the left) the hermitage where Yogananda wrote Autobiography of a Yogi

Autobiography of a Yogi examines the life and spiritual development of Paramahansa Yogananda. The book describes Yogananda's childhood family life, his search for his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri,<ref>Chapter 10 – I Meet my Master, Sri Yukteswar</ref> the establishment of his first school, Yogoda Satsanga Brahmacharya Vidyalaya,<ref>Chapter 27 – Founding of a Yoga School at Ranchi</ref> and his journey to America where he lectured to thousands,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> established Self-Realization Fellowship<ref>Chapter 37 - I Go to America</ref> and visited Luther Burbank,<ref>Chapter 38 – Luther Burbank, A Saint Amidst the Roses</ref> a renowned botanist to whom the book is dedicated. The book then describes Yogananda's return visit to India in 1935, where he encountered leading spiritual figures such as Therese Neumann<ref>Chapter 39 – The Catholic Stigmatist of Bavaria</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> in Bavaria, the Hindu saint Ananda Moyi Ma,<ref>Chapter 45 – The Bengali "Joy-Permeated Mother"</ref> Mahatma Gandhi,<ref>Chapter 44 – With Mahatma Gandhi at Wardha</ref> Rabindranath Tagore,<ref>Chapter 29 – Rabindranath Tagore and I Compare Schools</ref> Nobel Prize-winning physicist Sir C. V. Raman,<ref>Chapter 41 - An Idyl in South India</ref> and Giri Bala, "the woman yogi who never eats."<ref>Chapter 46 - Giri Bala - The woman Yogi Who Never Eats</ref> Finally, Yogananda describes his return to the West, where he continued to establish his teachings in America, including the writing of the Autobiography.

The preface was written by anthropologist Walter Evans-Wentz, a writer who was a pioneer in the study of Tibetan Buddhism in the west, most notably through his translations of The Tibetan Book of the Dead and Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa. In the preface he wrote, "His unusual life-document is certainly one of the most revealing of the depths of the Hindu mind and heart, and of the spiritual wealth of India, ever to be published in the West."<ref>Evans-Wentz, W. Y. Preface</ref>

Yukteswar Giri, Yogananda's guru, told him about a significant prediction made by Lahiri Mahasaya, Yukteswar's guru.<ref>Chapter 32 – Rama is Raised from the Dead</ref> Yukteswar heard him say, "About fifty years after my passing," he said, "my life will be written because of a deep interest in yoga which the West will manifest. The yogic message will encircle the globe, and aid in establishing that brotherhood of man which results from direct perception of the One Father." In 1945, fifty years after Lahiri Mahasaya's passing in 1895, the Autobiography was complete and ready for publication.

InfluenceEdit

File:Yoganandacongress.JPG

A 1920 photograph published in Autobiography of a Yogi, showing Yogananda attending a religious congress upon his arrival in the United States

In 1999, Autobiography of a Yogi was designated one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century" by a panel of theologians and luminaries convened by HarperCollins publishers.<ref name="librarything.com" /> According to Philip Goldberg, who wrote American Veda, "... the Self-Realization Fellowship, which represents Yogananda's Legacy, is justified in using the slogan, 'The Book that Changed the Lives of Millions.' It has sold more than four million copies and counting ..."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Autobiography of a Yogi is the most popular of Yogananda's books and SRF has published the book in over fifty languages.<ref name="translate">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Autobiography of a Yogi has introduced meditation and yoga to many Westerners since its publication.<ref>Bowden, Henry Warner (1993). Dictionary of American Religious Biography. Greenwood Press. Template:ISBN. p. 629.</ref> Its success has also made Yogananda a distinguished figure in India, where commemorative stamps were issued in 2017 to honor him.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The book has many famous advocates, particularly in the business and entertainment communities. One of the most famous advocates of the book was Steve Jobs, the co-founder, and formerly chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. Jobs "first read Autobiography of a Yogi as a teenager, then re-read [the book] ... once a year ever since."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com, told his story of attending Steve Jobs' memorial service, where the attendees were handed a small brown box on their way out. "This is going to be good," he thought. "I knew that this was a decision he made, and whatever it was, it was the last thing he wanted us all to think about." The box contained a copy of the book.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

George Harrison, lead guitarist of the Beatles, received his first copy of Autobiography of a Yogi from Ravi Shankar in 1966 and, according to Shankar, "that was where his (George Harrison's) interest in Vedic culture and Indian-ness began."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gary Wright, who wrote the song Dream Weaver, wrote: "In 1972, my friend George Harrison invited me to accompany him on a trip to India. A few days before we left, he gave me a copy of the book Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. Needless to say the book inspired me deeply, and I became totally fascinated with Indian culture and philosophy. My trip was an experience I will never forget."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Elvis Presley was introduced to Autobiography of a Yogi in 1965 by his hair dresser-turned-guru, Larry Geller.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Elvis continued to study the book throughout the 1970s. He left a copy of the book behind in a Nashville hotel room on 21 January 1977. Later on this book was auctioned off with a letter of authenticity<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The actress Mariel Hemingway says that she was introduced to the Autobiography of a Yogi by Peter Evans, a direct disciple of Yogananda. She was "mesmerized by the Autobiography of a Yogi and loved the whole great Hindu tradition of spiritual seeking ..."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The actor Dennis Weaver gave a copy of the book to Linda Evans, saying that it had changed his life. Evans says that, "Because of Dennis, I took the first step in what would become a life long spiritual journey."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Andrew Weil, director of the program in integrative medicine at University of Arizona, wrote the book Eating Well for Optimum Health. He mentioned reading the Autobiography of a Yogi, which he said, "awakened in me an interest in yoga and Indian religious philosophies." He continued, "It is filled with wondrous tales from an exotic land, none more amazing than that of Giri Bala, 'a woman yogi who never eats.'"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The work has also attracted less favourable comments. Srinivas Aravamudan has described its contents as "miracle-infested territory" whose "single most memorable feature ... is a repetitive insistence on collocating the miraculous and the quotidian. ... The autobiography is an eclectic directory of sorts that might be dubbed a hitchhiker's guide to the paranormal galaxy." Aravamudan notes the "aggressive marketing" of the Yogoda Satsang and Self-Realization Fellowship, that Yogananda himself "worked the mass media" and used a technique described as "Guru English". He notes that Yogananda was the collator of the testimonials that purport to validate the miracles described, which appear at a rate of around one per page.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

According to Chris Welch and the liner notes on the album, Tales From Topographic Oceans, a concept album recorded by Yes, the progressive rock group, was inspired by "a lengthy footnote on page 83" of Autobiography of a Yogi. The footnote describes four Shastric scriptures that cover religion, art, social life, medicine, music and architecture. On 3 March 1973, Jon Anderson was given a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi by Jamie Muir at Bill Bruford's wedding. Anderson became particularly fascinated by the footnote on page 83, which inspired him to write much of the material for Tales from Topographic Oceans.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Cholo-goth icon Rafael Reyes credits the book with saving his life and opening him to spiritual self-awareness.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

James Dudley, in his book Library Journal: Autobiography of a Yogi, wrote: "Yogananda's masterly storytelling epitomizes the Indian oral tradition with its wit, charm, and compassionate wisdom."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Phil Goldberg, in his book The Life of Yogananda, states that Autobiography of a Yogi is "the book that changed the lives of millions".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Today, reading Autobiography of a Yogi has become an unofficial prerequisite for prospective students of the Self-Realization Fellowship's "Lessons for Home Study", a set of lessons, reflections, and assignments that one may read and apply before being initiated into Kriya Yoga.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

EditionsEdit

The Autobiography of a Yogi was first printed in December 1946 by Philosophical Library, who printed it until 1953. In October 1953, Self-Realization Fellowship, Yogananda's organization, acquired the rights to the book and have been printing the book ever since, including translating it into over fifty languages.<ref name=translate/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to Project Gutenberg, the first edition of Autobiography of a Yogi is in the public domain in the USA.<ref name=gutenberg/>

Many editions of Autobiography of a Yogi have been printed, including the following.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Philosophical Library

The first four editions in the United States were published by the Philosophical Library.

Self-Realization Fellowship / Yogoda Satsanga Society of India

Self-Realization Fellowship has published the book in the United States since the fifth edition in 1954.

Jaico

An Indian edition has been published by Jaico.

Template:Cite book

Rider

British editions have been published by Rider since 1949.

Reprints of the first edition

The first edition, which is in the public domain according to Project Gutenberg,<ref name=gutenberg/> has more recently been reprinted by a number of publishers.

Adaptations and translationsEdit

The Autobiography is now available in a Kindle edition.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> An unabridged audio book (15 CDs) version narrated by Ben Kingsley and published by Self-Realization Fellowship (2004) is available in English and German (Template:ISBN). It is also offered as a download from iTunes.

Self-Realization Fellowship has translated the book into over fifty languages.<ref name="translate"/>

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

Autobiography of a Yogi

Contents

OverviewEdit

InfluenceEdit

EditionsEdit

Adaptations and translationsEdit

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Further readingEdit

Free online editions of 1946 first editionEdit