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Cover of Autobiography of a Yogi by Yogananda Paramahansa

Autobiography of a Yogi

  • 514 pages ยท about 9 hours
  • First published 1946
  • 183 editions

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1 About this book

Autobiography of a Yogi, published in 1946, is the life story of Paramahansa Yogananda, an Indian monk and teacher of yoga who spent much of his life in the United States. He describes his childhood in a Bengali family, his youthful search for a spiritual teacher, his years of training under his guru, Sri Yukteswar, and the founding of his first school. In 1920 he travels to America, where he lectures widely and establishes the Self-Realization Fellowship to teach Kriya Yoga meditation. Along the way he recounts his meetings with saints, yogis and well-known figures of East and West, and many events that he presents as miracles.

  • Autobiography
  • Spiritual biography
  • Biography & autobiography
  • Biography
  • Personal growth
  • Spirituality
  • Yoga
  • New Age

2 What to expect

The life story of the Indian teacher who brought Kriya Yoga to America, from his Bengali childhood and his search for a guru to his work in the West. It is a devotional book: miracles, saints with unusual powers and spiritual teachings are reported as plain fact, alongside warm portraits of his teachers. The style is old-fashioned, anecdotal and gentle, and at around 500 pages it suits slow reading, a chapter at a time.

Good for readers who want: spiritual autobiography, yoga and meditation, and stories of Indian saints.

3 About Yogananda Paramahansa

1893โ€“1952

Paramahansa Yogananda (; born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893 โ€“ March 7, 1952) was an Indian and American Hindu monk, yogi, and guru who founded the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF)/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS), a religious meditation and Kriya Yoga organization, to disseminate his teachings. A chief disciple of the yoga guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, he was sent by his lineage to spread yogic teachings to the West.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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