Autobiography of a Yogi ~

[Racer X]

http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780876120798_p0_v1_s260x420.jpg


Awesome reading~:smile::smile::D

[sunshineofthesoul]

I love Autobiography of a Yogi, every time I read it I read something new in it.

[Miss Hepburn]

Ha! I found another copy last week at the Arc Thrift Store...$2....
BUT! I flipped when I opened it and it was signed by Yogananda, Jan 19, 1947!!!


Well sorta....then I saw it was a reprint done in 1995....oh well, I have a copy
Of his signature, right?
I thought I would enlarge it to 3 feet, I'm a nutty artist anyway, frame it for a wall...
He signs it "With blessings".
:smile:

I just suggested Chapter 34 on another thread...

My quote below, btw, comes from Ch 35.
Racer, why don't you quote some excerpts.

[SpiritualBee]

One of my favorite books too! I especially love the chapter Resurrection of Sri Yukteshwar where he describes the subtle and causal bodies.

[nishnash]

hi,

I've been hearing about this book for a while now and haven't got a chance to read it.

Can anybody share some insight on how this book affected your life/thinking?

Thanks,
Nn

[prana]

This book truly inspired me to step up my yoga practice and I have never stopped.
It also gave me the the presence of mind to accept that anything is possible with the human dimension after reading the sections on how Paramahansa's Guru materialized after his death. In the Western world this kind of thing might seem impossible but when you read this book you seem to find space in your mind to accept that it might just be possible. There is also a sense that there is no reason for him to lie about things like this.
There are also many amazing parts of the book like when he tells of spending hours at a time in deep meditation with Swamis on hot afternoons in Indian towns and villages. His time spent with Mahatma Gandi is also very revealing especially how he tells of Gandi's long periods of fasting and its profound effects on his mental strength and spirituality.
A gem to read and re-read.
Prana.

[Miss Hepburn]

It is just simply " a must read", a Classic. :smile:

It opens one up to possibilities, to the supernatural (which is really the
most natural), to no limitations, to anand (bliss), to what is real in this world...
Meaning the spiritual...and that it can and has been tapped by many.
It may help someone understand or relate better to reincarnation if they have a block about it.
It may help a person recognize what is real and what is important .

[Heimlichkeit]

I just finished reading this last night. Great read. Really sheds some light on true potential humans are unknowingly capable of, and inspires one such as myself to become more devoted to a spiritual path.

[VisionQuest]

It verified the experience of God Consciousness merging w/ our Consciousness.

It verified the human "potential" to make an Impersonal God ..... Personal.

[BlueSky]

This thread inspired me to re-read this book. Right out of the gate there is so much I missed the first time. Interesting. I think his story shows the authority of what we are from what we are.
Anyways thanks for the inspiration to read this again.

[VisionQuest]

Steve Jobs read this book once every single year~

[VisionQuest]

Yogananda wrote many other great works! Some small , some not so small ....

"The Second Coming Of Christ" was his final work .....

Autobiography of a Yogi
Main article: Autobiography of a Yogi
Autobiography of a Yogi current cover.jpg

In 1946, Yogananda published his life story, Autobiography of a Yogi. It has since been translated into 34 languages. In 1999, it was designated one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century" by a panel of spiritual authors convened by Philip Zaleski and HarperCollins publishers.[30] Autobiography of a Yogi is the most popular of Yogananda’s books.[31] 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..."[32] In 2006, the publisher, Self-Realization Fellowship, honored the 60th anniversary of Autobiography of a Yogi "with a series of projects designed to promote the legacy of the man thousands of disciples still refer to as 'master.'" [33]

Autobiography of a Yogi describes Yogananda's spiritual search for enlightenment, in addition to encounters with notable spiritual figures such as Therese Neumann, Anandamayi Ma, Mohandas Gandhi, Nobel laureate in literature Rabindranath Tagore, noted plant scientist Luther Burbank (the book is 'Dedicated to the Memory of Luther Burbank, An American Saint'), famous Indian scientist Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Sir C. V. Raman. One notable chapter of this book is "The Law of Miracles", where he gives scientific explanations for seemingly miraculous feats. He writes: "the word 'impossible' is becoming less prominent in man's vocabulary."[3]

The Autobiography has been an inspiration for many people including Steve Jobs (1955-2011), Co-Founder, former Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc. In the book Steve Jobs: A Biography the authors writes that in preparation for a trip, Mr. Jobs downloaded onto his iPad2, the Autobiography of a Yogi, "the guide to meditation and spirituality that he had first read as a teenager, then re-read in India and had read once a year ever since."[34]

[BlueSky]

Saints getting arm cut off and it reattaching with no scars, saints able to physically be in two places at once, amulets that appear out of thin air, saints whose image does not show up in photographs......and that's in just the first 2 chapters.
Honestly, I don't know what to make of these claims.

[Miss Hepburn]

Saints getting arm cut off and it reattaching with no scars, saints able to physically be in two places at once, amulets that appear out of thin air, saints whose image does not show up in photographs......and that's in just the first 2 chapters.
Honestly, I don't know what to make of these claims.
Ha, I didn't rem that was in first 2 chapters. I appreciate your honesty.
Like anything, hang in there a little bit more, see what you think.

May I say, all of this is different for the Western mind to get....but it really
isn't too new...Jesus walking on water, making wine from water.

Things aren't what they seem to be...not even the chair you're sitting on.
For yogis that understand what reality is....they can walk thru walls. (What walls?
You mean these atoms looking like a wall?) See what I mean?

[BlueSky]

Ha, I didn't rem that was in first 2 chapters. I appreciate your honesty.
Like anything, hang in there a little bit more, see what you think.

May I say, all of this is different for the Western mind to get....but it really
isn't too new...Jesus walking on water, making wine from water.

Things aren't what they seem to be...not even the chair you're sitting on.
For yogis that understand what reality is....they can walk thru walls. (What walls?
You mean these atoms looking like a wall?) See what I mean?
See I am not stuck in any mindset and I feel continuing on would create a mindset. Desire to be able to do such things which leads to discontent with what is which leads to seeking.

[guthrio]

All,

I cannot begin to describe how Yogananda Paramhansa's book has affected me. The best I can do is share the on-line link by which anyone who wants to read it, chapter by chapter, or in its entirety...can do so (see Reference below).

I am particularly drawn to Yogananda's description in Chapter 43, "The Resurrection of Sri Yukteswar" of a brief reunion with his guru...and what Yogananda's guru shared with him about life after transition from this earthly plane.

"O Master, I was grieving so deeply about your death!"

"Ah, wherein did I die? Isn't there some contradiction?" Sri Yukteswar's eyes were twinkling with love and amusement.

"You were only dreaming on earth; on that earth you saw my dream-body," he went on. "Later you buried that dream-image. Now my finer fleshly body-which you behold and are even now embracing rather closely!-is resurrected on another finer dream-planet of God. Someday that finer dream-body and finer dream-planet will pass away; they too are not forever. All dream-bubbles must eventually burst at a final wakeful touch. Differentiate, my son Yogananda, between dreams and Reality!"

How evocative of Jesus' reunion with His disciples following His ascension, reminding us even today, that we, too, must learn to differentiate between the dreams we've called our earthly lives...and the Eternal Reality in which we actually live!

And I'm fully in agreement with Miss Hepburn's signature phrase from Lahiri Mahasaya.

Reference: http://www.crystalclarity.com/yogananda/index.php

[Tanemon]

I liked the book very much. I got my copy when I was 16, as I remember. I was somehow attracted to it, but didn't know why.

As Miss Hepburn said, it's a classic.

Another book I liked is by Swami Rama, titled Living with the Himalayan Masters. Whereas Yogananda's meetings with saints, teachers, and his guru took place in the early 1900s up until 1920 (with a return visit to his guru in India in the mid 1930s), Swami Rama was born later and was studying with various teachers and gurus (although he did have one main guru) from around 1930 to late 1960s - including a spell in Tibet. There are a whole lot of meetings, journeys, practices, disciplines, miracles, etc described.