= Autobiography_of_a

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= Autobiography_of_a_Yogi =
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Introduction
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'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 have
included Steve Jobs, George Harrison, and Elvis Presley.

Paramahansa Yogananda was born as Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Gorakhpur,
India, into a Bengali Hindu family. '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, 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." 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.
According to Project Gutenberg, the first edition is in the public
domain, at least five publishers are reprinting it and four post it
free for online reading.

Overview
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'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, the
establishment of his first school, Yogoda Satsanga Brahmacharya
Vidyalaya, and his journey to America where he lectured to thousands,
established the Self-Realization Fellowship and visited Luther
Burbank, 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 in
Bavaria, the Hindu saint Ananda Moyi Ma, Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath
Tagore, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Sir C. V. Raman, and Giri Bala,
"the woman yogi who never eats." 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."

Yukteswar Giri, Yogananda's guru, told him about a significant
prediction made by Lahiri Mahasaya, Yukteswar's guru. 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.

Influence
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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.
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 ..."
'Autobiography of a Yogi' is the most popular of Yogananda's books and
SRF has published the book in over fifty languages.

'Autobiography of a Yogi' has introduced meditation and yoga to many
Westerners since its publication. Its success has also made Yogananda
a distinguished figure in India, where commemorative stamps were
issued in 2017 to honor him.

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." 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.

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." 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."

Elvis Presley was introduced to 'Autobiography of a Yogi' in 1965 by
his hair dresser-turned-guru, Larry Geller. 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.

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 ..."

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."

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.'"

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.

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'.

Cholo-goth icon Rafael Reyes credits the book with saving his life and
opening him to spiritual self-awareness.

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."

Phil Goldberg, in his book 'The Life of Yogananda', states that
'Autobiography of a Yogi' is "the book that changed the lives of
millions".

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.

Editions
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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. According to
Project Gutenberg, the first edition of 'Autobiography of a Yogi' is
in the public domain in the USA.

Many editions of 'Autobiography of a Yogi' have been printed,
including the following.

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

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;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.

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;Jaico
An Indian edition has been published by Jaico.

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;Rider
British editions have been published by Rider since 1949.

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;Reprints of the first edition
The first edition, which is in the public domain according to Project
Gutenberg, has more recently been reprinted by a number of publishers.
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Adaptations and translations
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The 'Autobiography' is now available in a Kindle edition. An
unabridged audio book (15 CDs) version narrated by Ben Kingsley and
published by Self-Realization Fellowship (2004) is available in
English and German (). It is also offered as a download from iTunes.

Self-Realization Fellowship has translated the book into over fifty
languages.

See also
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* 'Awake: The Life of Yogananda'
* Daya Mata
* 'Hinduism Invades America'
* Mahavatar Babaji
* Panchanan Bhattacharya
* Rajarsi Janakananda

Further reading
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*
* For further reading on the subject of editions, page 270.
*
* Includes history of the editions through 1956

Free online editions of 1946 first edition
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* [https://www.ananda.org/autobiography/ Crystal Clarity]
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7452 Gutenberg]
*
[https://web.archive.org/web/20151022105434/http://healingspiral.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/1/3/10136672/autobiography-of-a-yogi-by-paramahansa-yogananda.pdf
Healing Spiral] at the Wayback Machine
*
[http://www.holybooks.com/autobiography-of-a-yogi-paramahansa-yogananda/
Holybooks]

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