Terrible things plague us in physical life. As long as we constrain ourselves within its realm, we can offer no satisfactory explanation when someone asks us "Why did this happen to me?" Is it reasonable then to posit that man’s true kingdom is the spiritual world , to which when he finally ascends, he will find answers to his vexations? Just as we awake from a bad dream and shrug off its terrors as illusion, is our body-bound life also a phenomenally elaborate dream that ensnares us almost relentlessly? Paramhamsa Yogananda’s magnificent book sifts through multifarious topics of spiritual interest, but its main focus centers on Kriya Yoga (not the physical Hatha Yoga) as an effective mental technique for God-Realization, and the sacred elite dynamics of the Guru-Disciple relationship between himself, Sri Yukteshwar Giri, Sri Lahiri Mahasaya and Sri MahaAvatar Babaji. It is a book dense with great beauty and ceaseless charm. Possessing intense but also crystal clear belief in the strength of the mind, and the immortality of the human soul, Yoganandaji’s autobiography has ripe potential to act as a game-changer for many readers.
When I was reading the book at the start, before any consideration of the book’s spiritual supremacy, what struck me first was the Yogananda’s splendidly elegant use of English. His economy in language, command of syntax and sophistication in narration is as enjoyable as it is praiseworthy. The book’s dual potency stems from blending this technical finesse with material that has scriptural resonance in instructing us.
Yogananda lived physically from 1893 to 1952, and his pre-monastic name was Mukunda Lal Ghosh. He was of Bengali provenance, his parents were of noble character and eventually allowed their son to take up the life of a Yogi. The book covers early events like the death of his mother to whom the author was very close, the intensification of his spiritual temperament in childhood itself, attempts to flee towards the Himalayas, and later his emigration to U.S.A where he attracted a large following, nurtured Caucasian Yogis and established his international headquarters in California.
Throughout this glittering masterwork which shines more in its first half, various jewels are scattered in form of encounters with remarkable saints, nods to the special work of scientists ranging from J. C. Bose to Luther Burbank, and vivid portrayals of his travels the world over. Mukunda struggles with academics due to absenteeism but manages to get his Bachelor of Arts degree on the advice of his Guru. In youth, Mukunda has largely thankless encounters with many teachers before he finds, with humbling love and instinctive acceptance, his ordained Guru - Sri Yukteshwar Giri.
The chapter "Years in my Master’s hermitage" is a bracing masterpiece by itself. It provides superb insight into the giant mind and simple sainthood of Sri Yukteshwar Giri (1855-1936) - a man who analyzed both the Gita and the Bible with equal acumen, and spoke fluent English and French. We learn that Sri Yukteshwar (who has also become my Guru) was a very strict teacher, so his following was not very large (but a better track record nonetheless than Hatha Yoga supremo B K S Iyengar’s Guru Tirumalai Krishnamachar) Yukteshwar Giri relentlessly disciplines and moulds his favourite disciple till the latter has reached the apex of his training, and later sends his matured pupil to America because the Westerners might better respond to the gentle nature of Yogananda. The author precisely sums it up when says that Sri Yukteshwar was spiritually an Oriental but executively an Occidental. The senior Guru rejects any ostentation or pricey gifts, slays hypocrisy, sweeps his Ashram clean regularly and admires the West for its ordered pragmatism. His pupil concludes that chapter by saying "I often reflected that my majestic Master could easily have been an Emperor or world-shaking warrior had his mind been centered on fame or wordly accomplishments He had chosen instead to storm those inner citadels of wrath whose fall is the height of man"
Sri Yukteshwar Giri held in ultimate regard his own teacher - Sri Lahiri Mahasaya -a man of calmly endearing nature. And the supreme instructor in this book is whom the author calls The Yogi Christ of Modern India- Sri Mahavatar Babaji who is instrumental in reviving Kriya Yoga - a breathing-based technique for training the mind into a supreme state of God-realization. And all four of these spiritual icons execute miracles at their discretion.
This 500 page book of 49 chapters has only a few weaknesses -it loses some of its sparkle in its latter legs, an elaborate poem by the author in the chapter "An Experience in Cosmic Consciousness" is earth-bound in its underwhelming caliber, and the chapter "The Resurrection of Sri Yukteshwar" portrays phastasmgorical realms which tax credulity. The publishers politicize and compromize the book’s altruism by undue suggestions (added later by them) to join the YRF organization.But this work’s overall strengths crush these shortcomings.The "Tiger Swamy" chapter is written with power, thrill and style ("the cage was pandemonium, and blasts of pain and lethal lust came from bestial throat"). I learnt with wonder of real-life Yogis like the pot-bellied stark naked Trailanga Swamy who allegedly lived for more than 300 years in Banaras, fascinating the populace with his miraculous feats. The pages are rich with annotations that enhance the book’s veracity, give it a scholarly sheen, while packing material of considerable interest. The British rule is largely side-lined, as though it doesn’t count in the larger scheme of things.
Chapter after chapter is presented to us, and save for rare strectches , the content never disappointed me. Vital tips are provided about how to understand the "Mahabharata" by unravelling its knot-points, otherwise it reads like a standard-issue legend. "Idyll in South India" reminds us of how Greek historians, accompanying Alexander, reported that it was contrary to established practice for Indians to do or suffer wrong (cf. today)
Unlike the many scam-infested supposed Godmen of today, Yogananda had a clean record. 20 days after this Yogi’s death, the mortuary director of Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Los Angeles, issued an notarized letter stating with astonishment that there were no visual signs of decay in the Paramahamsa’s body. I can write 5 different reviews of this book, with each article focussing on different topics and merits of this book, but I have sought to compendiate as much as possible in this restricted review.
I am not going to ask cynics to read this book and hope that they will be transformed- if they’re sure of their path, I congratulate them and let them be. But for those who are curious, an invigorating journey awaits.
The last chapters address some of our most profound questions. Yogananda says that people often asked him "Why did God ever join soul and body? What was his purpose in setting into inital motion this evolutionary drama of creation?" .To which the answer starts as "He who sincerely yearns for wisdom is content to start the serach by humbly mastering a few simple ABCs of the divine schema, not demanding prematurely a precise mathematical graph of life’s "Einstein theory" ". I found this book very useful as a training exercise in letting go, but still being left with everything.