The 60th Anniversary Of The Spiritual Classic

Autobiography Of A Yogi

It’s rare to find a book that has made as indelible an impact on humanity as Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda -- a book that continues to inspire spiritual seekers around the globe.

Autobiography of a Yogi is celebrating 60 years of continuous print and the enduring appeal of this spiritual classic seems only to increase with time.

First published in 1946, the critically acclaimed Autobiography is recognized as a masterpiece of spiritual literature and considered one of the most widely read and respected books on the wisdom of the East ever published. It is a beautifully written account of Paramahansa Yogananda’s exceptional life and a profound introduction to the ancient science of Yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation.
Yogananda is widely revered as one of the preeminent spiritual figures of our time and is regarded as the father of Western Yoga. His teachings have influenced a diverse array of luminaries from Mahatma Gandhi to Elvis Presley.

“You would be hard-pressed to find anyone on the spiritual path whose life has not been influenced by this profound work of literature,” states author Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, whose personal journey began by reading Autobiography of a Yogi.

When asked by The New York Times which book he would most like to have written, Andrew Weil, M.D., health expert and author, responded, “The Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, because then I would have had all of the fabulous experiences he described growing up in India.”

With great humility, warmth and wit, Yogananda chronicles his profound encounters with India’s myriad saints and sages on his search for an illumined teacher. In 1910, at the age of 17, Yogananda met the revered Indian sage Swami Sri Yukteswar, in whose hermitage he spent the better part of the next ten years. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, he joined India's monastic Swami Order, at which time he received the name Yogananda (signifying bliss, ananda, through divine union, yoga).
Yogananda began his life's work in 1917 by founding a “how-to-live” school, where modern education was combined with yoga training and spiritual instruction. Visiting the school in 1925, Mahatma Gandhi wrote: “This institution has greatly impressed my mind.”

In his autobiography, Yogananda recounts the remarkable foretelling of his arrival in the United States. While still in his native India, he had a vision of America: “America! Surely these people are Americans! This was my thought as a panorama of Western faces passed before my inward view.” The following day he was invited to serve as the Indian delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals in America.

Soon after, Yogananda had another vision of the immortal saint Mahavatar Babaji, the guru of his paramguru Lahiri Mahasaya, in which Babaji addressed him, “You are the one I have chosen to spread the message of Kriya Yoga in the West. Long ago I met your guru Yukteswar at a Kumbha Mela; I told him then I would send you to him for training.”
In 1920, Yogananda set sail for America as the Indian delegate to the International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston, and founded Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF).

In 1925, Yogananda moved to Los Angeles where he established an international headquarters for his society. Over the next decade he lectured extensively to capacity audiences in major cities throughout North America and Europe. To the tens of thousands of Westerners who attended his lectures, his discourses on the unity of “the original teachings of Jesus Christ and the original Yoga taught by Bhagavan Krishna” were a revelation.
Not only did Yogananda teach the underlying unity of all the great spiritual traditions – devoting himself to fostering greater harmony and cooperation among all religions, races and nationalities – he also brought the knowledge of Yoga and meditation to millions through his public lectures and writings, as well as through the many SRF meditation centers he founded (that are still flourishing today).

From his Los Angeles Headquarters he also printed the Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons on the science of Kriya Yoga meditation and the art of spiritual living, which continue to reach students worldwide. The emphasis on these teachings is balanced development of body, mind and soul; their goal is direct personal experience of God.

The writing of Autobiography of a Yogi was prophesized in the 19th century by the revered Indian master Lahiri Mahasaya. Years later, Lahiri Mahasaya’s exalted disciple Swami Sri Yukteswar related this prophecy to his disciple, Paramahansa Yogananda: “You must do your part in spreading that message and in writing that sacred life.” In 1945, 50 years after Lahiri Mahasaya’s passing, Yogananda completed work on Autobiography.

Yogananda did most of his writing at the coastal hermitage of Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas and at the Los Angeles headquarters of SRF in California. The book has been translated in over 20 languages and has sold millions of copies worldwide.

Autobiography of a Yogi is a must read for those on the spiritual path.
The Atlanta Center of SRF conducts weekly services on Thursdays from 8-9 p.m. and on Sundays from 11-12 p.m. For more information and a full schedule of events, call the Atlanta Center at (770) 434-7200.