Yogananda simply means, the bliss and exuberance experienced by the practice of yoga.
Every Swami’s name you read or hear, which has Ananda at the end simply means bliss.
So the word before it and plus ananda equals to bliss derived out of that particular quality or practice.
Yoga here is not mentioned in the broader form which is used around the world, which simply means exercise. But Yoga here is mentioned in the form of seeking, in the form of discipline and one pointed focus towards self-realization.
Yoga means union.
So a Yogi simply becomes a person who is steadfast on the path of self-realization and wants to know the truth about life. A union of truth and the seeker.
The entire book is filled with spiritual anecdotes. Some miraculous stories and wisdom about our world, life, spirituality and God.
It’s a fascinating tale of a boy who went on to become a yogi. Along the way apart from his one true spiritual master, his Guru, he came across many Yogi’s and masters of exceptional caliber.
How and why he gave up his worldly life, why his spiritual master first wanted him to complete his education and then come into the line of becoming a swami and why and when he decided to spread the wisdom of self-realization among masses is his story.
Instead of it being a guide book to spiritual practices and a how to book on self-realization, this book reveals to you the multifaceted nature of our life as a human, we as life itself and the intricate mysteries of our very cosmos.
An autobiography of a yogi will make you immensely curious about spirituality, will also maybe spike the desire to know the truth and the best possible thing it could turn you into is a seeker.
A seeker is always a thousand times better than a believer or a non-believer. Being a seeker ensures that you are always on the path of growth.
In Steve Jobs biography, it is mentioned that Steve Jobs had downloaded just 1 book on his Ipad 2, the book was none other than the Autobiography of a Yogi. He first read it as a teenager and had continued reading it several times throughout his lifetime.
Such type of books continually grow on you, they reveal deeper and more profound insights every time you read them next. It’s a must have in every readers collection.
So the most important question now,
Who should read Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda?
1. Anyone who has a desire to understand life as a human.
2. Anyone who has a slightest enquiry about spirituality.
3. Anyone who has an interest in the mystical secrets of our world.
4. Anyone who wants to understand who and what a Guru is.
5. Anyone who contemplates existential questions sometimes
6. Anyone who wants to lead a positive life
7. And especially anyone who likes to read wondrous, intriguing and fascinating stories.
Readers from India can purchase this book by clicking here.
Others can try clicking on one of the Euro stores and see if you land on your local Amazon store to purchase.
Conclusion
I personally loved this book, read it about 3 to 4 years back, I have kind of a collector’s edition and I enjoy recommending and passing around that book to curious and interested readers.
If we were neighbors or something I personally would have loved to lend you the book to read and then pester you about how you find the book and what are your opinions about it.
As that isn’t the case, but we are very well connected by the web, you can definitely purchase it from the link given and shower your opinions in the comments section after reading it.
Even before reading, it’s cool you can shoot any questions towards me about the book, I will be more than happy to answer them.
The book that best supplements this book is “Inner engineering by Sadguru Jagi Vasudev.”
Click on the highlighted text to know about it.
