Paramhansa Yogananda: A Biography: With Personal Reflections & Reminiscenses

This highly recommended book is a labor of love. Yes, much has been written about Paramahansa Yogananda but this book adds new insights, new anecdotes. I found it very enjoyable reading. It sheds light on just who the Great Master was, though this is a difficult task. Just who was this great Avatar? Can we understand the full scope of his mission? Difficult to say, but here's a little clue - and provided by one who may have understood the Master better than anybody else on this planet: after Yogananda had left for America news of his accomplishments and of how successful he was in the West reached Sri Yukteshwar's ashram. One of Sri Yukteswar's students one day made the following comment: "Look how successful Yogananda is and how great he is! Why, he's like..." And he compared Yogananda to a well-known, widely respected Indian sage who had also lived in the West. To that Sri Yukteswar immediately replied: "Don't say that. Yogananda is much greater!"Another point of interest is that the book covers other, less well-known aspects of Yogananda's personality. We all know he was a Spiritual Giant, but it may come as a surprise to some that he was also a very insightful geo-political analyst. His head was in Divine Mother's lap but his feet were firmly on the ground. There was nothing in him of the dreamer disconnected from the harsh realities around him, political or otherwise. For example:- He disagreed with Gandhi's literal, absolute interpretation of ahimsa. Yogananda said ahimsa would not work against the Russians or the Nazis. In this relative world you may be forced to take up arms for self-defense, if your opponent is cruel and ruthless;- He was unequivocal in denouncing Communism. To him Communism "was a God-denying evil which must be stamped out for the continued progress of mankind". However, he also decried Capitalism when it lacked compassion towards those of lesser means. It is worrying that a Communist mentality is beginning to prevail in America and in a number of other countries today.- He defended President Truman's decision to go to South Korea's defense when it was invaded by North Korea. In fact, he said had America not intervened, North Korea, with China's help, would have gone on to conquer Japan, then the Aleutian Islands, putting themselves in a position to attack America through Alaska;- Yogananda believed that President Roosevelt had betrayed America by bringing in big government with his "New Deal", and also because he was soft on Communism;- He said Hitler was bad, but compared to Stalin he was a boy scout (well, Stalin was following in the footsteps of other Marxist monsters, including Lenin who used to say that "I don't care if I have to kill 2/3 of mankind, provided that the remaining 1/3 are Communist.)- Yogananda predicted that Japan would be invaded and conquered by China (difficult to imagine back then, not so much today!). He also predicted that Europe would be devastated and Russia, annihilated.This is but a small sample of his take on the future of the world.

I am not a member or a follower of either SRF or Ananda rather a mere admirer of Yogananda and a follower of another tradition. Having said that the first half or a bit more of this book is quite solid and rewarding reading when it comes to stories about Yogananda which are beautiful to contemplate. But the latter part is somehow watered down by the authors constant harping on personal grievances against some individuals in SRF and SRF itself to the point where it starts detracting from the message and beauty of Yogananda's glorious life that should have been the focus of this book. And above all the book ends on a very low note about how all great masters teachings are bound to be misunderstood, watered down and misappropriated by power hungry organisations and individuals therein. That might have some truth to it and the author is certainly entitled to his opinion, I just feel this analysis would have been best placed elsewhere not in the masters biography let alone ending on a very depressing note. The feeling one gets is of a massive need to explain his own actions and path on part of the author which is fine, I just did not find it relevant. But who knows maybe the followers of Ananda for example do. In any case there are some great moments in the book for which it is worth reading. Just remember the author and his ego are constantly around the bend ready to superimpose themselves on the narrative. As some others have pointed out I would turn to Philip Goldberg's The Life of Yogananda (as a supplementary text to the Autobiography of a Yogi) for a much better treatment of the subject despite that fact that he is not a direct disciple.

About a facet of the Divine Love who's bodily name was Paramhansa Yogananda. I actually shed a tear when I read a beautiful poem reproduced in this book, that was originally penned by Saint Yogananda wherein he commented on his willingness to come back (to the body) enumerable times to help his brothers and sisters. How sweet, and I have absolutely no doubt.....This piece succeeds on so many levels: it was informative, emotive, sweet, well written and of course the subject matter is quite near and dear to my heart. J. Donald Walters does a fine job recounting many anecdotes about his beloved guru. In some instances, I have to admit it seemed perilously close to a Swami Kriyananda trailer; but those occurrences are few enough as not to be self-serving or distracting. Although Walters is still a fine wordsmith and is able to convey his points, impression and thoughts skillfully, I can't help but notice that the "edge" was missing; the words just didn't have that exquisite, finely honed élan that I have enjoyed from previous works.Finally, and this may be my own scotoma rearing its pointed head, but this work seems to be a not terribly well hidden apology to the author's guru. I get the distinct impression that Walters is not only paying homage to Yoganandaji, but that he is in some way seeking his master's forgiveness: imputing all he has done as a service to St. Yogananda. Whatever the motivation, it is a soul touching piece and I loved it. 5 stars.

For those who have read Autobiography of a Yogi, and are trying to pursue a spiritual discipline, this new biography will answer questions that Autobiography raises, such as, "why did Yogananda write as if the spiritual path is so easy?" If you haven't yet read Autobiography, I think it would be best to read that book first. The new biography contains many stories of Yogananda (not found in Autobiography) that fill out the picture of Yogananda's life. I always wondered how it could be that Yogananda was so popular in this country when the word "yoga" was barely known at the time and there was a fair amount of racial intolerance. This book gives details of the difficulties Yogananda faced that He chose to leave out of his Autobiography. I've read quite a few of Swami Kriyananda's books, so some of the stories were familiar, and some were completely new to me, and quite a treat.

Brilliant follow-up to Autobiography of a Yogi.

Brilliant purchase

Excellent

great book!