This widely-read book has perhaps, been rightly described in the Preface by W.Y.Evans-Wents, Jesus College, Oxford, as A BOOK ABOUT YOGIS BY A YOGI. Few years ago, a friend of mine gifted the Tamil version of this book ஒரு யோகியின் சுய சரிதை. But it took me a long time to complete this version as it did not impress me very much and so a faster study was not possible. I thought that the original version in English might appeal to me otherwise since the translations could be faulty.
As the books published by Yogoda Satsanga Society are freely available on all online stores, I got a copy of 'Autobiography of a Yogi'. When starting the book, and describing his early years in life, Paramahansa Yogananda used to mock himself about his lesser interest in academic studies. At one stage, he pointed out that he could score a pass mark of only 33/100 in his college courses, that too with the divine intervention of his Guru Swami Shri Yukteshwar, the yogavatar. But the flow of the lucid English from start to the end of the Autobigraphy indicates that his academic perfection could not have been that bad. His vivid knowledge exposed in descriptions about philosophy, science, politics of his time, and especially of the Biblical quotes with due comparison the Hindu scriptures described all along his book, especially as notes given at the bottom of almost each page is clear indication of his natural intelligence.
But his narrations about most of the saints that he reports that he came in contact with during his quest for yoga and the mystical powers that he attributes to them, makes the biography, a fairy tale as Harry potter story. The examples can be quoted in 'the levitating saint', 'the saint with two bodies' etc.,. Without exception, every saint including the Mahavatar babaji, vouchsafe that the author is an incarnation and no ordinary human being. This perhaps makes the ordinary reader and an aspirant to undertake learning of yoga path to think that only the persons destined to become a yogi by birth only can easily become a yogi.
Another impression that one gets is that through out the book, more stress is made on getting initiated to Kriya yoga, a technique stated to have been brought to earth by Mahavatar Baba and passed on through Shri Lahiri Mahasaya, Shri Yukteshwar and Paramahansa Yogananda. He repeatedly states that this technique is to be kept as a secret and that it cannot be learnt by anybody unless through Yogada Satsanga Society. It has been stated that the ancient scriptures of Hinduism were kept as secret among a smaller community and thus most of the Indians were denied the opportunity to learn Vedas/Upanishads etc., These scriptures were got translated into Persian by none other than Dara Shikho, the eldest son of Shajahan and brother of the cruel Aurangazeb. From Persian, these were translated to German by Max muller and others, and then came back to their motherland after foundation of Ramakrishna Mutt by Swami Vivekananda, who said that all the scriptures should be easily accessible to all who are interested to learn them. It is pathetic that the Kriya Yoga is being kept as a strictly guarded secret. It may not be out of place to point out that Sri Ramakrishna Mutt conducts meditation classes freely to all who are interested in learning. Further more Kriya yoga is not a newly invented technique, but a combination of existing yoga processes such as Maha Mudra, Navi Kriya, Kechari Mudra, Yoni Mudra etc.,. Then why such secrecy over it, one cannot understand.
It is also notable that the author has all along been very particular not to mention about Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and his brilliant disciple Swami Vivekananda. The one place where Sri Ramakrishna is mentioned is that he worshipped Kali Ma in Dhakshineswar. Swami Vivekananda's name is mentioned at the fag end of the book only to indicate that he mentioned that the author would come as an incarnation to the universe. Where he has showered sufficient encomium on Mahatma Gandhi, he did not choose to mention anything about Swami Vivekananda who turned the religious world upside down just a few decades prior to the author and made the westerners to look to India for spiritual guidance. That he has founded an institution to propagate not only religion, philosophy and yoga but also to undertake social reforms and serve to the downtrodden has also not been mentioned anywhere, even though the the greatest saint also comes from Bengal as the author himself.
An impressive part of the book is the notes, given in almost all pages. The notes are very educative and informative giving excerpts from scriptures, Bible etc., and also scientific facts prevalent at the time. Collection and publication of the notes alone may bring an interesting book itself.
It is a fact that the book kindles an interest among the aspiring reader that one must put untiring effort in finding proper Guru and that he must not stagger in the path to achieve full success as a full fledged Yogi.
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