Keane ferguson autobiography of a yogi
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Mukunda also learns that it is wrong to misuse spiritual powers. The guru initiates him into the technique of Kriya Yoga. His spiritual understanding matured, and in 1917 Yogananda founded both a school and a spiritual organization: the Yogoda Satsanga Society of India. Paramahansaji had so many responsibilities and commitments, he was not able to work on his book every day; but in general, he devoted the evenings to it, as well as whatever other free time he was able to put his mind on it.
It is regarded as one of the classics of 20th-century spiritual literature. When I told him that I had been interested in this subject years earlier, his face lit up and he took me to his private study and showed me Autobiography of a Yogi. It was an unforgettable experience. All the way back to my office the name kept revolving in my consciousness and I became more and more filled with love and joy.
Some further revisions made by him after the third edition could not be incorporated until the publication of the seventh edition, which was released in 1956.
The following Publisher’s Note was printed in the seventh edition of Autobiography of a Yogi, giving the history of the author’s wishes for the book:
“This 1956 American edition contains revisions made by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1949 for the London, England, edition; and additional revisions made by the author in 1951.
Translated into over fifty languages, it has served as an ambassador for India's ancient science of yoga, introducing countless readers to the methods for attaining God-realization that are India's unique and lasting contribution to world civilization.
Hailed as a masterpiece from its first appearance in print in 1946, the book was honored in 1999 as one of “100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century.” Today, this story of a life of unmistakable greatness continues its success in opening to the public a realm of liberating spiritual knowledge previously accessible only to a few.
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An Enduring and Universal Appeal
“I have been intensely moved,” Sri Yogananda wrote in an Author’s Note to the 1951 edition, “to receive letters from thousands of readers.
Because of the expense involved in resoldering many plates, the New York publisher did not include in the fourth edition the author’s 1951 revisions.
“In late 1953 Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) bought from the New York publisher all rights in Autobiography of a Yogi. In addition to revising and updating portions of the text, and deleting some passages describing organizational activities and plans that were no longer current, Paramahansa Yogananda added a final chapter — one of the longest in the book — covering the years 1940–1951.
A small group of us — Ananda Mata, Shraddha Mata, and myself — were around him much of that time, helping to type the manuscript. The senior disciples urged him to take some rest, but he refused even to consider it until every book in that shipment was signed with his blessings. It was the first time I would see him face to face. Even so, in the depths of my consciousness I knew it to be true, that I had missed the most important person in my existence.
From that moment on my well-ordered, rather glamorous life no longer suited me.
Autobiography of a Yogi was on its way to a divine destiny, ultimately to carry the Guru’s blessings and love for God to millions of seeking souls.
Sailasuta Mata
There were just a few of us living in the Encinitas Hermitage when Paramahansaji was writing Autobiography of a Yogi, a project that took him a number of years to complete.
To his surprise, the package was not candy, but a book — Autobiography of a Yogi.
Even though touched by the gift, Brother did not immediately feel inclined to read it. It will aid in establishing the brotherhood of man: a unity based on humanity’s direct perception of the One Father.”
Many years later, Lahiri Mahasaya’s exalted disciple Swami Sri Yukteswar related this prophecy to Sri Yogananda.
By any measure, Autobiography of a Yogi has played a major role in introducing the science of yoga to the modern world.
“Paramahansa Yogananda, like Gandhi, brought spirituality into the mainstream of society.”
“Perhaps best known for his Autobiography of a Yogi, which has inspired countless millions around the world,” writes the metaphysical journal New Frontier (October 1986), “Paramahansa Yogananda, like Gandhi, brought spirituality into the mainstream of society.
George Harrison, Steve Jobs, Ravi Shanka and even Elvis Presley have all cited Autobiography of a Yogi as a life-changing read.
Autobiography of a Yogi remains the greatest selling spiritual autobiography of all time (nearly 4.5 million copies had been sold as of Spring 2011, according to author Philip Goldberg in his book, American Veda).
This definitive edition of Autobiography of a Yogi includes extensive material added by the author after the first edition was published, including a final chapter penned in the closing years of his life.
At that time the rights in Autobiography of a Yogi were vested in a New York publishing house. I was living there for part of that time.
Guruji did most of the writing of that book in his study at the Hermitage. It will be my messenger when I am gone.”
When the manuscript was finished, Tara Mata went to New York to find a publisher for it.