Autobiography of a Yogi

Biography and memoir

First published: 1946
Print length: 481 pagesCrystal Clarity Publishers, 1995

Description

Paramahansa Yogananda recounts a spiritual life that begins in childhood and family experience, develops through monastic training, and leads to the search for a guru. Encounters with spiritual leaders and renowned scientists accompany his study of yoga, meditation, and the discipline of Kriya Yoga. The narrative then follows his journey from India to the United States, where he introduces Eastern teachings to a broad audience, as well as his later return to India and continuation of his work in America. Personal recollection, accounts of unusual spiritual encounters, and explanations of practice combine in a memoir concerned with how inner realization can be taught across cultures. Its organizing subject is both one seeker’s education and the transmission of a spiritual tradition.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Descriptive · Essayistic · Ornate

Pace

Measured

Tone

Earnest · Philosophical · Reflective · Uplifting

Structure

Chronological nonfiction · Episodic

Focus

Character · Ideas · Voice

Emotional intensity

3 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 3 / 5
Ideas: 4 / 5
Structure: 3 / 5
Background knowledge: 2 / 5

Themes

IdentityKnowledge and truthLegacyReligion and faithTransformationWork

About Yogananda Paramahansa

Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian American Hindu monk, yogi, and teacher who became an influential interpreter of Kriya Yoga in the United States. A disciple of Sri Yukteswar Giri, he founded the Self-Realization Fellowship and presented yogic discipline as a meeting point between Indian spirituality and Western religious life. His writing combines personal testimony, philosophical explanation, and practical devotional guidance. Autobiography of a Yogi traces his spiritual formation and encounters with religious teachers and scientists, while Metaphysical Meditations distills his approach into brief prayers, affirmations, and exercises. Across these forms, he returns to meditation, inner stillness, disciplined self-knowledge, and direct experience of the divine.

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: Crystal Clarity Publishers
Language: English
ISBN: 9781565891081

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