This is an unparalleled, first hand account of the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, who has hundreds of thousands of followers and admirers in North America alone.
Yogananda was one of the most significant spiritual teachers of the 20th century. Since his classic, Autobiography of a Yogi, was first published in 1946, its popularity has increased steadily throughout the world. The Essence of Self-Realization is filled with lessons and stories that Yogananda shared only with his closest disciples, this volume offers one of the most insightful and engaging glimpses into the life and lessons of a great sage. Much of the material presented here is not available anywhere else.
Conversations with Yogananda This is an unparalleled firsthand account of Paramhansa Yogananda and his teachings, written by one of his closest students. Yogananda is one of the world's most widely known and universally respected spiritual masters. His Autobiography of a Yogi has helped stimulate a spiritual awakening in the West and a spiritual renaissance in his native land of India. More than half a century ago, in a hilltop ashram in Los Angeles, California, an American disciple sat at the feet of his Master, faithfully recording his words, as his teacher had asked him to do. Paramhansa Yogananda knew this disciple would carry his message to people everywhere. Kriyananda was often present when Yogananda spoke privately with other close disciples; when he received visitors and answered their questions; when he was dictating and discussing his important writings. Yogananda put Kriyananda in charge of the other monks, and gave him advice for their spiritual development. In all these situations, Kriyananda recorded the words and guidance of Yogananda, preserving for the ages wisdom that would otherwise have been lost, and giving us an intimate glimpse of life with Yogananda never before shared by any other student. These Conversations include not only Yogananda's words as he first spoke them, but also the added insight of an intimate disciple who has spent more than 50 years reflecting on and practicing the teachings of Yogananda. Through these conversations, Yogananda comes alive. Time and space dissolve. We sit at the feet of the Master, listen to his words, receive his wisdom, delight in his humor, and are transformed by his love.
"The words of Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita," writes Paramahansa Yogananda, "are at once a profound scripture the science of Yoga, union with God, and a textbook for everyday living." The Bhagavad Gita has been revered by truth seekers of both the Eas...
This book will thrill the millions of readers of Yogananda's autobiography with scores of new stories from Yogananda's lifeùsome charmingly human, some deeply inspiring, and many recounting miracles equal to those of the Bible. These stories are told from first-hand experience, and bring the master alive unlike any other book ever written about him. Now, Swami Kriyananda brilliantly puts to rest many misconceptions about his great guru, and reveals Yogananda's many-sided greatness. The author's profound grasp of the purpose of Yogananda's life, his inner nature, and his plans for the future are revelatory and sublime. Included is an insider's portrait of the great teacher's last years. More than a factual biography, this book also outlines the great master's key teachings. Feel the power of Paramhansa Yogananda's divine consciousness and his impact on the world as presented with clarity and love by one of his few remaining direct disciples. Book jacket.
What happens as we grow spiritually? Is there a step-by-step process that everyone goes through—all spiritual seekers, including those of any or no religious persuasion—as they gradually work their way upward, until they achieve the highest state of Self-realization? About 2200 years ago, a great spiritual master of India named Patanjali described this process, and presented humanity with a clear-cut, step-by-step outline of how all truth seekers and saints achieve divine union. He called this universal inner experience and process “yoga” or “union.” His collection of profound aphorisms—a true world scripture—has been dubbed Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Unfortunately, since that time many scholarly translators with little or no spiritual realization have written commentaries on Patanjali's writings that have succeeded only in burying his pithy insights in convoluted phrases like “becomes assimilated with transformations” and “the object alone shines without deliberation.” How can any reader understand Patanjali's original meaning when he or she has to wade through such bewildering terminology? Thankfully, a great modern yoga master—Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the classic Autobiography of a Yogi—has cut through the scholarly debris and resurrected Patanjali's original teachings and revelations. Now, in Demystifying Patanjali, Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Yogananda, shares his guru's crystal clear and easy-to-grasp explanations of Patanjali's aphorisms. As Kriyananda writes in his introduction, “My Guru personally shared with me some of his most important insights into these sutras. During the three and a half years I lived with him, he also went with me at great length into the basic teachings of yoga. “I was able, moreover, to ask my Guru personally about many of the subjects covered by Patanjali. His explanations have lingered with me, and have been a priceless help in the [writing of this book].”
Is it possible that two of the greatest men of the Norman Conquest—William the Conqueror and his son, Henry I of England—have recently reincarnated as Paramhansa Yogananda (spiritual master and author of the classic Autobiography of a Yogi) and his close disciple, Swami Kriyananda-and if so, what are the subtle connections between the Norman Conquest and modern times? How will these past lives influence our future? In Two Souls: Four Lives, Catherine Kairavi describes a society much more primitive than our own in both knowledge and consciousness, she depicts the days of William and Henry as having been far more brutal than our own, despite the much greater capacity for destruction of modern weaponry. Historians will inevitably object that mankind was the same in William’s day as it is today. For they are intellectual scholars, and there is no aspect of human consciousness more disposed to argument than the intellect. It is kept vital and alive, after all, by argument. It will probably be other historians who grow up with this new and broader perspective on their subject. Catherine Kairavi devoted ten years carefully researching for this book. For the rest, maybe Paramhansa Yogananda’s statement that he himself was William could outweigh, for many readers, any doubts and challenges that may be presented to disprove certain statements in this book. It is a completely new take on present and future trends in modern society.
He was called "the 20th century’s first superstar guru" (Los Angeles Times), and today, nearly a century after he arrived in the United States, he’s still the best known and most beloved of all the Indian spiritual teachers who have come to the West. Now, finally, Paramahansa Yogananda has the authoritative biography he deserves.Yogananda, considered by many to be the father of modern yoga, has had an unsurpassed global impact thanks to the durability of his teachings, the institutions he created or inspired, and especially his iconic memoir, Autobiography of a Yogi.Since its publication in 1946, that book has sold millions of copies and changed millions of lives. But it doesn’t tell the whole story.Much of Yogananda’s seminal text is devoted to tales about other people, and it largely overlooks the three vital decades he spent living, working, and teaching in America. Huge chunks of his life—challenges, controversies, and crises; triumphs, relationships, and formative experiences—remain unknown to even his most ardent devotees. In this captivating biography, scholar and teacher Philip Goldberg fills the gaps, charting a journey that spanned six decades, two hemispheres, two world wars, and unprecedented social changes. The result is an objective, thoroughly researched account of Yogananda’s remarkable life in all its detail, nuance, and complex humanity.But this is more than a compelling life story. "Yogananda would, I believe, want any book about him to not only inform but transform," Goldberg writes. "It is my hope that readers will be enriched, expanded, and deepened by this humble offering." That is sure to be the case for both Yogananda enthusiasts and those who discover him for the first time in these illuminating pages.