A brilliant account of what history will recognize as one of the most
significant lives of the 20th century (Ken Wilber, author of The
Religion of Tomorrow).
Paramahansa Yogananda 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. In this captivating
book, newly available in paperback, Yogananda's story finally has the
authoritative telling it deserves.
Considered by many to be the father of modern yoga, Yogananda 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. 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.
