Swami
Paramhansa yogananda, a spiritual saint born in
India traveled to the US where he spent the major
portion of his life to strengthen their faith
in GOD. Swami Yogananda's autobiography stands
as a standard in introducing spirituality to the
avid beginners. Always interested in Saints and
Sages, Yogananda describes his meetings with saints
of varied ideologies, principles and practices
in his book. It is more a book of saints than
his Autobiography.
He loved his mother very much, and when he lost
her at the age of 11 yrs, he sought that motherly
love in God and when he found it, he understood
the true nature of relationship between human
beings. The Divine mother appears to him and assures
him "I have always loved thee, it is me who took
care of you in the form of Human Mother". It was
then that he was able to look at the Divine hidden
in all kinds of relationships. That is why he
was able to bring a spiritual revolution in America.
In his young age Yogananda meets so many saints
and dedicates a full chapter for one of the saints
"Master Mahasaya". Master Mahashaya is known to
the world as 'M'. He was one of the householder
disciples of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and has
published "Gospels of Ramakrishna", the recordings
of the conversion between Ramakrishna and other
devotees. Ramakrishna mission portraits him as
a devotee whose profile of divinity is well outlined
in Yogananda's writings. Yogananda sees Mahasya
to be closer to the Divine mother and begs him
to ask Her whether Yogananda finds any favor in
the eyes of divine mother. Mahasya agrees to speak
for yogananda and the same night gets the vision
of the Divine mother and yogananda confirms with
Master Mahasaya the same confirms to the next
morning. He gives yogananda a glimpse of 'cosmic'
consciousness.
After passing high school yogananda renounces
the world and enters a hermit in kasi where he
meets his destined guru Sri Yukteswar. Sri Yukteswar
confirms him that yogananda belongs to his path
and asks him to go back to his parents and continue
his education. Although not willing to go back
to parents, just to satisfy his Guru, he enters
college and passes his bachelor's degree. Then
he joins Sri yukteswar's ashram in Calcutta and
undergoes rigorous spiritual training. He understands
and appreciates his Guru's selflessness in training
his disciples.. Sri yukteswar owns lands and earns
his own money to run the ashram. He hates to depend
on others for living. He trains disciples giving
them shelter and food for free. He is a strict
disciplinarian and very hard and unforgiving to
his disciples. His way of training disciples is
different from Yogananda's. At one point of time
Sri yukteswar himself tells yogananda that he
tries to discipline the people by shattering their
ego and that yogananda conquers them with love.
He foresees yogananda to sail one day to west
and spread yoga knowledge there.
After the training is over, Sri yukteswar inspires
him to take organizational works and yogananda
starts a boy's school at Ranchi where both material
and spiritual sciences are taught. He receives
an invitation from Boston US to represent Hinduism
in a world conference. With the Blessings of God
and his guru, there goes Yogananda across the
states of America and with the growing receptive
Americans, initiates, involves and plunges them
into the ocean of Yoga.
His speech is very powerful and always induces
faith and confidence in oneself and in God. He
always tells people to forget the past and concentrate
on the present for the future. He consoles who
thinks themselves as sinners... "Saint had a past
and sinner has a future", "Saints are sinners
who never gave up the effort to correct themselves".
For those who fears he says, "you and danger are
brothers and you are elder".... "You are dangerous
than the danger". One of Yogananda's principles
is "God first, World next". In biblical words
"seek ye first the kingdom of God, all others
will be added unto you"
He was the only Yogi in Life- and -Death known
to the world. He has always said that he won't
die on bed but his boots on and talking of God
and India. On March 7 1952, Swami Paramahansa
Yogananda attended the banquet arranged in the
Honor of the then Indian Ambassador Mr.Sen. After
the banquetwhile he was speaking of India and
its glory, he entered Maha Samadhi. His body was
kept for twenty days for some of his disciples
to arrive. On March 27, they buried his body and
till then the not-embalmed body was soft and didn't
show any sign of decay.
Those curious of learning more about him can
read his "Autobiography of a Yogi". The whole
book is available on line at http://crystalclarity.com/yogananda/index.html
a site developed and maintained by his direct
disciple Swami Kriyananda.