Paramahansa Yogananda was called "the 20th century's first superstar guru" (Los Angeles Times), and today, he's still 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 impact thanks to the durability of his teachings, the institutions he created or inspired, and especially his memoir, Autobiography of a Yogi. Since its publication in 1946, that book has sold millions of copies and changed millions of lives.
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. That is sure to be the case for both Yogananda enthusiasts and those who discover him for the first time in these illuminating pages.