Autobiography of a Yogi Summary

Autobiography of a Yogi is Paramahansa Yogananda's 1946 account of his life from childhood in Gorakhpur, India, to his career as a teacher of Kriya Yoga in America. The book opens with his early years as Mukunda Lal Ghosh, including his boyhood encounters with wandering ascetics and his persistent search for a guru, which culminates in his meeting with Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri of Serampore. Under Yukteswar's direction, Yogananda undertakes monastic training and receives initiation into Kriya Yoga, a technique of pranayama-centered meditation said to accelerate spiritual evolution by drawing energy toward the spine and brain. Central to the narrative are Yogananda's portraits of Indian saints and yogis, including Mahavatar Babaji, the deathless guru credited with reviving Kriya Yoga in the modern era, and Lahiri Mahasaya, the householder yogi who transmitted it widely. Chapters recount encounters with figures such as the "levitating saint," the "sleepless saint," and his guru's demonstration of astral travel. Yogananda also describes his 1920 voyage to the United States, his founding of the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles, and his efforts to reconcile Eastern meditation with Western life. The book closes with his guru's death and subsequent resurrection appearance, and with Yogananda's reflections on the unity of religious paths. Widely credited with introducing meditation and yoga to Western readers, it remains the most influential autobiography in the modern yoga tradition.