He was called โthe 20th centuryโs first superstar guruโ (Los Angeles Times), and today, nearly a century after he arrived in the United States, heโs 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.
Paramahansaย 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 doesnโt tell the whole story.
Much of Yoganandaโs 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 โchallenges, controversies, and crises; triumphs, relationships, and formative experiences โremain 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 Yoganandaโs remarkable life in all its detail, nuance, and complex humanity.
But this is more than a compelling life story. โYogananda would, I believe, want any book about him to not only inform but transform,โ Goldberg writes. โIt is my hope that readers will be enriched, expanded, and deepened by this humble offering.โ That is sure to be the case for both Yogananda enthusiasts and those who discover him for the first time in these illuminating pages.