It may even be a life changer, and who couldn't use that? For free, no less! Many times, my stone heart was moved to tears during accounts of Mukunda's young life (Yogananda before his innitiation in to Kriya Yoga).
Yogananda writes with warmth and vividity, making his readers feel the chasmic depth of his devotion to his long sought after guru, Sri Yukteswar. The details of his youth leading up to the zenith event of meeting his beloved guru will be found identifiable by every member of humanity in his/her own search for meaning and happiness in this world.
Comforted and revived by the wisdom and countenance of his words, I have developed deep and unexpected love for Yogananda. At a time in my life when I had begun to question the existence of any god but especially a God as described by my Christian knowledge (a male human image, passing judgment from his throne and allowing unspeakable atrocities, even sending them himself as punishment and limiting his love to only those who were scripturally deserving), the truth of Yogananda's message that all of us are united under the same grand and non-human, non-gender specific benevolent Infinite Source was exactly the truth I needed to hear and the same truth I had naturally felt in my inner self from the time I was a child.
In case some of my Christian friends are rolling their eyes right now, the book is not at all anti-Christian or anti-anything. In fact, many times Sri Yogananda explains the words of Jesus and other prophets in such a way that even I can digest them, even agree with them and put them to good use. His words melt away the human lense that has caused so much false information to be flung at us through our indirect God experiences, ie: looking for the moon in the pond (reflection), rather than in the sky (direct experience). Zooming out to a place where every life form can be regarded as equal, significant, insignificant and Holy all at the same time is what humanity is craving, whether aware of it or not, myself included. Yogananda provides that rare vantage point but it comes in the guise of heartfelt and charming accounts of his own life. Through these accounts I was sucked out of my self-focused microcosm into a grand arena with a broader view of the cosmic landscape.
Dogma, doctrine and other man-made ideaologies are examined and exposed through the wisdom of Yogananda and his direct experience with the Infinite. Instead of conveying the knowledge by description alone, Yoganandaji encourages each of us to seek our own direct experience of the Infinite through the use of Kriya Yoga, an ancient meditation practice that is still not exactly clear to me (which is why I have decided to study his lessons leading up to it). Yogananda insists that anyone who applies this method (referred to as the secret key) in earnest can expect direct experience with the Infinite Source of All Life. I have come to believe that allowing one's Self to be directed by the Infinite Source at all times is key to effectiveness toward peace and happiness in the world.
In the days to come, I look forward to documenting my own successes or lack thereof as I stumble through the lessons from this great guru and apply them to my disasterous life. Those who are not seeking God experiences, already have God experiences first hand or those who never thought about it one way or the other; all will benefit from the rare account of Yogananda. So I encourage everyone to give it a read!
