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''Autobiography of a Yogi'' is an autobiography of Paramahansa Yogananda (January 5, 1893–March 7, 1952) first published in 1946. Yogananda was born Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Gorakhpur, India, into a Bengali family. ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' introduces the reader to the life of Paramahansa Yogananda and his encounters with spiritual figures of both the East and West. The book begins with his childhood family life, to finding his guru, to becoming a monk and establishing his teachings of Kriya Yoga meditation. The book continues in 1920 when Yogananda accepts an invitation to speak in a religious congress in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He then travels across America lecturing and establishing his teachings in Los Angeles, California. In 1935 he returns to India for a yearlong visit. When he returns to America, he continues to establish his teachings, including writing this book. The book is an introduction to the methods of attaining God-realization and to the spiritual thought of the East, which had only been available to a few in 1946. The author claims that the writing of the book was prophesied long ago by the nineteenth-century master Lahiri Mahasaya. It has been in print for over sixty-five years and translated into at least thirty-four languages by Self-Realization Fellowship. It has been highly acclaimed as a spiritual classic including being designated by Philip Zaleski, while he was under the auspices of HarperCollins Publishers, as one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century." It is included in the book ''50 Spiritual Classics: Timeless Wisdom from 50 Great Books of Inner Discovery, Enlightenment and Purpose'' by Tom Butler-Bowdon. According to Project Gutenberg, the first edition is in public domain and at least five publishers are reprinting it and four post it free for online reading. == Overview == The ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' takes the reader on a journey into the spiritual adventures of Paramahansa Yogananda. The book begins by describing Yogananda's childhood family life to his search for his guru, Yukteswar Giri,〔Chapter 10 – I Meet my Master, Sri Yukteswar〕 to the establishment of his first school, Yogoda Satsanga Brahmacharya Vidyalaya〔Chapter 27 – Founding of a Yoga School at Ranchi〕 to his journey to America where he lectured to thousands, established Self-Realization Fellowship〔Chapter 37 - I Go to America〕 and visited with Luther Burbank,〔Chapter 38 – Luther Burbank, A Saint Amidst the Roses〕 a renowned botanist to whom this book is dedicated. The book then takes you on Yogananda's return visit to India in 1935 where he encountered leading spiritual figures such as Therese Neumann〔Chapter 39 – The Catholic Stigmatist of Bavaria〕 in Bavaria, the Hindu saint Ananda Moyi Ma,〔Chapter 45 – The Bengali "Joy-Permeated Mother"〕 Mahatma Gandhi,〔Chapter 44 – With Mahatma Gandhi at Wardha〕 Rabindranath Tagore,〔Chapter 29 – Rabindranath Tagore and I Compare Schools〕 Nobel Prize-winning physicist Sir C. V. Raman,〔Chapter 41 - An Idyl in South India〕 and Giri Bala, "the woman yogi who never eats."〔Chapter 46 - Giri Bala - The woman Yogi Who Never Eats〕 The reader then returns to the West with Yogananda where he continues to establish his teachings in America including writing this book. The preface was written by Walter Evans-Wentz, an Oxford scholar of anthropology, a writer who was a pioneer in the study of Tibetan Buddhism and an author of ''The Tibetan Book of the Dead'' and ''Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa.'' In the preface he wrote, "His unusual life-document is certainly one of the most revealing of the depths of the Hindu mind and heart, and of the spiritual wealth of India, ever to be published in the West."〔Evans-Wentz, W. Y. Preface〕 Yukteswar Giri, Yogananda's guru, told him about a significant prediction made by Lahiri Mahasaya, Yukteswar's guru.〔Chapter 32 – Rama is Raised from the Dead〕 Yukteswar heard him say, "About fifty years after my passing," he said, "my life will be written because of a deep interest in yoga which the West will manifest. The yogic message will encircle the globe, and aid in establishing that brotherhood of man which results from direct perception of the One Father." In 1945 fifty years after Lahiri Mahasaya's passing in 1895, the Autobiography was complete and ready for publication. ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' is the most popular of Yogananda's books. According to Philip Goldberg, who wrote ''American Veda'', "... the Self-Realization Fellowship which represents Yogananda's Legacy, is justified in using the slogan, "The Book that Changed the Lives of Millions." It has sold more than four million copies and counting ..." and it has published the book into 34 languages. In 1999, it was designated as one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century" by a panel of theologians and luminaries convened by HarperCollins publishers.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Autobiography of a Yogi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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