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"Autobiography of a Yogi,"
by Pramahansa Yogananda,
review by Wil Langford

Yogananda's autobiography might well be called, "When Two Worlds Collide." It is the account of a Yogi who came to the United States early in the Twentieth Century and introduced his beliefs and Hindu/Yoga philosophies to a culture that was indoctrinated with Western Judeo-Christianity, but ignorant of Eastern philosophy.

Since his death, Yogananda's book has been "updated," and "revised," by his followers at Self-Realization Fellowship. There has been much criticism of this tampering with the Guru's own writing as well there should be. There has also been much criticism of the fantastic claims in the book by Christians, which comes as a bit of a surprise since their own Bible is filled with similar types of fantastic stories of supernatural events. Perhaps it is nothing more than a turf battle.

Whether you accept the Yogi's stories as fact at face value or see them as some kind of tall tale telling or perhaps convoluted metaphors, this is an interesting book because it points out a situation that has caused a lot of trouble for the human race for thousands of years. The real problem is that the Eastern culture and Western culture live in two vastly different worlds. I am talking about the experiential worlds of each one.

The Lamsa Bible sought to explain the idioms of the Aramaic language that caused so many problems for the Western world. It seems like the Bible is filled with tall tales until you realize that the problem is a matter of understanding what was meant when certain things were said. For instance, when Mary says that the angel of God went in unto her and she conceived a child, she was merely saying she was pregnant as many women of her time would say it. Each child was considered a gift of God and each conception a Divine miracle. But to the pragmatic Western world, she was saying that God actually materialized in human/angelic form and had intercourse with her.

Exaggeration is a common part of Aramaic culture as is swearing oaths on and for almost every purpose. The Easterners live in a world where fantastic stories are a regular part of the culture while Westerners usually demand proof unless a good story, such as those in the Bible of resurrecting the dead and other supernatural feats, have stood the test of time and gradually earned some kind of credibility just because they have been repeated so many times.

I am not, however saying those stories, like the stories in Yogananda's book are not based on fact, but rather that the facts may have been twisted or embellished. It is accepted custom to embellish stories in his culture so he was doing nothing wrong. It is up to the reader to consider the source, however, and that is where the problem with this book lies. So many people accept it at face value and because it has been lauded and accepted for so long in all its versions, few people seem to take note that they need to consider the source.

I recommend reading this book so that you may better understand the culture's that have given us the great religions of the world. By understanding them and using your own good common sense, you may begin to appreciate the world's condition and plight of the human race. And seen through that lens, you may even finally come to terms with your own true inner self and find the true nature and paradox of human existence. If you are going to judge Yogananda based on the veracity of his fantastic claims then it must be done with an eye to his beliefs and training.

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