Autobiography of a Yogi
Paramahansa Yogananda
Contains spoilers for the entire book.
Discussion topics
Topic 01 of 08
A boy in search
What does Yogananda's childhood, from his mother's death to his failed run toward the Himalayas, show about the kind of seeker he was?
Keep the conversation going
- How did you respond to the story of the mystic amulet?
- Why does he begin so far back in his life?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.
Discussion topics
What does Yogananda's childhood, from his mother's death to his failed run toward the Himalayas, show about the kind of seeker he was?
Keep the conversation going
- How did you respond to the story of the mystic amulet?
- Why does he begin so far back in his life?
What kind of teacher is Sri Yukteswar, and why does Yogananda accept his strict discipline?
Keep the conversation going
- How did you respond to the scenes of the master's sternness and humour?
- What does the book suggest a disciple owes a guru?
How did you read the saints Yogananda meets, from the perfume saint and the tiger swami to the levitating saint?
Keep the conversation going
- Did you take the miracles literally, as symbols or with doubt?
- Does your view of them change how you read the rest of the book?
Why does Yogananda give space to scientists like J. C. Bose and later Luther Burbank in a book about yoga?
Keep the conversation going
- How does he try to reconcile Western science and Indian spirituality?
- Do you find the bridge convincing?
What is Kriya Yoga, as Yogananda describes it, and why does he trace it back through Lahiri Mahasaya to Babaji?
Keep the conversation going
- What does he promise it can do?
- How did you respond to the book's mix of practical teaching and story?
Which everyday episodes, like the cauliflower robbery or the trip to Kashmir, gave you the clearest sense of life at the hermitage?
Keep the conversation going
- What part does humour play in the book?
- How do the small stories support the large claims?
What does Yogananda's journey to America ask of him, and how does he describe the West?
Keep the conversation going
- What did you make of his encounters with figures like Therese Neumann and Gandhi?
- Why does he think East and West need each other?
How did you respond to the chapter in which Sri Yukteswar appears to Yogananda after his death?
Keep the conversation going
- What does that chapter say about how Yogananda understands death?
- What, if anything, did you take from the book for your own life?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.