Paramahansa Yogananda is an influential personality who spread his spiritual ideas and self-examination goals all over the world in his life. He was well known in the east and west because of his countless contributions to mankind.
Who was Paramahansa Yogananda?
Paramahansa Yogananda was the spiritual identity of India who was also Yoga Master. He has honored that he was the first person who carries Yoga to the west. His contributions to Self-Realization are incredible and unforgettable. His teachings about meditation are spread over millions of people because he traveled in India and America. So he got fame in spirituality and sanctity and for last but not the least in yoga. He practiced yoga to achieve the goal of self-realization. Also, convey others to triumph peace of mind.
The early life of Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda was born in 1893 in Gorakhpur in an upper-class family. As his father was on the railway so he had many sightseeing trips at a very early age. Swami Sri Yukteswar was his guru, who met him at the age of 17. Yogananda got his training from him for the next ten years and then kept on learning from other spiritual personalities in the coming years. He completed his education and start educating yoga techniques to students emphasizing the spiritualism and the benefits of yoga.
Teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda
His peaceful guidance and lessons of life are worth listening to. He wrote many books but “Autobiography of a Yogi” was most eminent of them as this was his life story. This inspirational book was translated into 45 languages. Also, this fascinating book wins the slogan of “The Book that changed the life of Millions.”
“The true basis of religion is not belief, but intuitive experience. Intuition is the soul’s power of knowing God. To know what religion is all about, one must know God.”
This quote is from his historic book which is also deliberated in “100 Best Spiritual Books of the 20th Century”.
Some of his golden lessons are here:
Oneness
His universal oneness idea was constitutional for the western world.
- Meditation
Focusing things with spiritual eyes is meditation which was spread in the west by Paramahansa Yogananda. And then he found thousands of followers.
- Karma
He showed a different perspective of life to people that they can accept the change in life due to their past. So one can control the circumstances and actions.
- Leaving the world is necessary?
No, with his way of life proved that for attaining spirituality it is not obligatory to leave the world and start living in caves. Because at his young age he tried to run in the Himalayas but his guru’s training made him learn in the world with devoutness.
- To be happy
According to him, happiness can only bring in ourselves by helping others. Pleasure does not lie in materialistic things. He started to teach balance in spirituality and worldly life, which was one of Yogananda’s most distinctive lessons.
- Loyalty
He put loyalty as the highest priority to spend life and gave it the number one rank in his life spending laws.
Legacy of Paramahansa Yogananda
‘Let my soul smile through my core and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may distribute rich grins in depressed hearts.’
In 1917 he founded a non-profit religious organization named Self Realization Fellowship and then in 1925 it was developed in the US. As he was getting popularity in America due to his unique yoga introduced by one and only Yogananda. His awareness of life aspects and attitude on the road to sanctity always impress people around the world. His revolutionary approach towards religion was also reflected in his books which are available globally.
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