Stories of Yogananda's Youth: True Episodes from the Boyhood of the Author of Autobiography of a Yogi

By Swami Kriyananda

Stories from the youth of Mukunda Lal Ghosh, later known to the world under his monastic name of Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the bestselling spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi. Even in his youth the greatness of this master of yoga was revealed. Complements beautifully Yogananda's own autobiography.

The author, Swami Kriyananda, a direct and close disciple of Yogananda, writes: "In this book I have tried to depict Yogananda's spirit; a spirit ardent with love for God, tender with sympathy for all men, forgiving, kindly, humorous, yet resolute and forceful when strength was needed."

From the preface: "Paramhansa Yogananda was born in India in the last decade of the nineteenth century. His father, a high official in the Bengal-Nagpur railway, was in a position to offer his children worldly security and success. Mukunda's heart, however, was set on another kind of security and another, higher, kind of success: final victory over ignorance through loving union with God. Spurning earthly comforts, he sought rigorous training under one of India's greatest living gurus, Swami Sri Yukteswar, of Serampore, Bengal.

"People often make the mistake of equating the spiritual life with dullness and prudery. These stories should help to dispel that illusion. Mukunda's keen sense of humor and love of pranks often startled his more sedate neighbors out of their mental ruts. The personality that emerges from these episodes is joyous, compassionate, childlike yet fiercely determined, loyal, deeply in love with God, and capable of standing alone in his convictions against the very world.

"These stories have been written from true episodes in the master's life from approximately the ages of six to seventeen. Some of the accounts were related to me by his relatives; others, by childhood friends. But the greater number were told me by the master himself. I have taken no liberties with those accounts beyond adding superficial details for poetic emphasis, an occasionally combining separate episodes (too brief to stand alone) into a single story."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crystal Clarity Publishers
• Release date: Nov 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781565895737

Swami Kriyananda

Swami Kriyananda “Swami Kriyananda is a man of wisdom and compassion in action, truly one of the leading lights in the spiritual world today.” —Lama Surya Das, Dzogchen Center, author of Awakening the Buddha Within A prolific author, accomplished composer, playwright, and artist, and a world-renowned spiritual teacher, Swami Kriyananda (1926–2013) referred to himself simply as close disciple of the great God-realized master, Paramhansa Yogananda. He met his guru at the age of twenty-two, and served him during the last four years of the Master’s life. He dedicated the rest of his life to sharing Yogananda’s teachings throughout the world. Kriyananda was born in Romania of American parents, and educated in Europe, England, and the United States. Philosophically and artistically inclined from youth, he soon came to question life’s meaning and society’s values. During a period of intense inward reflection, he discovered Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi, and immediately traveled three thousand miles from New York to California to meet the Master, who accepted him as a monastic disciple. Yogananda appointed him as the head of the monastery, authorized him to teach and give Kriya Initiation in his name, and entrusted him with the missions of writing, teaching, and creating what he called “world brotherhood colonies.” Kriyananda founded the first such community, Ananda Village, in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California in 1968. Ananda is recognized as one of the most successful intentional communities in the world today. It has served as a model for other such communities that he founded subsequently in the United States, Europe, and India.

Book preview

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Stories of Yogananda’s Youth

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Paramhansa Yogananda

1893–1952

Stories of Yogananda’s Youth

True Episodes from the Boyhood of the

Author of Autobiography of a Yogi

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by Swami Kriyananda

© Copyright 1976, 2017 by Hansa Trust

Second Edition, 1976

Second Printing, 1977

Third Printing, 2017

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN-13: 978-1-56589-317-7

eISBN-13: 978-1-56589-573-7

Cover designed with love by: Amala Cathleen Elliott

Interior design & illustrations by David Jensen

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kriyananda, Swami, author.

Title: Stories of Yogananda’s youth : true episodes from the boyhood of the author of Autobiography of a yogi / Swami Kriyananda.

Description: Nevada City, California : Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2017.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017030744 | ISBN 9781565893177 (quality pbk. : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Yogananda, Paramahansa, 1893-1952. | Yogis--India--Biography.

Classification: LCC BP605.S43 Y6354 2017 | DDC 294.5092 [B] --dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017030744

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14618 Tyler Creek Road

Nevada City, Cdalifornia 95959

Contents

Author’s Preface

A Letter to God

The Goldfish Tragedy

A Double Victory

The Living Kali

A True Devotee’s Zeal

God Is in Everything

Ghosts to the Rescue

The Warrior

The Youthful Guru

Krishna Comes!

The Wave and the Ocean

Forty-Eight Hours in Eternity

Divine Mother’s Motorcycle

This Body Belongs to God

About the Author

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Preface

Paramhansa Yogananda was the author of one of the classics of modern spiritual literature, Autobiography of a Yogi. Mukunda Lal Ghosh (his pre-monastic name) was born in India in the last decade of the Nineteenth Century. His father, a high official in the Bengal-Nagpur Railway, was in a position to offer his children worldly security and success. Mukunda’s heart, however, was set on another kind of security and another, higher, kind of success: final victory over ignorance through loving union with God. Spurning earthly comforts, he sought rigorous training under one of India’s greatest living gurus (spiritual teachers), Swami Sri Yukteswar, of Serampore, Bengal.

In 1920 at the age of twenty-seven, Mukunda—now the monk Yogananda—was sent by his guru to America. Here, his extraordinary blend of dynamic joy, deep wisdom, delightful humor, and all-embracing love attracted throngs to his lectures. His appearance in America marked the first time that a great Indian yogi actually made his home in the West. Westerners by the tens of thousands showed themselves eager to drink at the fountain of India’s timeless wisdom.

In 1925 Paramhansa Yogananda established his headquarters atop Mt. Washington in Los Angeles, California. I myself met him in 1948, at the age of twenty-two. From that time on I was associated closely with him until his death in 1952. During those years I conceived a keen desire to make his life better known to the world. This little volume, though relating only to his boyhood, is a step in that direction.

People often make the mistake of equating the spiritual life with dullness and prudery. These stories from the master’s childhood should help to dispel that illusion. As the boy Mukunda, his keen sense of humor and love of pranks often startled his more sedate neighbors out of their mental ruts. The personality that emerges from these episodes is one joyous, compassionate, childlike yet fiercely determined, loyal, deeply in love with God, and capable of standing alone in his convictions against the very world.

These stories have been written from true episodes in the master’s life from approximately the ages of six to seventeen. Some of the accounts were related to me by his relatives; others, by childhood friends. But the greater number were told to me by the master himself. I have taken no liberties with those accounts beyond adding superficial details for poetic emphasis, and occasionally combining separate episodes (too brief to stand alone) into a single story.

A Letter to God

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