How does one do it?
By constantly moving. By reading. By meditating. By being content with oneself.
I just finished reading the Autobiography of a Yogi. It was pretty good, however, it was like reading something about Christianity near the end. But, I understand what the book was ultimately about.
It was an introduction to Paramahansa Yogananda's life, but it was also about a man named Sri Yukteswar, who, when teaching Paramahansa, fulfilled a lot of his wishes. Sri Yukteswar was Paramahansa's guru, or, teacher. It featured writings of Yogananda's early life, early miracles. It also has a lot of, not prophecies per se. But it did have Yogananda's guru fulfill a plethora of almost magical requests.
One thing I didn't like about the book, I have to say, is that the book relied heavily on the Christian worldview; but on the other hand, I do know that often when Buddhists proclaim something about god (like, for example, that god created all things), that they're referring to god very vaguely. I wish it had more talk about Atheism in the Buddhist teachings, as opposed to literally citing Christian scriptures in some cases. It was very off-putting, to say the least for me.
And yes, I also understand that a lot of the chapters of The Fellowship of Realization are based in the USA. I even understand that the majority of Americans are predominantly Christian. And I figured, like most would, that a lot of the readers would not even consider reading the book that had a lot of Atheist references/talking points. Because at the end of the day, most Buddhists are in fact Atheist as well.
It taught a lot about Kriya Yoga, a specific way to meditate, despite the book stating that a guru is necessary to learn about it. But like, at the same time, Kriya Yoga sounds like (to me anyway) a simple pattern of breathing whilst meditating. Meditating in general is fascinating to me anyway, because some people can do it for days, weeks, even months...
Often when talking about Buddhism, you hear about Christian/Buddhists. These people ARE very rare, but when found, they're similar to a divine force. Jesus Christ would make an excellent Buddhist. As would Mother Theresa. Ghandi, etc.
They're good examples of outstanding people who overcame insurmountable odds. In fact, the Original Buddha meditated in a cave in India/Asia, for a couple of months. That's right, A Couple of Months.....
Overall though? I'd give the book a solid 6/10. It's not like this book is alone either, the Fellowship of Realization has several books, many authored by Yogananda. So I am neither concerned about my critical review, nor am I overtly challenged by said rating. I just think that if the book was more open to the possibility of Atheism, it would be more tolerable.
