Years back, When I first read the book autobiography of a yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, it was a life transforming experience to me.
I was not a great believer of God at that time but after completing the book, I became a seeker! I could not put down the book, and read it almost continuously.
It took me two days to complete the book and at the end of this read, there were many changes in my understanding about spirituality.
* Yogananda's quest for God and his constant effort to seek honest answers inspired me.
* I always wondered about the role of rituals in seeking God.
Yogananda's scientific explanation of God as infinite consciousness and his various experiences mentioned in the book gave me more clarity on the concept of God.
Yogananda clearly explained how religion is different from spirituality and how all religions have the same goal even though the paths might be different.
* Yogananda also explained in this book, various other related topics such as karma, human will vs destiny.
The best part I liked in his teachings is that we need not have to resign to our life situations but all of us have the power to overcome our limitations and indeed create our own destiny.
Thoughts are the building blocks and by using thought power in the right way, we can achieve anything.
* More than anything else, the book lifted my consciousness to a different level which can not be explained in mere words.
Soon after, I took his lessons, I read his many other books and took the path given by him.
His philosophy was always practical and can be applied to life situations and helpful in solving day to day problems as well.
Yogananda mentioned that - "everything else can wait except the search for God".
He developed practical methods to reach this goal.
These definite methods include energization exercises to increase the energy in the body and mind and to raise the consciousness, meditation techniques and the advanced technique of Kriya yoga, which he called the jet airplane route to God.