The Science of Religion [Hardcover]

Paramahansa Yogananda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1982

1953. The value of this small book is beyond estimation in words, since between these narrow covers is to be found the flower of the Vedas and the Upanishads, the essence of Patanjali, foremost exponent of the Yoga philosophy and method, and in the thought of Sankara, greatest mind that ever dwelt in mortal body, placed for the first time within reach of the multitude. Contents: Preface and introduction; Universality, necessity and oneness of religion: distinction between pain, pleasure, and bliss: God; Four fundamental religious methods: intellectual, devotional, meditational, organic, scientific; Instruments of knowledge: perception, inference, intuition.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This small book offers the clue to the universe. Its value is beyond estimation in words....The essential point to be remarked about Paramahansa Yogananda's teaching, in contradistinction to that of European philosophers, such as Bergson, Hegel, and others, is that it is not speculative, but practical, even when dealing with the utmost reaches of metaphysics. --- From the preface by Douglas Grant Duff Ainslie, British statesman and philosopher --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Born in India on January 5, 1893, Paramahansa Yogananda devoted his life to helping people of all races and creeds to realize and express more fully in their lives the true beauty, nobility, and divinity of the human spirit. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, Sri Yogananda took formal vows as a monk of India's venerable monastic Swami Order. Two years later, he began his life's work with the founding of a how-to-live school since grown to twenty-one educational institutions throughout India where traditional academic subjects were offered together with yoga training and instruction in spiritual ideals. In 1920, he was invited to serve as India's delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston. His address to the Congress and subsequent lectures on the East Coast were enthusiastically received, and in 1924 he embarked on a cross-continental speaking tour. Over the next three decades, Paramahansa Yogananda contributed in far-reaching ways to a greater awareness and appreciation in the West of the spiritual wisdom of the East. In Los Angeles, he established an international headquarters for Self-Realization Fellowship, the nonsectarian religious society he had founded in 1920. Through his writings, extensive lecture tours, and the creation of Self-Realization Fellowship temples and meditation centers, he introduced hundreds of thousands of truth-seekers to the ancient science and philosophy of Yoga and its universally applicable methods of meditation. Today, the spiritual and humanitarian work begun by Paramahansa Yogananda continues under the direction of Sri Daya Mata, one of his earliest and closest disciples and president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India since 1955. In addition to publishing his writings, lectures and informal talks (including a comprehensive series of Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons for home study), the society also oversees temples, retreats, and centers around the world. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 101 pages
• Publisher: Self-Realization Fellowship Publishers (December 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876120044
• ISBN-13: 978-0876120040
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,972,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hailed as "the father of Yoga in the West," Paramahansa Yogananda - author of the bestselling classic "Autobiography of a Yogi" - is regarded as one of the great spiritual figures of our time. Born in northern India on January 5, 1893, he devoted his life to helping people of all races and creeds to realize and express more fully in their lives the true beauty, nobility, and divinity of the human spirit. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, Yogananda took formal vows as a monk of India's venerable monastic Swami Order. Two years later, he began his life's work with the founding of a how-to-live school since grown to twenty-one educational institutions throughout India where traditional academic subjects were offered together with yoga training and instruction in spiritual ideals. In 1920, he was invited to serve as India's delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston. His address to the Congress and subsequent lectures on the East Coast were enthusiastically received, and in 1924 he embarked on a cross-continental speaking tour. Over the next three decades, Paramahansa Yogananda contributed in far-reaching ways to a greater awareness and appreciation in the West of the spiritual wisdom of the East. In Los Angeles, he established an international headquarters for Self-Realization Fellowship, the nonsectarian religious society he had founded in 1920. Through his writings, extensive lecture tours, and the creation of Self-Realization Fellowship temples and meditation centers, he introduced hundreds of thousands of truth-seekers to the ancient science and philosophy of Yoga and its universally applicable methods of meditation. Today, the spiritual and humanitarian work begun by Paramahansa Yogananda continues under the direction of Sri Daya Mata, one of his earliest and closest disciples and president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India since 1955. In addition to publishing his writings, lectures and informal talks (including a comprehensive series of Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons for home study), the society also oversees temples, retreats, and centers around the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Goal of life and its attainment, November 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Science of Religion (Paperback)

Religion or faith in fundamental principles, is the foundation upon which the edifice of reasoning, or science is built upon. While it is religion which binds us into courses of action consistent with those fundamental principles, it is science that enables us to stay clear of inconsistent systems of guiding principles, and to practically attain the goals posited by our principles.

The Science of Religion by Paramahansa Yogananda arrives by analysis at inner happiness or bliss as the goal that binds all men. Thus, from the standpoint of the etymological meaning of the word religion as that which binds (from religio-onis in Latin), the author says that the pursuit of bliss is universal religion, as it motivates all human actions.

Having arrived at universal religion, the author then goes on to present the practical means of attaining the goal, i.e.,the science. He outlines the four broad classes of methods that have been evolved to attain bliss, or God: the methods of reasoning, devotion, meditation, and life-force control. He points out the limitations of the first three methods, and recommends the method of life-force control (which acts directly upon the vital organs of the body, slowing them down) to sever the identification of human consciousness with the body that underlies all human suffering.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CLEAR AND PROFOUND!, May 9, 1998

By 

Fred Parente (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Science of Religion (Paperback)

In this small book, PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA clearly states a simple and profound truth that is the core philosophy of all of the world's great spiritual systems. As Douglas Ainslie says in his introduction "this small book offers the clue to the universe....between these narrow covers is to be found the flower of the Vedas and the Upanishads, the essence of Patanjali,...and the thought of Shankara, greatest mind that ever dwelt in mortal body........This is the deliberate attempt of one who has at last found in the East, after many wanderings, the solution to the riddles of the world......The essential point to be remarked about Paramahansa's teaching,....is that it is not speculative , but practical, even when dealing with the utmost reaches of metaphysics."

The author was a great Yogi who lived and taught in the West for over 30 years. The example of his life and work have not only turned many people god-ward, but has also shown them the way to SELF-REALIZATION through Kriya Yoga and his prolific inspired teachings. His wisdom, insight and remarkable innovations in the field of human development and religion are legendary.The main theme of this book is "bliss", our deepest need and how to find it.

Parmahansa Yogananda established the Self-Realization Fellowship as the sole authorized representative and spiritual path for his great work.

Also Recommended:

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI........SANCTUARY OF THE SOUL........THE DIVINE ROMANCE...............MAN'S ETERNAL QUEST..................JOURNEY TO SELF-REALIZATION.....................WHISPERS FROM ETERNITY..................WHERE THERE IS LIGHT ....etc....all by the same author.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Science with Religion, April 27, 2009

By 

Jeevanmuktha "RCB" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Science of Religion (Paperback)

Prior to reading Yogananda's books, i read several ones on philosophy
which did satisfy to some extents, and doubts remained. Paramahansa
Yogananda is direct, and his words hit the chord with body, mind and
soul. It is difficult for the westener to grasp faith without science
and the easterner takes for granted all abstractions without science.
This book and others by Yogananda provide the true link between the
cosmos and us. What are we, who are we, what is our purpose in this
world (beyond eat, drink, sleep), what is life and what is religion.
His words echo those of Swami Vivekananda who gave a set of stunning
argumentative lectures based on religion from science and their symbiotic
existence. After all both words were invented by man seeking the
vibration beyond religion, science and creation.