Review
The writings of Paramahansa Yogananda have long been appreciated by practitioner and mystic alike. The Self-Realization Fellowship continues to make available these important syntheses of Eastern meditative yogic teachings and the more penetrating aspects of the life and sermons, parables, and lessons of Christ. The latter are often lost in didactic recitation over the centuries, but the work of Yogananda illuminates much of their likely original mystery and meaning with new perspective. This little work would revive the most, jaded who know the history of institutionalized religion. Questions such as "Who am I?" or "Why am I here?" are rarely directly addressed by dogma on baptism, sin, and heaven and hell.
The Yoga of Jesus attempts to blend what is known about the path of Christ, in union with the principles found in the
Bhagavad Gita. It should be noted that in the brief introduction to this book a companion text is meant to accompany
The Yoga of Jesus, entitled
The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita.
For ease of reading, this book is divided into three parts and nine chapters. Chapter two, "Jesus the Yogi." relays Yogananda's understanding of ancient manuscripts and his belief that Jesus went to India and lived and ruminated among the yogis, gurus, and wise ones of that time.
Chapter six helps to untangle the confusion many people have about doctrinaire religious practices and the metaphysics of Christ consciousness.
The Yoga of Jesus essentially portends that one can clothe the path to enlightenment in various religious raiment, but the consciousness of infinite life and light is one and the same for all approaches. Simple enough, but as many people know, the world of Maya—everyday reality—is powerful. We have to eat, have shelter, and cover our bodies for warmth. These requirements often obscure not only the object of life, but also the spirit, that is our birthright.
This sweet treatise is ecumenical in nature and full of insight as it reminds us we can always be intoxicated with the divinely wondrous. The use of daily meditation will keep the seeker "in the zone" irrespective of any given stated religious preference. --New Age Retailer
About the Author
Hailed as "the father of Yoga in the West", Paramahansa Yogananda is regarded as one of the great spiritual figures of our time. Born in northern India, he came to the United States in 1920, where for more than 30 years he taught the ancient science of Kriya Yoga meditation and the art of balanced spiritual living. That same year he founded
Self-Realization Fellowship, to disseminate his writings and teachings worldwide. Through his best-selling classic,
Autobiography of a Yogi, and his numerous other books, he has introduced millions throughout the world to the spiritual principles of yoga meditation and the universal truths underlying all world religions.
