A Book and Its Cover

“A friend gave me a book to read, but something about the photo on the cover just put me off. I set the book aside and forgot all about it,” he said. A young man was telling us the story of how he found Autobiography of a Yogi.

“Later that year,” he continued, “as I was getting ready to move out of the house I was renting, I went up to the attic to get some things I’d stored. In the corner I noticed a box of books that must have been left by a former tenant. On the top of the pile, there was a book that looked intriguing, though its cover was torn off.”

“As I began reading it, I absolutely loved the book, and couldn’t put it down. It wasn’t until I was about halfway through that I realized it was the same one – Autobiography of a Yogi – that I’d set aside earlier because I didn’t like its cover.”

We’ve asked people all over the world how they found Master’s classic, and the stories are always inspiring, sometimes semi-miraculous, and all filled with a creative ingenuity that God must need to draw us slightly oblivious devotees to the spiritual path. (“You don’t like the cover? Here’s a copy without the cover.”)

Perhaps you, too, would like to share your story about how you found Autobiography? We’ve created a page on Ananda’s new website ParamhansaYogananda.com where you can add yours. It will be wonderful to share these little miracles.

For me these stories illustrate how the Divine works with each one of us in a unique way that is designed specifically for our spiritual needs. I don’t mean just getting Autobiography into our hands, but the personalized help the guru offers us to overcome the ego. And all of this is rooted in a love unconditional and unfathomable.

In one of his talks about the power of Yogananda’s love, Swami Kriyananda said, “You could feel that Master had enough love to be able to stand up and attack our personal delusions head on, and to tell us what we needed to hear.”

Never doubt that God loves you. He’s designed every detail of our life to awaken us from this dream of delusion.

With joy in God and Guru,Nayaswami Devi

Nayaswami Devi