Hagiography of a Yogi 159
document that now, in its thirteenth edition, reflects the institutional position
of the SRF as much as it does Yogananda’s own account as far as the author’s life
and teachings are concerned.
Having discussed the biographical details of Yogananda’s life as they appear
outside of the Autobiography in chapter 3, I will not return to them here except
briefly in addressing Yogananda’s concern with yogic superpowers. Likewise, in
discussing Yogananda’s metaphysical framework, I will make some references to
external sources, such as those covered in chapter 2, to establish context and
illustrate the innovative nature of his synthesis. Otherwise, there is much to be
gained from allowing Yogananda’s narrative to speak for itself. Given the auto-
biographical nature of the work, some consideration will necessarily be given
to authorial intent, but the following analysis will remain largely structural in
nature.
The Boy Who Wanted Superpowers, Revisited
All sources seem to confirm that Yogananda was a naturally spiritual child. It is
unclear— and perhaps unlikely— that he ever pursued yogic superpowers strictly
for their own sake. However, pursue them he did. This desire is never voiced
explicitly in his own account, but the preponderance of episodic narratives fea-
turing Yogis and their superhuman feats betray his fascination.
Satyeswarananda recounts the reaction of a devotee of the Ramakrishna
Mission upon examining a Bengali translation of the Autobiography:
I opened the title, Yogikathamrit and I could not continue to read it even
a few pages. The book appeared to me as if it was a book of demonstration
or application of asta sidhai [the eight classical yogic superpowers]. As
I understand, the utilization and exhibition of asta sidhai are hindrances
to realizing the Lord. At least, that is what I understand reading our sacred
book Sri Ramakrisna Kathamrit.^12This is perhaps not an altogether inaccurate description of the book’s contents.
Almost half of Yogananda’s Autobiography reads like a sort of travel narrative
revolving around meetings with an array of superpowerful Yogis. However, the
reader quickly discovers that not all supermen (or women) are created equal. At
one extreme we have self- realized beings such as Sri Yukteswar, who rarely takes
any credit for the phenomena he produces, preferring to attribute his healing
abilities to divine will or the influence of astrological paraphernalia. At the other
extreme reside unenlightened men like Afzal Khan, the fakir who was granted
his powers as a blessing but went on to abuse them for petty thievery. Between