Hagiography of a Yogi 161
materialism of the Tiger Swami’s path, otherwise quite as ostentatious as that of
the Perfume Saint, is redeemed by the ultimate realization that arises out of it.
Then there is the tale of Giri Bala, “The Woman Yogi Who Never Eats,” which
comes at the very end of Yogananda’s narrative. Unlike Therese Neumann, who
is likewise famous for her nonexistent diet, Giri Bala’s condition stems from a
rather quotidian source. Having grown up with an insatiable appetite, she was
relentlessly shamed by her mother- in- law for her “gluttonous habits.” One day
Giri Bala could no longer abide the continuous reproaches and declared her reso-
lution to never again touch food. The mother- in- law was understandably skepti-
cal, and Giri Bala set off in a desperate search to discover the means to uphold her
vow. Her prayers were answered when a Yogi master appeared and taught her a
certain technique that would allow her to live without need of any food or water.
Yogananda inquires why she has not taught others this method, to which Giri Bala
replies that her guru instructed her to keep the technique forever secret so as not
to interfere with the karmic drama of creation. To Yogananda’s question of why
she has thus been singled out to live without nourishment, she answers: “To prove
that man is Spirit... . To demonstrate that by divine advancement he can gradu-
ally learn to live by the Eternal Light and not by food.”^18 In this statement echoes
the refrain of nearly every Yogi with whom Yogananda comes into contact—
including even the theatrical Gandha Baba, who responds to Yogananda’s jest that
he will put the perfume companies out of business: “I will permit them to keep
their trade! My own purpose is to demonstrate the power of God.”^19 Time and
again, the Yogis encountered by Yogananda assert that they exhibit their super-
powers as testament to the power of the divine. Even Giri Bala’s initially worldly
motivation becomes transfigured into a manifestation of divine will.
It should be noted that the first two accounts— those of Gandha Baba and the
Tiger Swami— are presented near the beginning of Yogananda’s Autobiography
and thus fall into his period of intensive spiritual exploration, whereas the third
account of Giri Bala concerns an encounter that occurs upon his return to India
approximately three decades later. It is clear that during this lengthy period his
fascination with displays of superhuman power has remained unabated.
Stepping momentarily outside the present text, this sustained interest in
superpowers and the accompanying explanations may go a long way toward illu-
minating Yogananda’s predilection for including demonstrations of superhuman
feats as highlights of his lectures in the West. Unlike Vivekananda, who firmly
refused to succumb to the “put out or get out” attitudes of miracle- hungry audi-
ences, Yogananda seemed only too eager to demonstrate the effects of his tech-
niques of controlling and recharging the battery of the physical body. Although
the line does begin to blur when considering his associations with the vaudeville
circuit and stage magicians, perhaps Yogananda’s theatrical flair can be attributed