Autobiography of a Yogi

by Paramahansa Yogananda

“Only the shallow man loses responsiveness to the woes of others’ lives, as he sinks into narrow suffering of his own.”

I chuckled over this paradoxical view of renunciation—one which puts the cap of Croesus on any saintly beggar, whilst transforming all proud millionaires into unconscious martyrs.

“Straightforwardness without civility is like a surgeon’s knife, effective but unpleasant. Candor with courtesy is helpful and admirable.”

A university degree, in any case, is not remotely related to Vedic realization. Saints are not produced in batches every semester like accountants.”

What one does not trouble to find within will not be discovered by transporting the body hither and yon.

The truths—those surprising, amazing, unforeseen truths—which our descendants will discover, are even now all around us, staring us in the eyes, so to speak, and yet we do not see them. But it is not enough to say that we do not see them; we do not wish to see them; for as soon as an unexpected and unfamiliar fact appears, we try to fit it into the framework of the commonplaces of acquired knowledge, and we are indignant that anyone should dare to experiment further.”