2023-06-19
Virk, an entrepreneur, revisits a 20th-century spiritual classic.
Praised by readers who ranged from the Beatles’ George Harrison to Apple founder Steve Jobs, Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi (1946), per the author, was “the first and most important step to opening the door” of Eastern spirituality to Western readers. Using vignettes from his early life in India, Yogananda’s Autobiography was part of his lifelong quest to introduce yoga and meditation to the West, emphasizing that “ ‘God’ was not some external entity”; “God was self-realization, something that happened inside us.” As a successful entrepreneur, Virk is careful to emphasize that his life as a computer programmer, video game creator, and investor is very different from Yogananda’s—he has not forsaken the material world and certainly doesn’t consider himself to be a swami. Yet, on the “universal search” for spiritual fulfillment, he finds the Autobiography profoundly relevant. Distilling Yogananda’s tome into an accessible package, this book extracts the yogi’s more memorable stories into a collection of 14 lessons that are applicable “to our experience in the modern world.” While some of the lessons are deeply Eastern in their spirituality, covering topics from that range from karma and self-realization to the “ancient arts of bilocation, levitation and telepathy,” many combine the spiritual traditions of India with the scientism of the West. A self-described “modern technologist,” the author highlights the connections between Yogananda’s description of an “illusory world” and “the virtual worlds that we are now creating in cyberspace.” Many of the book’s lessons are also relevant to less spiritually inclined readers, providing guidance on general self-help topics like overcoming setbacks. Having written multiple books on entrepreneurship and Eastern spirituality, Virk’s writing style effectively blends engaging, accessible prose with a solid grasp on both Eastern and Western cultures that is supported by more than 150 endnotes. Incorporating 21st-century scientific breakthroughs in its analysis, this book is a fitting tribute to Yogananda’s mission to bridge East and West 80 years after his death.
A relevant, contemporary rereading of the Autobiography of a Yogi.
