Philip Goldberg grew up in Brooklyn and now lives in Los Angeles. He has been a professional writer for more than 40 years and is a public speaker, a workshop leader, a spiritual counsellor and the co-host of the popular podcast Spirit Matters. His book American Veda chronicles the impact of India's spiritual teachings on the West; Huffington Post and Library Journal named it as one of the Top 10 Religion Books of 2010. www.philipgoldberg.com
"Philip Goldberg sheds new light on the incredible story and
illuminates the forces that made Yogananda a spiritual teacher and
role model for the ages."
— Deepak Chopra, M.D., author of The Healing Self
"The Life of Yogananda is a profound and exquisitely written
account of the life of one of the most renowned spiritual masters
of our time, and is essential reading for anyone on a spiritual
path. My experience is that, in a mysterious but unmistakable way,
this book pulsates with the very presence, blessing, and
transmission of Yogananda’s limitless wisdom and grace. With
insight, clarity, and his own depth of consciousness, Philip
Goldberg takes you on a virtual pilgrimage that will uplift you,
inspire you, and illuminate your own journey of awakening."
— Dr. Barbara De Angelis, #1 New York Times best-selling author of
Soul Shifts and The Choice for Love
"The long sought and much anticipated synthesis of East and West
has yet to fully materialize, although there have been some very
profound moves in that direction. It is therefore entirely
appropriate that Philip Goldberg delivers a thoroughly readable
biography of perhaps the first, and to date the most influential,
integrator of Eastern and Western philosophical traditions, the
remarkable Yogananda, in The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the
Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru. With any attempt at
summarizing the life of a stunningly great person, the endeavor
itself is fraught with difficulties, but Goldberg takes a very
common-sense approach, including aspects of Yogananda’s life that
seemed truly divine and deeply inspired, as well as those that were
all too human. The result is a brilliant account of what history
will recognize as one of the most significant lives of the 20th
century. The question is, when Yogananda himself had already
written the wildly popular and very widely read Autobiography of a
Yogi, do we really need this new book? Does it justify itself? I
believe that it does, very much so. Sympathetic yet critical, the
book brings to light an enormous number of facets of Yogananda’s
life, times, spiritual realization, culture clashes, and personal
dimensions, all of which shed a huge amount of information not only
about Yogananda and his own spiritual search, but also about the
deeper synthesis of East and West that is still lying in humanity’s
future. I highly recommend you read this book, and get a profound
reminder of what the spiritual search is all about."
— Ken Wilber, author of The Religion of Tomorrow
"In this intensely researched book, Phil Goldberg describes the
deep commitment and tireless effort of Paramahansa Yogananda to
bring the spiritual teachings of India to the West. He reveals the
many obstacles that Yogananda had to overcome in order to bring a
light into the darkness."
— Krishna Das, Chantmaster and author of Chants of a Lifetime
"The Life of Yogananda is a precious dive into the life and times
of America’s most famous yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda. Anyone who
has read the classic Autobiography of a Yogi, written in 1946, will
thrill to the untold story of Yogananda’s life written in this
graceful, insightful biography. It is a worthy companion to
Yogananda’s masterwork, informed both by Philip Goldberg’s
scholarship and by his deep spiritual practice."
— Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., author of Minding the Body, Mending the
Mind and Seven Paths to God
"With spiritual elegance and integrity, Goldberg provides an
intimate portrait of the life of Yogananda, the trailblazing guru
of North American yoga’s influential early years. Through engaging
stories and unique perspectives, Paramahansaji shines through this
biography as an enlightened master and creator of a great spiritual
legacy."
— Michael Bernard Beckwith, founder of Agape International
Spiritual Center and author of Spiritual Liberation
"Paramahansa Yogananda is probably the dominant figure behind the
Western Yoga movement and its spiritual roots, the veritable father
of Yoga in the Western world, living and teaching in America for
more than three decades. Philip Goldberg presents a detailed and
informative biography of the great master."
— Dr. David Frawley, D. Litt., director of American Institute of
Vedic Studies and author of Yoga and Ayurveda
"This exceptionally written, wise, profound biography of one of the
20th century’s greatest spiritual pioneers is essential reading for
all those who want to understand deeply the growing marriage
between Eastern and Western spirituality. I am so moved by and
grateful for Phil Goldberg’s humble mastery of tone and truth in
this marvelous book."
— Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope and co-author of Savage
Grace
"In his latest book, The Life of Yogananda, Philip Goldberg has
masterfully assembled for us a colorful tapestry of stories
detailing the intricacies and complexities that comprise the life
of Paramahansa Yogananda. Goldberg’s work enables us to understand
Yogananda as both mundanely human and extraordinary, while
providing us with a detailed inside understanding of this
remarkable human being and spiritual leader who has, and will
continue to, inspire generations of spiritual seekers. This is a
must-read for all who have read Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi
and wish to better understand the story behind one of the world’s
most remarkable human beings."
— Richard Miller, Ph.D., author of Yoga Nidra and the CD iRest
Meditation: Restorative Practices for Health, Resiliency, and
Well-Being
"The Life of Yogananda is a tremendous gift: a chance to meet from
the ‘outside’ the spiritual genius we met on the ‘inside’ in
Autobiography of a Yogi. The Autobiography shared what was
important to Yogananda; Phil Goldberg’s biography shares why
Yogananda is important to you. If you’ve read the Autobiography,
you must read the biography. If you haven’t read either, you must
read them both."
— Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of Holy Rascals
"Yogananda was more than just a popular guru who brought Indian
spirituality to the United States. He was also a spiritual genius
in the art of living, and his impact and legacy transcend the
traditional divides of race, ethnicity, nationality, politics, and
religion. In The Life of Yogananda, Philip Goldberg meticulously
peels back the mystical layers in order to reveal the man behind
the myth. By doing so, Goldberg continues his extraordinary work as
our foremost chronicler of Hinduism in the United States.’’
— Varun Soni, Ph.D., Dean of Religious Life and Vice Provost for
Campus Wellness and Crisis Intervention, University of Southern
California
"When I was 15, Ram Dass gave me a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi
and the gates of the universe opened. Yogananda’s account of his
spiritual journey emboldened me to commence mine. Now, all these
years later, Phil Goldberg has compiled the stories behind the
stories! What a treasure."
— Mirabai Starr, author of God of Love and Caravan of No
Despair
"This book is a gift for anyone interested in the yogic journey.
Deeply informed by Phil Goldberg’s years of practice and study, it
explores the life of one of the great spiritual masters of the 20th
century. Yogananda’s work has had enormous influence on the
development of yoga and spirituality in the West, and continues to
influence us to this day. In this new biography, Phil offers us a
full portrait of an extraordinary man. Merging Yogananda’s own
autobiographical accounts of his life with the accounts of his
friends and students, this gives us a delightfully written, juicy,
and inspiring portrait that takes us right into the heart of the
yogic experience."
— Sally Kempton, author of Meditation for the Love of It and
Awakening Shakti
"Learning who Yogananda was historically can help us to understand
who he is spiritually. As with all great spiritual masters,
understanding who Yogananda is spiritually helps us to understand
who we deep down really are and are called to be—namaste! For me
personally, the significance of this book’s account of Yogananda
seeding the ancient wisdom of yoga into our Western culture and
religious traditions reminds me of my experience of being with
Thomas Merton at Gethsemani in the 1960s. Merton told me he
practiced yoga. He showed me some yoga postures and gave me a copy
of Dechanet’s Christian yoga, which helped me to integrate yoga
into my own spiritual practices. When I was in the monastery with
Merton, the Benedictine monk Bede Griffith was living as a sanyasi
in his ashram in India, as was his teacher, the Benedictine monk
Abashiktananda, whose book The Hidden Christ of Hinduism deepened
my own understanding of the underlying unity that permeates all the
world’s great religions."
— James Finley, Ph.D., core teacher at the Center for Action and
Contemplation, author of Merton’s Palace of Nowhere and Christian
Meditation
"With The Life of Yogananda, Philip Goldberg has placed himself as
a premier historian of American yoga. First he gave us American
Veda, tracing the complete trajectory of India’s influence on the
American mind, and now, in this excellent biography of Paramahansa
Yogananda, he brings into sharp focus the complex life of America’s
first guru. This is an important book and I couldn’t put it
down."
— Dana Sawyer, professor emeritus of religion and philosophy, Maine
College of Art; author of Aldous Huxley: A Biography and Huston
Smith: Wisdomkeeper
"The story of experiential, meditative, ‘Eastern’ spirituality in
the West just doesn’t exist without Yogananda; yet the story of
Yogananda, in anything like a full telling, hasn’t existed till
now. Philip Goldberg, with the clear eyes of the diligent scholar
and the open heart of the passionate, lifelong spiritual voyager,
is the right person to tell it."
— Dean Sluyter, author of Fear Less and Natural Meditation
"When I was informed about the author’s intention to write this
book, I knew that gathering information from reliable sources
almost seven decades after the subject’s passing would be a major
endeavor. The result is satisfying. It is enjoyable to read,
presented in a clear, forthright manner, and is fair and
honest."
— Roy Eugene Davis, direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda and
founder of Center for Spiritual Awareness
"The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First
Modern Guru is the book admirers of Yogananda and scholars of Yoga
alike have been waiting for. It is a fascinating and inspiring
account of the trials and tribulations, successes and indomitable
spirit of this remarkable yogi. His achievements are such that
religious culture, across nations and traditions, continues to be
informed and influenced by his unique vision—whether acknowledged
or not. This book tells the story of how he accomplished the
extraordinary and, thereby, transformed millions of mundane lives
into ones worth living."
— Rita D. Sherma, Ph.D., director and associate professor, Shingal
Center for Dharma Studies at Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley
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