"A brilliant account of what history will recognize as one of the most significant lives of the 20th century" (Ken Wilber, author of The Religion of Tomorrow). Paramahansa Yogananda was called "the 20th century's first superstar guru" (Los Angeles Times), and today, nearly a century after he arrived in the United States, he's still the best known and most beloved of all the Indian spiritual teachers who have come to the West. In this captivating book, newly available in paperback, Yogananda's story finally has the authoritative telling it deserves. Considered by many to be the father of modern yoga, Yogananda has had an unsurpassed global impact thanks to the durability of his teachings, the institutions he created or inspired, and especially his iconic memoir, Autobiography of a Yogi. Since its publication in 1946, that book has sold millions of copies and changed millions of lives. But it doesn't tell the whole story. Much of Yogananda's seminal text is devoted to tales about other people, and it largely overlooks the three vital decades he spent living, working, and teaching in America. Huge chunks of his life--challenges, controversies, and crises; triumphs, relationships, and formative experiences--remain unknown to even his most ardent devotees. Scholar and teacher Philip Goldberg fills the gaps, charting a journey that spanned six decades, two hemispheres, two world wars, and unprecedented social changes. The result is an objective, thoroughly researched account of Yogananda's remarkable life in all its detail, nuance, and complex humanity. But this is more than a compelling life story. "Yogananda would, I believe, want any book about him to not only inform but transform," Goldberg writes. "It is my hope that readers will be enriched, expanded, and deepened by this humble offering." That is sure to be the case for both Yogananda enthusiasts and those who discover him for the first time in these illuminating pages. "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., best-selling 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 ha