Sanatan Dharma

At sixteen, young Venkataraman was suddenly gripped by intense fear of death. He lay down like a corpse and inquired: With the death of this body, am I dead? In that moment, he realized: I am a spirit transcending the body. The material body dies, but the spirit cannot be touched by death. Fear vanished forever, leading him to Arunachala where he remained until death.

Gorakhnath demonstrated mastery over life and death multiple times. He once destroyed and then restored the two sons of Matsyendranath to prove a spiritual point. In another instance, a disciple who had taken the form of a stag was shot by King Bhartari. Gorakhnath simply cast earth upon the body, and the disciple returned to life.

Ramakrishna declared: I see that God is walking in every human form, manifesting through the sage and the sinner, the virtuous and the vicious. When meeting different people, he would say: God in the form of the saint, God in the form of the sinner. This vision of unity transcended all distinctions and became central to his teaching that all religions lead to the same goal.

Nisargadatta Maharaj was a humble Mumbai merchant selling cigarettes when his guru gave him one instruction: meditate on the sense I Am. With complete faith, Nisargadatta followed this simple practice. In just three years, he attained Self-Realization - demonstrating the path to enlightenment need not be long for one with total faith in the gurus words.

Young Mukunda visits Gandha Baba (Vishudhananda), a yogi who could produce any fragrance from flowers or human skin at will. Despite witnessing miraculous perfume manifestations, Yogananda decides not to follow him, concluding that such miracles are spiritually useless entertainment.

Mukunda visits Ram Gopal Muzumdar, a saint who remained awake in ecstatic God-consciousness for over 25 years without needing sleep. The saint teaches Yogananda that his guru Sri Yukteswar has everything he needs and that the kingdom of God is found within.

The story of Sohong Swami, a saint who fought tigers with his bare hands using the power of mind over muscle. After defeating a fierce tiger named Raja Begum in a public exhibition, he underwent a spiritual transformation and renounced his worldly pursuits.

Babaji explained to Lahiri Mahasaya why he was destined to remain a householder: The millions who are encumbered by family ties will take new heart from you. You should guide them to understand that the highest yogic attainments are not barred to the family man. Lahiri taught Kriya Yoga while working as an accountant, proving liberation is accessible to all.

King Bhartrihari of Ujjain was disillusioned when he discovered his beloved wifes infidelity - revealed by Gorakhnath through illusions of multiplying queens. Shattered, the king sought Gorakhnaths guidance, who initiated him into the Nath tradition. Bhartrihari renounced his kingdom and became one of the most famous yogi-poets of India.

Sri Yukteswar teaches Yogananda about the true science of astrology and how to overcome planetary influences through prayer, will power, yoga meditation, and astrological bangles, demonstrating that the wise can defeat their planets.

The fateful first meeting between young Mukunda and his destined guru Sri Yukteswar in Benares. Recognizing each other from visions, their souls connected instantly, beginning a sacred guru-disciple relationship that would shape spiritual history.

A beloved twelve-year-old student named Kashi makes Yogananda promise to find him if he dies and is reborn. When Kashi tragically dies of cholera, Yogananda uses a secret yoga technique to broadcast his love through the spiritual eye, eventually locating Kashis reborn soul.

Nagendra Nath Bhaduri (Bhaduri Mahasaya) was a saint who could levitate through mastery of pranayama. Despite having lived indoors for twenty years, he displayed no signs of age. He said his disciples would be living volumes proving the teachings.

Yogananda and his friend Jitendra travel to the holy city of Brindaban without any money to test their faith in divine providence. Despite moments of doubt and hunger, they are miraculously provided for at every turn.

Three months after Sri Yukteswar death in 1936, Yogananda experiences his resurrected guru appearing before him in flesh and blood in a Bombay hotel room. Sri Yukteswar reveals he now serves as a savior on the astral planet Hiranyaloka.

At age twelve, Mukunda meets Swami Pranabananda in Benares, who demonstrates the ability to appear in two places simultaneously. Pranabananda explains that true yogis perceive the subtle unity of the phenomenal world.

Yogananda meets Ananda Moyi Ma, an illiterate yet profoundly wise woman saint who stunned intellectuals with her wisdom. Living in perpetual samadhi, she was so absorbed in God that disciples had to feed her by hand.

Sri Yukteswar recounts how his guru Lahiri Mahasaya resurrected his friend Rama from death. After Rama died and his body became rigid, Lahiri instructed Yukteswar to place seven drops of castor oil in Ramas mouth. At the seventh drop, Rama returned to life.

A profound philosophical hymn pondering the origin of existence from a state of neither being nor non-being. It concludes with uncertainty, suggesting that perhaps even the gods do not know how creation occurred, as they came after it.

In the beginning arose Hiranyagarbha, the golden cosmic egg or womb, from the primordial waters. From this egg emerged Prajapati, the Lord of Creation, who upheld heaven and earth and became the source of all existence.