Paramahansa Yogananda was one of the great spiritual teachers of the modern age, bringing the ancient science of Kriya Yoga and meditation from India to the West in the 1920s. Author of the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi, he taught that direct experience of the Divine is possible through meditation, devotion, and inner stillness. After his passing in 1952, an unusual event added to the mystery surrounding his life: the director of the mortuary where his body was kept signed a notarized statement declaring there were no visible signs of physical decay for 20 days, and remarkably little change even after that period. To many followers, this was seen as a sign of his extraordinary spiritual attainment and deep mastery over the life force.
Meditation, as taught by Paramahansa Yogananda, is not merely sitting in silence or trying to think of nothing. It is a sacred science of awakening the life force within us, calming the restless mind, and opening the inner doorway to divine awareness.
Yogananda’s path begins with preparation. Through the Energization Exercises, the body is awakened and recharged with prana, or life energy, by the power of will. “The greater the will, the greater the flow of energy.” The body becomes calm, alive, and ready for meditation.
Then comes Hong-Sau, the beautiful technique of concentration. As the breath flows naturally inward and outward, the mind silently follows: Hong on the inhale, Sau on the exhale — “I am Spirit.” With practice, the breath slows, thoughts quiet, and the soul begins to remember its divine origin.
Beyond this is the sacred AUM, the cosmic vibration, the Word, the divine sound behind creation. To hear and feel this inner vibration is to realize that life is not separate from God, but held within the living presence of Spirit.
Yogananda taught that meditation is practical, scientific, and devotional. It is not belief alone, but direct experience. Through steady practice, morning and evening, we learn to move from body-consciousness to soul-consciousness, from restlessness to peace, from separation to oneness.
Even ten or twenty minutes a day can begin to change the inner atmosphere of life. The goal is not visions or sensations, but transformation — greater peace, love, wisdom, and awareness of the Divine within.
Meditation is the journey home.
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