It is so obvious when you spend time in the company of one that is seeking, or even better, one that has found spiritual truth and everlasting youth. There is nothing like the eyes of one who is devoted to love and truth. There is no religion in this ultimate state. The fact is simply: "That Thou Art". You are actually the supreme one yourself - and being with someone that has realized this or is working hard at it - touches most of us immediately. This does not happen for all of us. Many of us are like kids playing with toys and we are not easily attracted to our deeper self where nothing good or bad happens. But thankfully, everyone must enjoy deep sleep, and this is a detachment that is worth introspection.   

Albert Einstein stated it like this: "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. He told William Hermanns in an interview that God is a mystery. But a comprehensible mystery. I have nothing but awe when I observe the laws of nature. There are not laws without a lawgiver, but how does this lawgiver look?"   

The great Kabir saw it like this:  While you may draw on the various traditions as you may see fit, he emphatically declared his independence from both the major religions of his countrymen, vigorously attacked what he considered the follies of these religions and tried to kindle the fire of a similar autonomy and courage in those who claimed to be his disciples. Kabir simply meditated with one question in mind: Who Am I? 

If you ever meditate with someone who is diving deep, the energy and waves of this attempt at bliss, that is available to us all, will most certainly be felt in the deep ocean of who you are. The ocean is the oneness, the waves are the energy of thought pushed around by individuals. That is just the way it is, no matter which way you turn. 

The Emily Dahl Foundation recently gave out a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi to a friend of the foundation. The lovely lady that received this book as a gift from the foundation is one of those committed to the realization of the truth of the way things are. The Autobiography of a Yogi has sold about five million copies and counting. 

This book first caught our attention when reading about Steve Jobs and also listening to the song Rising Sun by George Harrison.  

George Harrison was well known for having a case of the book Autobiography of a Yogi at his home and often gave them to friends. 

The other major thing that is interesting was that Paramahansa performed Mahasamadhi at a banquet in the Biltmore Hotel in LA in 1952.  

Mahasamadhi is the state a yogi enters when they consciously make the decision to leave their body. This is only possible once they have already achieved the ultimate realization, or nirvikalpa samadhi, in which the yogi recognizes and experiences their true oneness and unity with the ultimate state of the formless one. 

Last year, The Emily Dahl Foundation visited Paramahansa’s world HQs in LA and the place that he performed Mahasamadhi at the Biltmore in Los Angeles.  

Autobiography of a Yogi: Last Gift of Steve Jobs

Hundreds of influential leaders in business, politics, and popular culture were introduced to Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi at the 2011 memorial service of Steve Jobs, by express wish of the late business visionary and founder of Apple Computer, who passed away on October 5, 2011.

In a video interview posted online in September 2013, Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff related this and other stories to share what he saw as Mr. Jobs’ deep, though sometimes hidden, spirituality. A summary of the interview reported on CNET news includes the following excerpt:

“Benioff told his story of attending the memorial service following Jobs’ death, where the attendees were handed a small brown box on their way out. ‘This is going to be good,’ he thought. ‘I knew that this was a decision he made, and whatever it was, it was the last thing he wanted us all to think about.’

“The box contained a copy of Paramahansa Yogananda’s book, Autobiography of a Yogi. It was a spiritual book that inspired Jobs throughout his life. The book, first published in 1946, espouses ‘self-realization’ and the practice of Kriya Yoga meditation.

 “According to [Walter] Isaacson’s biography, ‘Jobs first read it as a teenager, then reread it in India and had read it once a year ever since.’ In 1974, Jobs traveled to India, seeking some spiritual enlightenment. ‘He had the incredible realization that his intuition was his greatest gift, and he needed to look at the world from the inside out,’ Benioff said.”

The Emily Dahl Foundation