72 pages 2 hours read

Paramahansa Yogananda

Autobiography of a Yogi

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1946

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Chapters 9-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 9 Summary: “The Blissful Devotee and His Cosmic Romance”

Mukunda is in the presence of Master Mahasaya, in the same house where his mother died. Not only does he miss her, but he also feels separated from the Divine Mother. After asking Master Mahasaya to intercede for him, he returns home and receives a vision of the Divine Mother, in which she tells him that she loves him. One day, he and the master travel to Dakshineswar and the Temple of Kali, where a figure of the Divine Mother rests on a chiseled silver lotus. Master Mahasaya chants her name; he is engaged in a cosmic romance with her. They make many such pilgrimages, and Mukunda learns about the sweetness of God in his aspect as Divine Mother.

One day, the master takes Mukunda to see some bioscopes (motion pictures). They enter a lecture hall at the university in Calcutta, where a lecture with slide illustrations is in progress. Mukunda is bored. The master arranges with the Divine Mother for the electric lights to fail, at which point he and Mukunda make a quiet exit. As they stand on the sidewalk, the saint arranges for Mukunda to see a different kind of bioscope. Silence descends. Mukunda watches the bustle of people, trolley cars, carts, and carriages as if the sound has been turned off.