Since I was born into a Catholic family, I grew up watching the grim, sorrowful, unsmiling visages of our innumerable saints. I firmly believed that a saint does not smile; he/she is a saint because he/she bleeds and suffers.

After reading this great book, which is the life story of Paramahamsa Yogananda, I laughed in sheer ecstasy. He changed all my ideas of sainthood forever. Saints do have a mischievous smile, and saints do laugh, sing, and dance for joy because they see God everywhere. For them, God is existence itself and the world a playhouse of delight. Therefore, they are joyous, ever smiling, tender, loving, gracious, and understanding. This is the message of Yogananda’s “Autobiography of a Yogi.”

Of course, Yogananda is not a saint in the Christian sense of the term; he is a real Yogi, an enlightened person. Reading the story of his life is a great spiritual exercise. I just love Yogananda, who is so human, and yet so divine. Truly, he bridges the gap between the divine and the human in a way no other Yogi has done. The Autobiography is a great book that can spiritually transform you.