After years of reading Autobiography of a Yogi, I wonder if anyone has put together a good map of the towns and cities spoken of in the book?
—Jeff Wells, alaska
Dear Jeff,
The map you are looking for is right in the Autobiography of a Yogi itself, in the beginning pages – at least in the original edition, I don’t know about the modern ones. It shows many (not all) of the important places:
– Calcutta (Kolkata) where Yogananda lived
– Serampore and Puri, where Sri Yukteswar had ashrams
– Benares, where Lahiri Mahasaya lived
– Gorakhpur, where Yogananda was born
– Ranikhet, where Lahiri Mahasaya met Babaji
– Bombay (Mumbai), where Yogananda experienced “The Resurrection of Sri Yukteswar”
– Delhi, of which Yogananda wrote: “Years later, I visited my brother-in-law in Delhi. I was overjoyed to perceive that he had developed highly in self-realization, and had been blessed by the vision of Divine Mother.”
– Dehra Dun, where Anandamoyi Ma said that “Generous disciples have built me a hermitage.”
– Ranchi, where Yogananda had his school
– Daksineshwar, where the stone statue became alive for Yogananda
– Agra and Brindaban, where the two “penniless boys” traveled to
– Wardha, where Yogananda met Mahatma Gandhi
– Allahabad, where Sri Yukteswar met Babaji
– Haridwar, where young Yogananda was caught while fleeing to the Himalayas
– Naini Tal, where he too fled and was caught: “I fled that afternoon toward Naini Tal in the Himalayan foothills. Ananta gave determined chase; I was forced to return sadly to Bareilly.”
– Moradabad, where Babaji materialized for Lahiri Mahasaya who had called him
– Chitor, where Ravidas appeared after his death during a meal “Lo! each Brahmin found at his side the form of Ravidas.”
– Lahore, where Yogananda’s family lived, and where he received the two kites, and where Yogananda’s mother received the mystical silver amulet
– Bareilly, where Yogananda was with his father, aged 11, when his mother died in Calcutta
– Srinagar, Simla, Rawalpindi, Amritsar, where Yogananda traveled with Sri Yukteswar in the chapter “We Visit Kashmir”
– Mysore, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Madras, Ellora, Ajanta, Conjeeveram, which Yogananda visited in “An Idyl in South India”, writing (for example): “The most breath-taking display of architecture, sculpture, and painting in all India is found at Hyderabad in the ancient rock-sculptured caves of Ellora and Ajanta.”
– Purulia, Biur: where he visited the non-eating saint Giri Bala
– Ghurni, where Lahiri Mahasaya was born
– Madura, which Yogananda describes as a place where the great yogi Sadasiva performed a miracle: “The village children once expressed a desire in Sadasiva’s presence to see the Madura religious festival, 150 miles away. The yogi indicated to the little ones that they should touch his body. Lo! instantly the whole group was transported to Madura.”
– Also shown on the map are the places where the Kumbha Mela is held: “The four sacred mela cities are Allahabad, Hardwar, Nasik, and Ujjain.”
– Taxila, which is mentioned as the place where Alexander the Great met a great Sannyasi who became his teacher
Maybe the map could be extended, but this one is a good start.
All the best,
Jayadev
