Simplified Summary
Chapter 2: Mother’s Death and the
Amulet
The narrator, Mukunda (later known as
Paramahansa Yogananda), begins by describing his mother’s greatest desire—she
wanted to see her elder son Ananta get married. For her, seeing her son’s bride
would be like experiencing heaven on earth. This reflects the deep Indian
belief in family unity and continuity.
At the time of Ananta’s engagement,
Mukunda was around eleven years old. His mother had gone to Calcutta to prepare
joyfully for the wedding. Their father stayed in Bareilly, where he had been
transferred from Lahore, and young Mukunda remained with him. Mukunda had
earlier seen the grand weddings of his older sisters Roma and Uma, but Ananta’s
wedding was planned on a much larger scale because he was the eldest son.
In Calcutta, Mother arranged
everything—food, decorations, musicians from different traditions, colourful
lighting, and even cardboard figures of elephants and camels for the
procession. Relatives kept pouring in from all over India, and she housed them
in a big newly bought house at 50 Amherst Street. Everyone was excited for the
celebration.
Meanwhile, in Bareilly, Father and
Mukunda were preparing to travel to Calcutta for the marriage. But just before
the ceremony, Mukunda had a strange and frightening vision that changed
everything.
One midnight, while he and his father
slept outside under a mosquito net, Mukunda suddenly woke up. The net parted,
and he saw a ghost-like figure of his mother standing before him. In a soft
voice she said, “Wake your father! Take the first train at 4 a.m. If you want
to see me alive, come quickly.” Then the figure disappeared.
Panicked, Mukunda woke his father and
begged him to take the early train. But Father dismissed it as a hallucination
and refused to leave before receiving an actual message. Mukunda was
heartbroken and warned that they would regret delaying.
The next morning, a telegram arrived
with the devastating news: “Mother dangerously ill; marriage postponed; come at
once.” Father and son rushed to Calcutta. On the way, at one station, a train
approached with great speed. Overcome with grief and believing his mother was
already dead, young Mukunda almost threw himself on the tracks. His uncle
quickly stopped him, assuring him that she was still alive—but Mukunda could
hardly believe it.
When they finally reached home, they
discovered that Mother had already passed away. The shock crushed Mukunda, and
he fell into deep sorrow that lasted for years. His mother had been his closest
friend, always comforting him with her gentle eyes. Life felt empty without
her.
Eventually, after much inner
suffering, Mukunda felt a healing spiritual experience. He sensed the Divine
Mother speaking to him, telling him that She had cared for him through many
lifetimes in the form of all the mothers he had known. This divine message
calmed his heart.
After the cremation, Father and
Mukunda returned to Bareilly. Every morning the boy went alone to a large
Sheoli tree in front of their house. The white flowers that fell felt like
offerings to his mother’s memory. Amid the morning dew and light, he often felt
a deep spiritual longing and an urge to go to the Himalayas in search of God.
One cousin who had recently travelled
in the Himalayas told him inspiring stories of yogis and holy men living there.
Mukunda felt so drawn to the mountains that he even tried to convince friends to
run away with him. When one friend told Ananta about this plan, Ananta teased
him, asking where his orange robe was if he wished to be a swami. Instead of
discouraging him, the teasing strangely inspired Mukunda—he suddenly imagined
himself as a wandering monk.
The spiritual desire grew strong. One
day, while talking with his friend Dwarka, he felt an overwhelming love for
God. That same afternoon he ran away toward Naini Tal in the Himalayan
foothills. However, Ananta caught him and brought him back. The only journey
allowed was his daily visit to the Sheoli tree.
Mother’s absence deeply changed the
family. Father became both father and mother to the children. He grew gentler
and more affectionate. He handled family problems patiently and spent his free
time in meditation, practicing Kriya Yoga. Mukunda once tried hiring an English
nurse to help Father, but Father refused, saying that service to him ended with
his wife—he would not take help from any other woman.
Fourteen months after Mother’s death,
Mukunda received the most important message she had left for him. Ananta
finally handed him a small box and explained that Mother had asked him to give
it to Mukunda a year after her passing. Ananta had delayed because he feared
this message might intensify Mukunda’s desire to renounce the world.
Inside the box was a silver amulet,
and along with it, Mother’s extraordinary dying message.
She had told Ananta that when Mukunda
was a baby, she had taken him to see her guru, Lahiri Mahasaya, in Benares.
Although the guru was deep in meditation, her silent prayer reached him. He
opened his eyes, called her forward, placed baby Mukunda on his lap, blessed
him, and announced that he would grow up to be a yogi who would help many souls
reach God.
Mother also revealed that she had
known about Mukunda’s spiritual visions even when he was a child. She and his
sister Roma had once seen him glowing with inner light as he spoke of going to
the Himalayas.
The most astonishing part of her
message was about a meeting with a saint in Punjab while the family lived in
Lahore. This sadhu asked specifically to meet “the mother of Mukunda.” He told
her calmly that her next illness would be her last, but she should not fear.
Then he said she would receive a silver amulet that would appear during
meditation the next day. She must keep it until her death, then instruct Ananta
to hold it for a year before giving it to Mukunda. The sadhu said the amulet
came from great masters who guided the boy from past lives. One day, after
serving its purpose, it would vanish on its own, no matter where it was kept.
Everything happened exactly as
predicted. The amulet had appeared in her hands during meditation, and she had
kept it safely until the end.
When Mukunda finally received the
amulet, he felt suddenly illuminated. Forgotten memories seemed to come alive.
The talisman was old, round, and covered with Sanskrit letters. He understood
that it linked him to teachers from his past incarnations who were still
watching over his journey.
Though the story of how the amulet
later disappeared and how that loss led him to his guru is saved for another
chapter, Mukunda ends by saying that though he could not yet travel to the
Himalayas physically, his heart journeyed daily through the mysterious power of
the amulet.
Autobiography of a Yogi – Chapter 2:
Mother’s Death and the Amulet by Paramahansa Yogananda
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (40–45 words each)
Q1. What was the mother’s greatest
wish, and how did she prepare for it?
A:
Mother’s greatest wish was to see her eldest son Ananta married. She happily
prepared for the wedding in Calcutta, arranging decorations, food, music,
accommodation for relatives, and rituals, ensuring the ceremony would be grand,
joyful, and spiritually meaningful.
Q2. What vision did Mukunda have in
Bareilly, and how did Father react?
A:
Mukunda saw a vision of his mother appearing in a ghost-like form, urging him
to take the first train if he wished to see her alive. Terrified, he begged his
father to leave immediately, but his father dismissed it as imagination.
Q3. How did Mukunda react after
reaching Calcutta and finding his mother dead?
A:
Mukunda was deeply shattered and overwhelmed with grief. His mother had been
his closest companion, and her loss left him emotionally broken. For years, he
felt emptiness, but later a spiritual experience of the Divine Mother gradually
brought him peace.
Q4. What change did Mother’s death
bring in Father’s personality?
A:
After his wife’s death, Father became gentler, more compassionate, and
emotionally expressive. He took responsibility for both parents’ roles, guided
the family wisely, devoted more time to meditation, and refused remarriage out
of deep loyalty and love.
Q5. What was the significance of the
silver amulet and Mother’s message?
A:
The silver amulet symbolized Mukunda’s spiritual destiny. A saint had predicted
it would guide him in his yogic path. Mother instructed it be given later,
showing divine protection, blessings from past masters, and confirmation of his
higher spiritual purpose.
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (170–180 words each)
Q1. Describe the events leading to Mother’s death and
their effect on Mukunda.
A:Mukunda’s
mother was happily preparing for Ananta’s wedding in Calcutta, carefully
organizing every detail. Meanwhile, Mukunda and his father were in Bareilly.
One night, Mukunda had a vivid vision of his mother, who appeared in a
ghost-like form urging him to catch the first train if he wished to see her alive.
Frightened and anxious, he begged his father to leave immediately, but his
father dismissed it as imagination.
The
next morning, a telegram arrived stating that his mother was critically ill.
They rushed to Calcutta, but Mukunda felt deep despair during the journey, even
fearing the worst. When they arrived, the heartbreaking news was confirmed—his
mother had passed away.
This
loss devastated Mukunda completely. She had been his closest companion and
source of love. Her death left a deep emotional void, and he suffered grief for
years. Eventually, a spiritual experience in which he felt the presence of the
Divine Mother helped heal his sorrow. This tragedy deepened his spiritual
longing and strengthened his desire to seek God.
Q2. Explain the
origin of the amulet and its importance in Mukunda’s life.
A:The
silver amulet had a miraculous and spiritual origin connected to Mukunda’s
destiny. On her deathbed, his mother revealed that when he was a baby, she had
taken him to Lahiri Mahasaya,
who blessed him and predicted that he would become a great yogi guiding many
souls.
Later,
while living in Lahore, a mysterious saint visited her and foretold her death.
He said that during meditation, a silver amulet would appear and instructed her
to preserve it carefully. She was told to have Ananta give it to Mukunda one
year after her death. The saint explained that the amulet came from great
masters who had guided Mukunda in past lives.
After
receiving the amulet, Mukunda felt a deep inner awakening and connection to his
spiritual past. The amulet symbolized divine protection, his destined spiritual
path, and the continued guidance of enlightened masters, reinforcing his
mission as a seeker of truth.
“Personal loss becomes a gateway to
spiritual awakening.”
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