Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda-Summary-Chapter II
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.
