"How To Be Happy All The Time"
By Paramhansa Yogananda

Paramhansa Yogananda, author of "How to be happy all the time" , is a yogi who introduced yoga teachings to the West culture and created the Self-Realization Fellowship to help finding enlightenment on the first half of the twentieth century.

It is necessary to place Paramhansa Yogananda in his cultural context to understand the teachings he transmits in this little book.

What is "How to be happy all the time" about?

In this book Paramhansa Yogananda shows what happiness is about and where and how to find it (and where not to).

This spiritual book is a compilation of extracts of lessons that Paramhansa Yogananda wrote, and therefore it is possible to read one of the extracts randomly and think about it.

These are some of the teachings that you can find in "How to be happy all the time":

• "Happiness is not a thing: it is a state of mind. It must be lived."

• "Happiness grows by what feeds it. Learn to be happy by being happy all the time."

• "If you want to be sad, no one in the world can make you happy. But if you make up your mind to be happy, no one and nothing on earth can take that happiness from you."

Happiness is not all that Yogananda's book is about, though. There is advice on how to keep a positive attitude and a healthy lifestyle; advice on relationships, love, meditation, and in general how to lead a happy and peaceful life. For instance:

The style

Because of the nature of these excerpts and the timeframe in which "How to be happy all the time" was written, the language is more abstract than other positive thinking books.

It is a book that deals with deep concepts and so Paramhansa Yogananda speaks with metaphors at times:

A word on God

"How to be happy all the time" makes also a continuous reference to God. Even though Paramhansa Yogananda comes from a yogi philosophy background, there are also references to Jesus and Christianity.

The references to God are not dogmatic, and in this sense the concept of God that Paramhansa Yogananda talks about is open to interpretation.

Conclusion

In the end, Paramhansa Yogananda advises that happiness is to be found inside.

I guess that depending on your cultural and religious background, you will be able to take more or less away from this spiritual book. It is deep reading, with a lasting message.

Find out more about this book by following the link

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