The Second Coming of Christ (book)

The Second Coming of Christ is a posthumously published non-fiction book by the Indian yogi and guru Paramahansa Yogananda (1893–1952).[1] With commentary on passages from the four Gospels.[2] The full title of the two-volume work is The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You—A revelatory commentary on the original teachings of Jesus.

The Second Coming of Christ
Front Cover
AuthorParamahansa Yogananda
CountryAmerican
LanguageEnglish
PublisherSelf-Realization Fellowship (U.S.)
Publication date
2004 (U.S.)
Media typePrint (Hardback or Paperback)
Pages1696 with 75 Chapter
ISBN978-0876125557
OCLC1041642357

Description

The book tells the story of Jesus Christ’s life in chronological order. His birth, his travels, his ministry, his parables, his death, and his resurrection.[3] Yogananda discusses a link between Kriya Yoga and the teachings of Jesus.[4]

"to reveal the complete harmony and basic oneness of original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ and original Yoga as taught (...) and to show that these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all true religions."[5]

— Paramahansa Yogananda

Emergence

Yoganandas left India in 1920 for America and gave his first speech at the Congress of Religious Liberals.[4] He stayed in America until his death in 1952. During this time he gave more than 150 talks [6] and wrote numerous articles, many about the Christian Gospels.

Yogananda also announced that he would be giving weekly classes in Boston that would consist of a half-hour exposition of the Bhagavad Gita, a half-hour exposition of the Gospels, followed by a half-hour discourse demonstrating their fundamental unity. After establishing a magazine, he began publishing a series of articles on the Gita and another series on the Gospels, which latter even then he called The Second Coming of Christ. Then, during his last four years, he withdrew into seclusion to work on his writings. Yogananda wanted them collected and printed in a book, but found that a tremendous amount of editing was needed. When he died, he left an extensive body of work—public lectures and classes that had been recorded stenographically by Sri Daya Mata, along with three decades of his original writing. The editors, to whom he had conveyed his wishes for this vast volume of material, compiled and integrated it into The Second Coming of Christ.[3][2]

Editions

In 1979 the Amrita Foundation of Dallas Texas printed a three-volume set of the magazine articles that had been edited.[7] 2004 Self-Realization Fellowship published a two-volume edition of The Second Coming of Christ,[8] that had been greatly augmented by the addition of much material on the Gospels that had been gathered from many of the Master’s other talks and writings. It was compiled and edited by Mrinalini Mata, the past President of SRF.[2][9][8]

Translations

The original SRF book in English has two volumes (ISBN 978-0-87612-555-7). It was translated into the following languages (As of November 2018):

  • Three volumes in Spanish (ISBN 978-0-87612-135-1).
  • Three volumes in German two have already been published (ISBN 978-0-87612-221-1).
  • Three volumes in Portuguese (ISBN 978-0-87612-670-7).

The book The Yoga of Jesus is a 147-page abridgement of the two volumes, and is available in English, German, Italian, Finnish, Polish, Thai, Portuguese and Spanish.

Reception

Larry Dossey, M.D., wrote that "Paramahansa Yogananda’s The Second Coming of Christ is one of the most important analyses of Jesus’ teachings that exists (...) Many interpretations of Jesus’ words divide peoples, cultures, and nations; these foster unity and healing, and that is why they are vital for today’s world."[10]

Teresa Watanabe of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "'The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of Christ Within You,' offers startling ideas about the deeper meaning of Jesus' teachings and their essential unity with yoga, one of the world's oldest and most systematic religious paths to achieving oneness with God."[11]

Awards
  • Winner, Best spiritual/ religious book, spanish– 2012, 2013 and 2014 International Latino Book Awards.[12]
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See also

References
  1. americamagazine.org: "A Hindu View of Holy Thursday: Yogananda I". 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  2. ocoy.org: "The Second Coming of Christ, by Paramhansa Yogananda". 2014-06-12. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  3. yogainternational.com: "The Yogic View of Jesus Christ". Retrieved 2018-10-30.
  4. books.google.de: "Encyclopedia of Global Religion; University of California, Santa Barbara". 2012. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  5. yogananda-srf.org: "Jesus Christ". Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  6. yssofindia.org: "Sri Sri Mrinalini Mata A Channel of the Guru's Love and Wisdom". Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  7. worldcat.org: "The second coming of Christ : from the original unchanged writings of Paramhansa Yogananda's interpretations of the sayings of Jesus Christ". Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  8. awaketheyoganandamovie.com: "Jesus and Yoga". Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  9. prweb.com: "SRF President Sri Mrinalini Mata Passes at 86". 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  10. Dossey, Larry. Author of Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine Harper One. ISBN 978-0062502520
  11. Watanabe, Teresa (11 December 2014). "A Hindu's Perspective on Christ and Christianity". Los Angeles TImes. Los Angeles, California.
  12. bookstore.yogananda-srf.org: "The Complete Works of Paramahansa Yogananda / La Segunda Venida de Cristo Page: 29" (PDF). 2017. Retrieved 2019-05-05.

Sources
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