Awake: The Life of Yogananda

2014 Documentary
68%

An unconventional biography about an East Indian Swami who brought yoga and meditation to the West in the 1920s. Paramahansa Yogananda authored the spiritual classic "Autobiography of a Yogi," which has sold millions of copies worldwide and is a go-to book for seekers, philosophers and yoga enthusiasts today. By personalizing his own quest for enlightenment and sharing his struggles along the path, Yogananda made ancient Vedic teachings accessible to a modern audience, attracting many followers and ultimately spawning the multi-billion dollar yoga industry of today. Filmed over three years with the participation of 30 countries around the world, the documentary examines the world of yoga, modern and ancient, east and west and explores why millions today have turned their attention inwards, bucking the temptations of the material world in pursuit of self-realization.