from Narayan Romano
I was just shy of my twenty-fifth birthday and already I had been through drugs, alcohol, rehab, and the disappointment of a spiritual practice that helped a little, but didn’t satisfy my longing for truth.
On a business trip, I stood in front of the Eastern Religions section of the bookstore at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin airport.
“I need a good book,” I declared to God, “and I need it now!”
They say that, as you progress along the spiritual path, God first sends you books, then teachings, and finally a guru. To me He gave all three at once. At the time my aspiration didn’t reach higher than something good to read. The longing of my heart, though, was greater than my mind knew.
At random I pulled a book off the shelf. It was Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda. One look into the eyes of the author pictured on the cover and I knew I had found not only a book to read, but a teaching to practice and a master to follow.
Many times since then God has answered my prayers, but never so dramatically and so completely as He did that day.
