Paramahansa Yogananda

He was born as Mukunda Lal Ghosh into a well-to-do and devout family in Gorakhpur, India. Both his parents were disciples of the renowned master, Lahiri Mahasaya who had foretold that Mukunda would grow up to be a very famous yogi.

He was very spiritually inclined from childhood. He was greatly aware of the spiritual realm and sought out many sages and saints in the hope of finding a guru to guide him in his spiritual endeavors.

In 1910, at the age of 17, he met Swami Yukteswar Giri. He became his disciple and spent many years under his strict and loving discipline.

He passed his intermediate Examination in Arts from the Scottish Church College, Calcutta, in 1915. He graduated with the equivalent of a B.A. degree from the Serampore College. He also spent time at Yukteswar's ashram in Serampore.

He took formal vows into the monastic Swami Order in 1915 and became Swami Yogananda Giri. A couple of years later, in 1917 he founded a school for boys in West Bengal that had a combined curriculum of modern education and yoga training. This school would later become Yogoda Satsanga Society of India.

He went to the U.S. in 1920 as India’s delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals, which was convened in Boston. He founded the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) the very same year to disseminate to the world his teachings on India’s ancient practices.

He spent several years lecturing and teaching on the East coast before embarking on a cross-continental speaking tour (1924-35). His lectures attracted a number of celebrities including Amelita Galli-Curci, Vladimir Rosing and Clara Clemens.

He taught his serious students the technique of Kriya Yoga which formed the foundation of his teachings. The Kriya Yoga had been passed down through Yogananda’s own guru lineage.

He spent a major portion of his life in America—becoming the first Hindu teacher of yoga to do so.

His book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ is considered one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century". The book is credited to have changed the lives of millions and has sold over four million copies. It has also been translated into 34 languages.

He founded the spiritual organization, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) which was incorporated as a non-profit religious organization. The organization disseminates Yogananda’s teachings, aims and ideals all over the world through his writings and instructions of Kriya Yoga science.