January 5, 2020 marks the127thbirth anniversary of one of the pioneering fathers of Yoga in the West, Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the modern spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi. Widely recognised as one of the preeminent spiritual figures of our time, Yogananda made an indelible impression on the spiritual landscape of the Western world, contributing to a far greater awareness and appreciation of India’s Vedic philosophy through his public lectures, writings and the non-profit spiritual organization he founded, Yogoda Satsanga Society of India/Self-Realization Fellowship (YSS/SRF), which together includes 800 temples, meditation centres, and retreats around the world.
At the heart of Yogananda’s teachings is the sacred science of Kriya Yoga, a form of Raja Yoga, which serves to quiet both body and mind, making it possible to withdraw one’s energy and attention from the usual turbulence of thoughts, emotions, and sensory perceptions. In the clarity of that inner stillness, one comes to experience a deepening interior peace and attunement with one’s true self.
Yogananda’s best-selling spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi, which has introduced millions of readers to the philosophy and practice of yoga meditation, and has been translated into over 50 languages, remains one of the most important, and most readable, works on yoga and Eastern spiritual thought. His highly acclaimed interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita — GodTalks with Arjuna and The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You), provide ground-breaking insight into the underlying unity of the religious beliefs of East and West.
To the tens of thousands of Westerners who attended his lectures, his discourses on the unity of “the original teachings of Jesus Christ and the original Yoga taught by Bhagavan Krishna” were a revelation. Growing public acclaim prompted President Calvin Coolidge to invite Sri Yogananda for a personal meeting at the White House in January 1927, making him the first swami to meet with a US President.
Many prominent figures in science, business, and the arts became his students, including George Eastman (inventor of the Kodak camera). Later, Beatle George Harrison and pop superstar Madonna each publicly acknowledged Yogananda ji’s influence on their lives. Late Apple founder Steve Jobs brought attention to Autobiography of a Yogi posthumously in 2011 when he arranged for copies of the book to be given to attendees at his memorial service.
Paramahansa Yogananda was born Mukunda Lal Ghosh on January 5, 1893, in Gorakhpur, India, into a prosperous and devout Bengali family. From his earliest years it was evident to those around him that his awareness and experience of the spiritual was far beyond the ordinary. As a youth he sought out many of India’s saints and philosophers, hoping to find an illumined teacher to guide him in his spiritual quest.
In 1910, at the age of 17, he met the revered sage Swami Sri Yukteswar, in whose ashram he spent the better part of the next ten years. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, he became a monk of the Swami Order, at which time he received the name Yogananda (signifying bliss, ananda, through divine union, yoga).
Yogananda began his life’s work with the founding, in 1917, of a “how-to-live” school where modern educational methods were combined with yoga training and instruction in spiritual ideals. Visiting the school in 1925, Mahatma Gandhi wrote: “This institution has greatly impressed my mind.”
Mahatma Gandhi and Paramahansa Yogananda met a decade afterwards when the latter made a return visit to India in 1935–36. At the Mahatma’s request, Yogananda instructed him and several of his followers in the spiritual science of Kriya Yoga.
Under his direction, the personal guidance and instruction that he had given to students of his classes was arranged into a comprehensive series of YSS Lessons for home study. Today, YSS/SRF, under the direction of its president, Swami Chidananda, publishes the writings, lectures, and informal talks of Paramahansa Yogananda, and of his close disciples, produces audio and video recordings on Yogananda ji’s teachings, oversees its temples, meditation centres, retreats, and youth programmes, conducts monastic tours and public talks in cities throughout India and abroad, and coordinates the Worldwide Prayer Circle, a network of groups and individuals dedicated to praying for those in need of physical, mental, or spiritual aid, and for global peace and harmony.
Paramahansa Yogananda passed away on March 7, 1952, in Los Angeles, following his delivery of a speech at a banquet honouring Dr. Binay R. Sen, India’s Ambassador to the United States. His passing received widespread coverage in the press, including in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Time.
In 1977, on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Paramahansa Yogananda’s passing, the Government of India formally recognised his outstanding contributions to the spiritual upliftment of humanity, by issuing a commemorative stamp in his honour.
In March of 2017, a second commemorative stamp was issued by the Indian Government, citing the outstanding spiritual achievements of Yogoda Satsanga Society on its centenary. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated during the official postal stamp release function on March 7, 2017 at the Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi: “Looking at [Paramahansa Yogananda’s] life, it is evident that he does not merely stress the ways to outer freedom, but focuses on the inner journey . . . . Removing rigid dogma, he made spirituality so approachable and tangible that in these hundred years since he started it, his work has become a world-wide movement, a perennial resource of spiritual understanding.”
Dedicated throughout his life to bridging East and West and fostering peace through cultivating one’s connection with Spirit, Yogananda ji said in his Autobiography of a Yogi, “‘World brotherhood’ is a large term, but man must enlarge his sympathies, considering himself in the light of a world citizen. He who truly understands that ‘it is my America, my India, my Philippines, my Europe, my Africa’ and so on, will never lack scope for a useful and happy life.”