Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952), born Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Gorakhpur, India, was an Indian yogi, spiritual teacher, author, and one of the central figures in bringing yoga and meditation to Western readers in the twentieth century. Trained in the Kriya Yoga lineage under Sri Yukteswar, Yogananda came to the United States in 1920 and spent much of his life teaching a form of spiritual practice centred on meditation, self-realisation, devotion, and direct experience of God. His work helped introduce many readers to Hindu spirituality, yoga philosophy, the guru-disciple tradition, and the idea that spiritual discipline could be pursued seriously within modern life.Yogananda's reputation rests above all on Autobiography of a Yogi, first published in 1946 and still widely read as a classic of spiritual autobiography. The book presents not only his own life but also a broader portrait of Indian spiritual culture, including saints, teachers, miracle workers, seekers, and reformers. Its influence has extended across yoga communities, meditation movements, interfaith spirituality, comparative religion, and modern metaphysical thought. For readers interested in Kriya Yoga, Hinduism, meditation, mystical experience, Indian religion, and the history of yoga in the West, Yogananda remains one of the most important and discoverable spiritual authors of the modern period.
