Paramahansa Yogananda - Icon Profile | Alexandria
Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952), born Mukunda Lal Ghosh, was a pioneering Indian yogi and spiritual teacher who played a transformative role in introducing meditation and Kriya Yoga to Western audiences. As the founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship and author of the seminal "Autobiography of a Yogi" (1946), he emerged as one of the most influential spiritual figures of the 20th century, bridging Eastern mysticism with Western pragmatism.
Born in Gorakhpur, India, into a devout Bengali family, Yogananda's spiritual journey began under the guidance of his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, who recognized in him a divine purpose to spread India's ancient wisdom to the West. This mission materialized in 1920 when Yogananda arrived in Boston as India's delegate to the International Congress of Religious Liberals, marking the beginning of a remarkable thirty-two-year ministry in America.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Yogananda traversed the United States, delivering lectures to thousands and establishing the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) as a vehicle for disseminating Kriya Yoga teachings. His approach was revolutionary for its time, harmonizing ancient yogic principles with Christian mysticism and modern scientific thought. Notable figures including Apple founder Steve Jobs and botanist Luther Burbank found inspiration in his teachings, while his autobiography became a spiritual classic, praised by Mahatma Gandhi and Thomas Mann.
Yogananda's legacy extends beyond his physical departure in 1952, when he entered mahasamadhi during a banquet at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The unprecedented phenomenon of his body remaining incorrupt for twenty days after death, documented by mortuary directors, added to his mystique. Today, the Self-Realization Fellowship continues his work, with hundreds of temples, meditation centers, and retreats worldwide. His emphasis on direct spiritual experience through meditation, coupled with his inclusive vision of religious harmony, remains particularly relevant in our contemporary quest for meaning and inner peace. Yogananda's life and teachings continue to raise intriguing questions about consciousness, the nature of reality, and the untapped potential of human spiritual evolution.