 Paramahansa Yogananda was born Mukunda Lal Ghosh on
January 5, 1893, in Gorakhpur, India, into a devout and
well-to-do Bengali family. In the hundred years since
the birth of Paramahansa Yogananda, this beloved world
teacher has come to be recognized as one of the greatest
emissaries to the West of India's ancient wisdom. His
life and teachings continue to be a source of light and
inspiration to people of all races, cultures and creeds.
It was in 1910, at the age of 17, that he met and became
a disciple of the revered Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri.
After he graduated from Calcutta University in 1915, he
took formal vows as a monk of India's venerable monastic
Swami Order, at which time he received the name
Yogananda (signifying bliss, ananda, through divine
union, yoga). His ardent desire to consecrate his life
to the love and service of God thus found fulfillment.In 1920, Yogananda was invited to serve as India's
delegate to an international congress of religious
leaders convening in Boston. His address to the
congress, on
"The Science of Religion"
was enthusiastically received. That same year he founded
Self-Realization Fellowship
to disseminate worldwide his teachings on India's
ancient science and philosophy of Yoga and its
time-honored tradition of meditation.
Yogananda emphasized the underlying unity of the
world's great religions, and taught universally
applicable methods for attaining direct personal
experience of God. To serious students of his teachings
he introduced the soul-awakening techniques of
Kriya Yoga, a sacred spiritual science originating
millenniums ago in India, which had been lost in the
Dark Ages and revived in modern times by his lineage of
enlightened masters.
In 1935 his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, bestowed on him
India's highest spiritual title, Paramahansa. Literally
supreme swan (a symbol of spiritual discrimination), the
title signifies one who manifests the supreme state of
unbroken communion with God.
Yogananda's life story,
Autobiography of a Yogi,
was published in 1946 and expanded by him in subsequent
editions. A perennial best seller, the book has been in
continuous publication since it first appeared and has
been translated into 18 languages. It is widely regarded
as a modern spiritual classic.
Paramahansa Yogananda has provided translation and
commentary on the original teachings of Bhagavan Krishna
entitled the
"The
Bhagavad Gita". He also provided revelatory
commentary on the original teachings of Jesus Christ
entitled
"The Second Coming of Christ".
On March 7, 1952, Paramahansa Yogananda entered
mahasamadhi, a God-illumined master's conscious exit
from the body at the time of physical death. |
