36 Facts About Yogananda

Yogananda was the first major Indian teacher to settle in America, and the first prominent Indian to be hosted in the White House ; his early acclaim led to him being dubbed "the 20th century's first superstar guru" by the Los Angeles Times.

Yogananda's "plain living and high thinking" principles attracted people from all backgrounds among his followers.

Yogananda published his book, Autobiography of a Yogi, in 1946, to critical and commercial acclaim; since its first publishing, it has sold over four million copies, with HarperSan Francisco listing it as one of the "100 best spiritual books of the 20th Century".

Yogananda was born in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, to a Hindu Bengali, Kayastha - Kshatriya family.

Yogananda was the fourth of the eight children, and second of the four sons, of Bhagabati Charan Ghosh, the Vice President of Bengal-Nagpur Railway, and Gyanprabha Devi.

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Yogananda began praying for guidance; in 1910, his seeking after various teachers mostly ended when, at the age of 17, he met his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri; at that time his well-guarded amulet mysteriously vanished, having served its spiritual purpose.

Yogananda would go on to train under Sri Yukteswar as his disciple for the next ten years, at his hermitages in Serampore and Puri.

In 1917, Yogananda founded a school for boys in Dihika, West Bengal, that combined modern educational techniques with yoga training and spiritual ideals.

In 1920, while in meditation one day at his Ranchi school, Yogananda received a vision - faces of a multitude of Americans passed before his mind's eye, intimating to him that he would soon go to America.

Yogananda spent the next four years in Boston; in the interim, he lectured and taught on the East Coast and in 1924 embarked on a cross-continental speaking tour.

Yogananda was the first Hindu teacher of yoga to spend a major portion of his life in America.

Yogananda was put on a government watch list and kept under surveillance by the FBI and the British authorities, who were concerned about the growing independence movement in India.

In 1928, Yogananda received unfavorable publicity in Miami and the police chief, Leslie Quigg, prohibited Yogananda from holding any further events.

Yogananda met with other various people who caught his interest: Mahatma Gandhi, whom he initiated into Kriya Yoga; woman-saint Anandamoyi Ma; Giri Bala, an elderly yogi woman who survived without eating; renowned physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, and several disciples of Sri Yukteswar's guru Lahiri Mahasaya.

In late 1936, Yogananda's ship arrived in New York harbor, passing the Statue of Liberty; he and his companions then drove in his Ford car across the continental US back to his Mount Washington, California headquarters.

Yogananda took up residence at the SRF hermitage in Encinitas, California which was a surprise gift from his advanced disciple Rajarsi Janakananda.

In 1946, Yogananda took advantage of a change in immigration laws and applied for citizenship.

Yogananda's application was approved in 1949, and he became a naturalized U S citizen.

Yogananda began hinting to his disciples that it was time for him to leave the world.

Yogananda's body was apparently in a phenomenal state of immutability.

Yogananda's remains are interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Great Mausoleum in Glendale, California.

Yogananda wrote the Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You and God Talks With Arjuna – The Bhagavad Gita to explain his belief in the harmony and oneness of original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ and original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna; and to present that these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all true religions.

Yogananda taught that mankind's deep suffering is rooted in identifying too closely with one's current role, rather than with the movie's director, or God.

Yogananda taught Kriya Yoga and other meditation practices to help people achieve that understanding, which he called Self-realization:.

Yogananda claimed that God had spoken to him many times, apart from making miracles happen in his life.

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Yogananda gave a general description of Kriya Yoga in his Autobiography:.

Yogananda re-read it in India and later while preparing for a trip, he downloaded it onto his iPad2 and then re-read it once a year ever since.

Absence of any visual signs of decay in the dead body of Paramahansa Yogananda offers the most extraordinary case in our experience.

Location of Yogananda's crypt is in the Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Golden Slumber, Mausoleum Crypt 13857, Forest Lawn Memorial Park .

Yogananda founded the Yogoda Satsanga Society of India in 1917 and then expanded it in 1920 to the United States naming it the Self-Realization Fellowship.

Yogananda expressed this intention again in 1939 in his magazine Inner Culture for Self-Realization that he published through his organization:.

In India and surrounding countries, Paramahansa Yogananda's teachings are disseminated by YSS which has more than 100 centers, retreats, and ashrams.

Yogananda incorporated the Self-Realization Fellowship as a nonprofit organization and reassigned all of his property including Mt.

Yogananda's work continues to grow and shine ever more brightly, drawing people everywhere on the path of the pilgrimage of the Spirit.

Prime Minister Modi at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi appreciated Yogananda for spreading the message of India's spirituality in foreign shores.

Yogananda said that though Yogananda left the shores of India to spread his message, he always remained connected with India.