Britannica AI Icon

Paramahansa Yogananda

Indian guru

Quick Summary

Paramahansa Yogananda (1893–1952) was an Indian guru and teacher of yoga who was among the first Indian spiritual teachers to live permanently in the West. He founded the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles in 1920, which has since expanded globally. Yogananda's teachings were based on Patañjali's Yoga-sūtras and included a method called kriyā yoga, which combines deep meditation with techniques to control "life energy". His book, Autobiography of a Yogi, became very popular. Yogananda's work introduced yoga to Americans, presenting it in a way that appealed to a Western audience.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.