PARAMAHAMSA YOGANANDA GIRI
Sri Yoganandaji was born on January 5, 1893, in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, to a devout Bengali family. In an effort to find an enlightened guru to guide him on his spiritual quest, he chased numerous Hindu sages and saints in India during his childhood. In 1910, Sri Yoganandaji encountered his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, at the age of 17, thereby concluding his search for a guru. Later, Sri Yukteswarji informed Yogananda that Mahavatar Babaji had sent him to meet with him for an extraordinary purpose.
In 1915, Yogananda received the name of Swami Yogananda Giri after taking formal oaths into the monastic Swami order. He traveled to the United States in 1920 to represent India at the International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston. In the same year, 1924, he founded the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF).
In the subsequent year, he established an international center for the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles, California. This center served as the spiritual and administrative center of his expanding ministry. Sri Yoganandaji was the first Hindu yoga guru to spend a substantial period of time in America. From 1920 to 1952, he lived there.
The Autobiography of a Yogi, Sri Yoganandaji’s life story, was published in 1946. Since that time, it has been translated into 45 distinct languages. In 1999, it was designated as one of the “100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century.” It is referred to as “The Book that Changed Millions of Lives.”
Sri Yoganandaji was present at a dinner for the Indian Ambassador to the United States and his wife on the day of his passing, March 7, 1952. The banquet concluded with his speech, during which he read from his poem My India. The poem concludes with the following lines: “Where the Ganges, woodlands, Himalayan caves, and men imagine God—I am hallowed; my body touched that sod.” He lifted his gaze to the Kutastha center (the Ajna Chakra) as he spoke these words, and his body sank to the floor. In this fashion, the legendary Guru attained Mahasamadhi. His body exhibited no symptoms of deterioration even 20 days after his death.