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Paramhansa Yogananda was the second great teacher after Swami Vivekananda to bring the light of Indian spirituality to the West. In addition, his Autobiography of a Yogi is one of the most widely-read accounts of Eastern philosophy and wisdom and has inspired countless people to the possibility of the inner life.

He was born Mukunda Lal Ghosh in 1879. His father and mother were both disciples of the spiritual master Lahiri Mahashoy (also called Lahiri Mahahsaya); the master's first remark when they brought the child to see him was that he would make a great yogi. As the young Mukunda grew up in the spiritually charged environment of Calcutta, he met many spiritual figures who kindled his growing love for God, among them Mahendranath Gupta (whom Yogananda refers to as Master Mahashaya), the famous author of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.

However, it was not until he was seventeen years of age that he finally met Sri Yukteshwar; immediately he recognised that this was the Master he had been inwardly searching for so long. One chapter in Autobiography of a Yogi very poignantly describes Sri Yukteshwar's firm but loving guidance. His teacher spent much time teaching not only from India's ancient scriptures but also the Bible, pointing out the many similarities between the two . Sri Yukteshwar encouraged his young student to complete his academic studies alongside his spiritual practises and pursue a university degree in the nearby college; he cryptically remarked that the people of the West would better accept someone with a degree. A few years after meeting Sri Yukteshwar, he was initiated into the age-old Swami Order of monks, taking the spiritual name of Yogananda. After his graduation, he opened a school for boys combining the scientific education of the West with the ancient yogic disciplines of the East.

In in 1924 he travelled to Boston to speak as India's delegate at the International Congress of Religious Liberals. Afterwards he travelled the length and breadth of the country, giving talks and lectures and teaching the system of kriya yoga to thousands of people. He became the first Indian spiritual teacher to meet a current President of the United States, when he met Calvin Coolidge in 1927.

In 1935 he returned to India to visit his teacher, who bestowed up on him the additional name Paramhansa (the name means 'heavenly swan' and has been traditionally given to great spiritual Masters over the years). He used the visit to tour India and visit many of the great twentieth-century spiritual Masters of India such as Sri Ramana Maharshi and Anandamayi Ma, as well as visiting Mahatma Gandhi. He also visited a lot of disciples of Lahiri Mahashoy, collecting information for his soon-to-be-written book.

In 1936, Sri Yukteshwar left his mortal frame. Yogananda returned to America and continued his lecture work, setting up many places for spirituality and meditation, especially on the West Coast of the United States. In 1949 he completed The Second Coming of Christ and Autobiography of a Yogi; there are still many pages of his talks and lectures which are still being published for the first time even today. In 1952, he attained mahasamadhi, that final state where a spiritual master leaves the physical body: the picture on the left was taken a mere two hours beforehand.