Paramhansa Yogananda

Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952) was the first yoga master of India to take up permanent residence in the West. Yogananda arrived in America in 1920, and traveled throughout the United States on what he called his ‘spiritual campaigns’. His enthusiastic audiences filled the largest halls in America. Hundreds of thousands came to see the yogi from India. Yogananda continued to lecture and write up to his passing in 1952.

Yogananda's initial impact was truly impressive. But his lasting impact has been even greater. Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi (left), first published in 1946, helped launch a spiritual revolution in the West. His message was nonsectarian and universal. Yogananda’s teacher sent him to the West with the admonition, “The West is high in material attainments, but lacking in spiritual understanding. It is God’s will that you play a role in teaching mankind the value of balancing the material with an inner, spiritual life.”

The Path of Self-Realization

The path of Kriya Yoga, which Yogananda called the ‘jet-airplane’ route to God, consists of ancient yoga techniques to hasten the spiritual evolution of the student. Yogananda's techniques can be learned through the Ananda Kriya Ministry.

Ananda: Fulfilling Yogananda’s Vision

Swami Kriyananda and Paramhansa Yogananda

Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Yogananda, founded Ananda Village in 1968 to fulfill Yogananda’s vision of ‘World Brotherhood Colonies’, or spiritual cooperative communities. Yogananda envisioned a place where all people, not just monastics, could devote themselves to living a divine life, dedicated to practicing the teachings of yoga in every aspect of their daily life.

Ananda Village has over 300 adult members and children. Ananda Worldwide now includes World Brotherhood Colonies in four American cities, and in Assisi, Italy. All residents practice Yogananda’s teachings of meditation and apply his principles to all facets of life in this world: business, schools, relationships, healing, and much more. Ananda’s Expanding Light retreat has been sharing these principles for over 25 years.

Paramhansa Yogananda Resources
Ananda's Online Store has several books written by Yogananda, audio talks by Yogananda, and video footage of the Master. We also offer many other resources, including books about Yogananda by several direct disciples: Swami Kriyananda, Hare Krishna Ghosh (Yogananda's nephew), Peggy Dietz, Meera Ghosh, Devi Mukherjee, and others.

"Yogananda in Samadhi" Video
This video features never-before-available film footage of the great master, Paramhansa Yogananda. Filmed during Yogananda's brief 1936 stopover in England, this is the only video you can buy in which you can also him hear him speak.

World Brotherhood Colonies
Learn all about Yogananda's dream of World Brotherhood Colonies, including articles he wrote about them, quotes from lectures, personal advice he gave, and more.

Swami Kriyananda
Swami Kriyananda is a direct disciple of Yogananda who spent four years being trained by the Master. Read about Kriyananda's time with Yogananda in The Path, Kriyananda's autobiography (see link below).

Streaming Video Talk by Swami Kriyananda on Yogananda's Mission 12 minutes
This talk touches on many important aspects of Yogananda's mission.

Paramhansa Yogananda Photo Album
Enjoy this online photo album. Many unusual photos, mostly from his trip to India in 1935-6.

Direct Disciples of Yogananda
A guide to books, videos, and resources involving other direct disciples of Yogananda.

"Autobiography of a Yogi" (1946 edition): the complete online edition
We are pleased to offer the original Autobiography of a Yogi, online. Every word of text, all the footnotes, and all the original photos, just as Yogananda first presented it. The print version of the Autobiography of a Yogi is also available through Ananda's Online Store.

"The Path: One Man's Quest on the Only Path There Is" Complete online edition, by Swami Kriyananda
Many consider this book by Yogananda's disciple to be like a sequel to the Autobiography of a Yogi. There are hundreds of stories and personal experiences shared by Kriyananda about his Guru and spiritual teacher.

The following excerpts are from an article Yogananda wrote about his dream of World Brotherhood Colonies. While he modified the practical details later in his life, this article is a good example of the principles on which to found Colonies, and also the strong feelings Yogananda had about starting them.

Ananda's seven World Brotherhood Colonies were founded on these principles.

"How can we by spiritual methods begin a material United States of the World?"

"...This is how it should be worked out. Groups of twenty-five young married couples and single people should strive hard and concentrate their souls' force by living economically for five years, until each couple has ten thousand dollars cash. This, multiplied by twenty-five, would make a trust-fund of $250,000.

"Some of this should be used to buy and build twenty-five small cottages, by their own labor, on twenty acres of community-owned farm land. All butter and milk should be obtained from home-bred cows, and vegetables should be grown by the members of this spiritual farm on their own land. Lambs should be grown for wool for dresses, socks, and other articles...."

"Education for the children of the married couples should be given in the community schools by the highly educated parents in a community hall with wooden partitions, or under the trees in summer. Meditation, the scientific art of knowing god, should be the ideal aim of all the children.. Parents should be satisfied with one child and exercise moderation and self-control in marital life.

"All taxes, the expense of educating the children, and miscellaneous expenses, should be taken from the interest on the $250,000...."

"Each spiritual colony should take the vow of plain living and high thinking, the brotherhood of man, fellowship of all, joint ownership of land, transportation, education, food, and money, and they should eat and dress in the community way, but spiritually each soul in the community must be unencumbered so that he may develop and advance as deeply as he can.

"If people would follow the above rules, then God's world would be harmonious; climates would be better, and from everywhere pestilence, famine, and disease would flee, for then all the nations would be as one, co-operating in international laws of transportation, food, education, and religion. Forsake luxury, selfishness, and greed for money, and lead lives of security free from worries. This will establish universal peace and harmony."