Paramahansa Yogananda: The Man Who Brought Yoga to the West

In 1952 a Los Angeles mortuary director signed a notarized statement describing a body that showed no signs of decay for weeks. That body belonged to Paramahansa Yogananda, widely considered the father of yoga in the West, a cultural bridge whose writings later influenced figures from opera society to Steve Jobs.This deep dive reconstructs his journey from a railway executive's son in India to a celebrity spiritual teacher in 1920s America, examining his teachings, the prejudice he faced, and the supernatural claims woven through his life.His birth as Mukunda Lal Ghosh, his early search for a guru, and his training under Sri Yukteswar.Kriya Yoga taught as an internal science of breath and energy rather than physical postures.His 1920 arrival in Boston, cross-country tours, a White House meeting with Coolidge, and FBI surveillance and death threats.His globally influential autobiography, written in seclusion and published in 1946.His 1952 death at the Biltmore Hotel, described by followers as Mahasamadhi, and the later DNA test that settled a paternity claim.