Autobiography of a Yogi is an autobiography of Paramahansa Yogananda published in 1946.
Cover of the 1946 first edition
Looking north along Swami's beach in Encinitas, showing part of the Self Realization Fellowship's ashram on the point, including (on the left) the hermitage where Yogananda wrote Autobiography of a Yogi
A 1920 photograph published in Autobiography of a Yogi, showing Yogananda attending a religious congress upon his arrival in the United States
Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian-American Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) / Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) of India – the only one he created to disseminate his teachings. A chief disciple of the yoga guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, he was sent by his lineage to spread the teachings of yoga to the West. He immigrated to the US at the age of 27 to prove the unity between Eastern and Western religions and to preach a balance between Western material growth and Indian spirituality. His long-standing influence in the American yoga movement, and especially the yoga culture of Los Angeles, led him to be considered by yoga experts as the "Father of Yoga in the West". He lived his last 32 years in the US.
Paramahansa Yogananda
Yogananda at age six
Meditating in 1910
Manuel Rosenberg sketch of Swami Yogananda for the Cincinnati Post 1923