YOGANANDA (1893–1952) was one of the earliest and most influential of the Hindu gurus to come to the West. Growing up in Calcutta in Bengal, India, he was a product of the Bengali Neo-Vedāntic Renaissance and was influenced by the saint Sri Ramakrishna (1836–1886).

The Neo-Vedāntic Renaissance originated in Bengal, one of the areas of India with the most exposure to Western culture as a result of British colonialism. The movement sought to reassert the vigor and worth of Hindu spirituality and philosophy while being open to influences from other religions and Western science and values. Yogananda was affiliated with a lineage of gurus that sought to integrate Hindu spirituality with a modern, Western-influenced lifestyle. Yogananda felt that he had a special destiny: to introduce Hindu concepts and spiritual techniques to westerners. He did this by disseminating a practice called kriyā yoga through his organization, the Self-Realization Fellowship...