Paramahamsa Yogananda

Paramahamsa Yogananda

Kriya Yoga master, spiritual teacher.

An influential spiritual teacher who introduced Kriya Yoga to the Western world. Known for his book, "Autobiography of a Yogi," he emphasized the unity of all religions and the potential for personal spiritual realization. His teachings blend Eastern philosophies with practical spiritual techniques aimed at achieving inner peace and self-realization. He founded the Self-Realization Fellowship to disseminate his teachings and promote a universal approach to spirituality. His legacy includes a significant impact on the Western understanding of meditation and spiritual practices.

Paramahamsa Yogananda Quotes about Religion

  • Lord Krishna... proclaims Self-realization, true wisdom, as the highest branch of all human knowledge-the king of all sciences, the very essence of dharma ("religion")-for it alone permanently uproots the cause of man's threefold suffering and reveals to him his true nature of Bliss. Self-realization is yoga or "oneness" with truth-the direct perception or experience of truth by the all-knowing intuitive faculty of the soul.
  • We are all part of the One Spirit. When you experience the true meaning of religion, which is to know God, you will realize that He is your Self, and that He exists equally and impartially in all beings.
  • The true basis of religion is not belief, but intuitive experience. Intuition is the soul’s power of knowing God. To know what religion is really all about, one must know God.
  • Self-realization is, in fact, the only religion. For it is the true purpose of religion, no matter how people define their beliefs.
  • If religion means primarily God-consciousness, or the realization of God both within and without, and secondarily a body of beliefs, tenets and dogmas, then, strictly speaking, there is but one religion in the world, for there is but one God.