In these words, the Government of India paid tribute to the founder of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India/Self-Realization Fellowship, upon issuing a commemorative stamp in his honour on March 7, 1977, the twenty-fifth anniversary of his mahasamadhi.

Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda began his life's work in India in 1917, where his society became formally known as Yogoda Satsanga Society of India. In 1920 he was invited to Boston, U.S.A., as India's representative to an International Congress of Religious Liberals. Subsequent lectures in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia were enthusiastically received, and in 1924 he embarked on a cross-continental speaking tour.

For the next decade Paramahansaji travelled extensively, giving lectures and classes in which he instructed thousands in the yoga science of meditation and balanced spiritual living. In 1925 he established the Self-Realization Fellowship International Headquarters in Los Angeles.

The ensuing years were devoted to giving lectures, classes, personal guidance to students, the writing of numerous books and articles, and the administration of temples, meditation centres, and monastic training centres. In 1946 his Autobiography of a Yogi was published, giving a fascinating account of his many years of spiritual training under a God- realized guru, and explaining with scientific clarity the subtle but definite laws by which yogis perform miracles and attain self-mastery. Since its first printing. Autobiography of a Yogi has become a classic in its field, published in more than forty-five languages and used as a text and reference work in colleges and universities throughout the world.

Paramahansa Yoganandaji was the first great master of India to live in the West for an extended period-thirty-two years, until his mahasamadhi in 1952. Today, the spiritual and humanitarian work begun by Paramahansa Yogananda continues under the direction of Swami Chidananda Giri, president of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India/Self-Realization Fellowship. Paramahansaji's books and lectures, and Lessons containing the techniques of Kriya Yoga meditation, are published and distributed by Yogoda Satsanga Society of India/Self- Realization Fellowship.

The life and teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda are described in his Autobiography of a Yogi. An award-winning documentary film about his life and work, Awake: The Life of Yogananda, was released in October 2014.