Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian Yogi and Guru who lived from 1893 to 1952. Yogananda is best known for introducing millions of people from India and the West to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga. Yogananda had an influence on the transformation of Hinduism and its spread in the West, primarily in the United States. Yogananda's life was one of peace and connection, throughout his life his teachings were different and similar, in some respects, to traditional Hindu doctrines and conventions. His teachings have been successful throughout the world and have been enlightening to many in the Western world. Yogananda used Kriya Yoga and his Self-Realization Fellowship as vehicles to help spread Hinduism and its teachings throughout the Western world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Yogananda's legacy is that of his primary mission which was to build an enduring connection of world brotherhood through increasing spiritual awareness between societies of the East and West. He began the process of building this brotherhood by sharing the balanced and liberating teachings of Sanatana Dharma, Kriya Yoga and other meditation techniques that create greater harmony in all human relationships, spiritually, personally and globally. The teachings he shared were a synthesis of the Original Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita and the Original Christianity of the New Testament. The extraordinary success of Yogananda's worldwide mission was primarily the result of various factors. These factors included his God-centered life and service to humanity and society, as well as the divine love and power that many people claim to feel in his presence and writings. Yogananda's influence and divine presence changed millions of lives for the better and inspired a more harmonious way to live a spiritually centered life. Echoing traditional Hindu teachings, Yogananda taught that the universe as a whole is God's cosmic movie and that individuals are simply His actors in the play who change roles through various reincarnations. He [Yogananda] taught that humanity's deep suffering is rooted in identifying too closely with one's current role, rather than with the director of the film, or with God. He taught Kriya Yoga and many other meditation practices to help to guide people in achieving that understanding, which he called Self-Realization. In his book The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You, Yogananda writes of self-realization as: “Self-realization is the knowledge – in body, mind, and soul – that we are one with the omnipresence of Christ. God; that we do not have to pray for it to come to us, that we are not simply close to it at all times, but that God's omnipresence is our omnipresence; and that we are as much a part of Him as we will be never. All we have to do is improve our knowledge.” Another great vehicle for the spread of Yogananda's teachings and an important vehicle for his legacy throughout the West was the founding of his Self-Realization Fellowship, or for short SRF. The Self-Realization Fellowship was founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920 as a means for the worldwide dissemination of Yogananda's teachings. He clearly stated that after his departure the Teachings of the SRF would be next Guru, and through the teachings of this Guru others would be in tune with Him [Yogananda] and the great Gurus before him...