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Paramahansa Yogananda (1893 - 1952) wrote one of the world's most acclaimed spiritual classics, Autobiography of a Yogi, which was first published in 1946 and continues to be one of the highest-selling spiritual philosophy titles of all time. In this biography, David Neumann tells the story of Yogananda's fascinating life while interpreting his position in religious history, transnational modernity, and western, especially American, culture. Beginning with Yogananda's spiritual investigations in India, Neumann describes how this early 'global guru' emigrated to the United States in 1920 and established his headquarters, the Self-Realization Fellowship, in Los Angeles, where it continues to this day. Preaching his message of Hindu yogic philosophy in a land that routinely sent its own evangelists to India, Yogananda was uelled by a religious nationalism that led him to conclude that Hinduism could uniquely fill a spiritual void in America and Europe. At the same time, he embraced a growing belief that Hinduism's success outside South Asia hinged on a sincere understanding of Christian belief and practice. By 'universalizing' Hinduism, Neumann argues, Yogananda helped create the novel vocation of Hindu yogi evangelist, generating fresh connections between religion and commercial culture in a deepening American religious pluralism||About the Author||David J. Neumann earned a PHD in History from the University of Southern California as a Provost's Fellow. His teaching interests focus on historical thinking, historical literacy, and the intersection between scholarship and pedagogy. A lecturer in the History Department at CSU Long Beach for eight years, he taught American history, world history, and capstone courses in elementary and secondary education. He won several awards during more than a decade of teaching high school history.