Biography of a Yogi Paramahansa Yogananda and the Origins of Modern Yoga

Notes

Preface

1. De Michelis 2004: 2.

Introduction

1. Yogananda 1926c: 15.


2. I use the currently accepted form of Yogananda’s name and title. Until 1935, when
   he was awarded the title of Paramahansa (literally, “Supreme Swan,” after the bird’s
   legendary powers of discernment), he went by Swami Yogananda. After 1935, he
   billed himself as Paramhansa Yogananda, utilizing the phonetic spelling of the
   title. The Self- Realization Fellowship corrected the spelling to the proper Sanskrit
   “Paramahansa” after Yogananda’s death, going so far as to insert the extra “a” into his
   signature as it adorns the covers of his books. I have preserved the original spelling in
   all relevant quotes and citations.


3. This statement does not include the several collected volumes that have appeared
   over the years addressing individual gurus who have visited or lived in the United
   States over the course of the previous century and their organizations. Although
   such texts offer useful case studies, they are generally limited in their scope and do
   not offer a sustained analysis beyond the biography of the specific individual in ques-
   tion. Such studies include Harper 1972; Copley 2000; Forsthoefel and Humes 2005;
   Singleton and Goldberg 2014; Gleig and Williamson 2014. Gleig and Williamson’s
   volume focuses specifically on “homegrown” or European- American gurus.


4. See Jain 2014b.


5. White 2009: 45.


6. White 2009: 44– 45.


7. White 2009: 175.