BANGALORE:If India's idea of an International Yoga Day has found easy acceptance in the UN, much of the credit must go to Paramhansa Yogananda, India's first yoga guru in the U.S. whose 62nd death anniversary falls.

Unlike Swami Vivekananda, Yogananda is not that widely appreciated although he played a huge role in laying the foundation for yoga in the United States a century ago.

Yogananda, born Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Gorakhpur, India, sailed to the U.S. in 1920 and remained there until his death in 1952. In that sense, he was also one of India's earliest longest serving NRIs.

Yogananda toured the U.S. extensively, teaching meditation and Kriya Yoga to tens of thousands of American men and women in packed halls.

Unlike now, that was no easy task. Yoga was unknown in the West, and many Americans looked down upon Hindu holy men, yogis included.

The Kriya Yoga is a lesser-known yoga science based on special breathing techniques to help in self-realisation.

Yogananda left the U.S. to visit India only once, during which period he taught Kriya Yoga to Mahatma Gandhi at the latter's ashram in Wardha.

What really made Yogananda an iconic figure globally was his "Autobiography of a Yogi", declared one of the 10 greatest spiritual classics of the last century.

Since it was first published in the U.S. in 1946, the book became an instant hit, got translated into over 20 languages worldwide and has sold millions of copies. It remains a bestseller.

After his autobiography was published, Yogananda spent the last years of his life devoting himself to literary work. He withdrew more and more from public life.

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Paramhansa Yogananda: India's First Yoga Guru In The U.S.