Paramhansa Yogananda came to America’s shores with a message of divine promise and hope. He had been sent by God with the divine mission of guiding mankind out of the fogs of delusion into the clear light of divine understanding.

I had been attending yoga classes for about two years when three men in dark suits appeared one day and arrested our teacher. Everyone knew that someone from the class had betrayed him by reporting him to the KGB. Later we learned that our teacher had been arrested for distributing the yoga literature he had translated.

Paramhansa Yogananda told us more than once that in a former life he had been William the Conqueror.

What was at stake in 12th century Europe, and in England in particular, that caused a Self-realized master to incarnate as William the Conqueror? Our thesis is that William the Conqueror’s vision anticipated the role that England, specifically, would play in bridging East and West, uniting the strengths of each to bring mankind to the present time, an age of energy.

Thomas Edison was one of the foremost inventors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Not only did he play a key role in ushering in the modern age of electricity, he also laid the groundwork for many of the technological innovations that modernized the world. In the process, he also created the first modern industrial research laboratory.

At age thirty-five, Thomas à Kempis began writing “The Imitation of Christ”, one of the most popular and influential Christian works of all time, second only to the Bible. Paramhansa Yogananda recommended this book “unreservedly” saying, “It is a wonderful book. It is no mere imitation of Christ: It is Christ.”

Amidst great physical abuse and suffering, John wrote to a brother monk: “Where you don’t find love, put love and you will find it.”

Millions of people saw the stigmata and witnessed Therese’s weekly visions of Christ’s passion and death, among them, Paramhansa Yogananda in 1935. Yogananda later revealed that Therese had been Mary Magdalene in a past life, and for this reason, was blessed with Christ’s wounds and the weekly visions.

Frank Laubach was a Christian mystic who believed that practicing the presence of God would do more good for humanity than political and diplomatic schemes devoid of God.

Bernadette Soubirous emerged as a visionary at a time of growing nineteenth century religious skepticism. Many believed that the new scientific age would sweep away religion “like cobwebs in a musty closet.”

By the time Helen was six-years-old, her parents had become desperate, for their firstborn seemed increasingly more animal than human.

Though not considered a child prodigy, the notion that Einstein was slow, retarded or mentally challenged is unfounded.

About 50 years ago Paramhansa Yogananda declared that Abraham Lincoln had been an advanced yogi in a previous lifetime, and that he had reincarnated as Charles Lindbergh.

People from all walks of life have testified that it was not Padre Pio’s miracles but his Christ-like presence and deep devotion to God that changed their lives.

During their time together at Twenty-Nine Palms, Paramhansa Yogananda gave much personal instruction to his disciple, young Donald Walters, regarding Donald’s own future, and also the future directions of the work.

George Washington Carver, one of the best-known African-Americans of his era, was a brilliant scientist and educator, a major force for the upliftment of the black race, and an innovator in the field of agricultural biochemistry.

In his book, Ibu Maluku, Ron shares with us an account of the courage, selflessness and devotion of Jeanne van Diejen, a woman of deep faith who always placed the needs of other before her own.

Teresa yearned for a life of solitude, absorbed in divine communion, but her calling was to lead the reform of the Carmelite Order.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the most original and influential thinkers of the 19th century. His search for truth led him to the scriptures of India, which he embraced wholeheartedly.

Most people today know little of Luther Burbank. Yet during his lifetime his name was a household word.

The more time I spent with John, the more I felt my attunement to Paramhansa Yogananda deepening. Because of his humility and devotion, John was a powerful channel for Yogananda.

A man of tremendous will power and energy, George Washington placed duty, honor, and the ideal of selfless service first and foremost in his life.

For many saints through the ages, one of the most heart-opening ways to think of God was as the infant Jesus.

Jehanne La Pucelle or, Joan of Arc, as she is known, claimed a mandate from God to liberate France from decades of English domination.

Nicholas was born between 255 and 270 AD, in Patara, Lycia; a city in what is now Turkey. He inherited enough wealth to make his life comfortable and secure, but chose to give away his fortune and courageously follow Christ’s teachings by serving others.

Devi Mukherjee’s inspiring account of the great men and women he met while trekking through the Himalayas puts you in touch with India’s timeless spiritual wealth—its saints and God-realized masters.

Abraham Lincoln is remembered primarily as the preserver of the Union and the president who freed the slaves. Far less is known about his deep spirituality and devotion to God.

Teresa helps us to realize we don’t have to wait to know God—that in the hustle and bustle of daily life we can feel and know God’s presence.

For King, non-violence was an expression of love. And love—far from being a tepid sentiment—was an expression of the superior power of the soul.

“Nature was made not just for us, but for itself and its own happiness, and is the very smile of God.”