Paramahansa Yogananda (1893 – 1952) was a Hindu yogi and guru who was born in India but who spent the greater part of his life in the United States. He was a student of Sri Yukteshwar Giri, and introduced many thousands of people to kriya yoga.

 I say my prayers on beads of love, strung together with ever-lasting threads of devotion.
I hold to no single Name — God, Spirit, Brahma, Allah, Heavenly Father, Divine Mother —
for All are Thine.

I invoke Thee sometimes as
Christ, Krishna, Shankaracharya, Mohammed, Buddha, Moses, and other prophets;
for I know Thou hast delighted, and wilt ever delight,
in revealing Thyself in different forms.

In Thy cosmic play on the stage of the centuries,
in Thy myriad appearances, Thou didst take many Names;
but Thou hast only one Nature:
Perennial Joy.