Sri Yukteswar was born Priya Nath Karar on May 10, 1855, in Serampore, India.
After leaving college, he married and one child (a daughter) and in 1884 he became a disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya. After the death of his wife, he became a Swami and received the name Sri Yukteswar Giri. A Swami is a male religious Hindu teacher.
He met Mahāvatār Babaji, the guru of Lahiri Mahasaya, in 1894. Babaji told Sri Yukteswar that one day he would send him a disciple who would share the teachings of yoga in the West.
This disciple turned out to be Paramahansa Yogananda, who is well-known for his book, Autobiography of a Yogi, which you can purchase on ‘Audible’ or you can listen to on ‘YouTube’ for FREE.
Babaji also asked Sri Yukteswar to write a book on the essential unity of The Bible and The Bhagavad Gita, the most well-known scripture in India. Sri Yukteswar titled this book ‘The Holy Science’, which you can purchase on ‘Audible’ or you can listen to on ‘YouTube’ for FREE.
Sri Yukteswar founded two hermitages, one of which was his family home that was given to him by his father as his inheritance.
In the last year of his life, Sri Yukteswar turned over all his properties to Paramahansa Yogananda, asking him to find someone to maintain them.
Sri Yukteswar left his body on March 9, 1936. Soon after, he appeared to Yogananda and described to him the nature of the afterlife. This description of the afterlife can be found in Autobiography of a Yogi - Chapter 43.
