ShyamaCharanLahiri(30 September 1828 26 September 1895), best known asLahiriMahasaya, was an Indianyogiguruwho founded theKriya Yoga school.In 1861, his non-physical masterMahavatar Babajiappeared to him, ordering him to revive the yogic science of Kriya Yoga to the public after centuries of its guarding by masters. He became known in the West through Paramahansa Yogananda, a disciple of Sri Yukteswar Giri, and through Yogananda's 1946 book Autobiography of a Yogi, considering him a Yogavatar, or "Incarnation of Yoga," since Lahiri himself was chosen by the yogic masters to disseminate the principles of yoga to the world.