Born in Serampore, West Bengal, Sri Yukteswar was a Kriya yogi, a Jyotishi (Vedic astrologer), a scholar of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads, an educator, author, and astronomer.

Evans-Wentz as being "of gentle mien and voice, of pleasing presence," and with "high character and holiness,"[5] Sri Yukteswar was a progressive-minded figure in 19th-century Serampore society; he regularly held religious festivals throughout the year around the towns and at his ashrams, created a "Satsanga Sabha" spiritual study organization, established syllabi for educational institutions, and re-analyzed the Vedic astrological yugas.

[4] Noted for his sharp mind and insightful knowledge, he became a respected guru throughout the greater Kolkata area to his Kriya yoga students, and also regularly invited individuals from all social backgrounds to his ashrams to discuss and exchange ideas on a range of topics.

As a guru, he was nonetheless known for his candid insight, stern nature and strict disciplinary training methods, as noted by his disciple Yogananda in his autobiography.

[6] The rigorous nature of his training eventually prepared his disciples, such as Satyananda and Yogananda himself, for their own intense social work in India and America, respectively.

In accordance with the high ideals and "penetrating insight" with which he lived, Sri Yukteswar was considered by Yogananda as a Jnanavatar, or "Incarnation of Wisdom;"[5] Evans-Wentz felt him "worthy of the veneration which his followers spontaneously accorded to him...Content to remain afar from the multitude, he gave himself unreservedly and in tranquility to that ideal life which Paramhansa Yogananda, his disciple, has now described for the ages.

[10] He eventually was formally initiated into the Swami order by the Mahant at Bodh Gaya, where he received the monastic name Sri Yukteswar Giri.

In 1894, while attending the Kumbha Mela in Allahabad, he met the guru of Lahiri Mahasaya, Mahavatar Babaji,[12][13] who asked Sri Yukteswar to write a book comparing Hindu scriptures and the Christian bible.

[17][15] Sri Yukteswar converted his large two-story family home in Serampore into an ashram, named "Priyadham",[18] where he resided with students and disciples.

[26] In the introduction, he wrote: The purpose of this book is to show as clearly as possible that there is an essential unity in all religions; that there is no difference in the truths inculcated by the various faiths; that there is but one method by which the world, both external and internal, has evolved; and that there is but one Goal admitted by all scriptures.

The theory of the Sun's binary companion expounded by Sri Yukteswar in The Holy Science has attracted the attention of David Frawley, who has written about it in several of his books.