Swami Visnudevananda arrived in San Francisco in 1957 and travelled for several years throughout the United States, lecturing and demonstrating asanas, before establishing an international network of Sivananda Yoga Centres and Ashrams. As well as being one of the foremost exponents of Raja and Hatha Yoga in the world, Swami Vishnu-devananda was also actively dedicated to the cause of peace and universal brotherhood. On one of his peace missions in 1971, he piloted a small plane to the troublespots of the world - Belfast, the Suez Canal, and Lahore, West Pakistan - "bombarding" them with leaflets calling for an end to violence. A teacher of great personal dynamism, Swami Vishnu-devananda inspired thousands of students at his Ashrams and changed the lives of many more through his writings.