Kriya Yoga For Self Realization
“The science of Kriya Yoga is eternal. It is true like mathematics, like the simple rules of addition and subtraction, the law of Kriya can never be destroyed.”
– Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramhansa Yogananda
Kriya Yoga, an ancient meditation method that focuses on the control of energy and breath, or pranayama, is transmitted through a sacred process known as “Diksha” or initiation. This initiation can occur either in person or through online means. Kriya Yoga is an integral part of a comprehensive spiritual path, encompassing various meditation practices and a commitment to righteous living.
Kriya Yoga is a sacred meditation method that encompasses the control of energy and breath, known as pranayama. According to Lahiri Mahasaya Kriya Yoga represents “atmakara,” which is the soul’s action aimed at liberating us from the shackles of illusion. This technique remained shrouded in secrecy for countless centuries until it was reintroduced in 1861.
The renowned yogi Mahavatar Babaji bestowed this profound technique upon his disciple Lahiri Mahasaya. Lahiri, in turn, transmitted it to his disciple Sri Yukteswar, who then passed it on to Paramhansa Yogananda, thus preserving and sharing this ancient wisdom for future generations. In this manner, the transmission of Kriya Yoga flows seamlessly from one conduit of the revered Guru Paramhansa Yogananda to the next.
Yogananda played a pivotal role in popularizing Kriya Yoga through his influential book, “Autobiography of a Yogi,” and his public teachings in the Western world.
The Mechanism of Kriya Yoga
Yogananda said that Kriya Yoga stands as the most potent technique available to humanity today for attaining the ultimate goal of Yoga ie union with the Divine. Its exceptional effectiveness derives from its direct engagement with the wellspring of spiritual growth— the profound spiritual energy residing deep within our spinal columns.
While other yoga practices indirectly interact with this energy or Prana, Kriya Yoga takes a more direct approach. It empowers practitioners to govern the life force by deliberately directing it up and down the spine through mental focus and will power. According to Yogananda’s teachings, performing one Kriya, a process lasting approximately thirty seconds, holds the potential equivalent to one year of natural spiritual progression.
The practicality of Kriya Yoga is another notable aspect of its effectiveness. Kriya Yogis often discover that it heightens their capacity for concentration, enhances their performance in both business and family life, and fosters personal growth in every conceivable dimension.
“One thousand Kriyas practiced in eight hours gives the yogi, in one day, the equivalent of one thousand years of natural evolution: 365,000 years of evolution in one year.”
– Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramhansa Yogananda
Some Excepts from the book "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramhansa Yogananda
The Sanskrit root of Kriya is kri, to do, to act and react; the same root is found in the word karma, the natural principle of cause and effect. Kriya Yoga is thus “union (yoga) with the Infinite through a certain action or rite.” A yogi who faithfully follows its technique is gradually freed from karma or the universal chain of causation.
Kriya Yoga is a simple, psychophysiological method by which the human blood is decarbonized and recharged with oxygen. The atoms of this extra oxygen are transmuted into life current to rejuvenate the brain and spinal centers.1 By stopping the accumulation of venous blood, the yogi is able to lessen or prevent the decay of tissues; the advanced yogi transmutes his cells into pure energy. Elijah, Jesus, Kabir and other prophets were past masters in the use of Kriya or a similar technique, by which they caused their bodies to dematerialize at will.
Kriya Yoga is referred to by Krishna, India’s greatest prophet, in a stanza of the Bhagavad Gita: “Offering inhaling breath into the outgoing breath, and offering the outgoing breath into the inhaling breath, the yogi neutralizes both these breaths; he thus releases the life force from the heart and brings it under his control.” 2 The interpretation is: “The yogi arrests decay in the body by an addition of life force, and arrests the mutations of growth in the body by apan (eliminating current). Thus neutralizing decay and growth, by quieting the heart, the yogi learns life control.”
Kriya Yoga is mentioned twice by the ancient sage Patanjali, foremost exponent of yoga, who wrote: “Kriya Yoga consists of body discipline, mental control, and meditating on Aum.” 6 Patanjali speaks of God as the actual Cosmic Sound of Aum heard in meditation.7 Aum is the Creative Word,8 the sound of the Vibratory Motor. Even the yoga-beginner soon inwardly hears the wondrous sound of Aum. Receiving this blissful spiritual encouragement, the devotee becomes assured that he is in actual touch with divine realms.
Patanjali refers a second time to the life-control or Kriya technique thus: “Liberation can be accomplished by that pranayama which is attained by disjoining the course of inspiration and expiration.”
“Kriya Yoga is an instrument through which human evolution can be quickened,” Sri Yukteswar explained to his students. “The ancient yogis discovered that the secret of cosmic consciousness is intimately linked with breath mastery. This is India’s unique and deathless contribution to the world’s treasury of knowledge. The life force, which is ordinarily absorbed in maintaining the heart-pump, must be freed for higher activities by a method of calming and stilling the ceaseless demands of the breath.”
A Brief Excerpt from The New Path
Below is a brief excerpt from ‘The New Path,’ authored by Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. This excerpt vividly illustrates the transformative potency of inner exploration as opposed to solely studying scriptures without directly experiencing the truth.
In the excerpt, the term “Master” refers to Paramhansa Yogananda, who was often called this by his diciples, because he was a fully realized spiritual master.
Master once told me, “When I applied to the Maharaja of Kasimbazar for permission to transfer my school to his Ranchi property, he asked a group of pundits to test my knowledge of spiritual matters, since my request involved forming a religious institution. I could see those scholars all set for a theological bullfight, so I turned the tables on them. ‘Let us talk only,’ I said, ‘of truths we have actually realized. An ability to quote scripture is no proof of wisdom.’ I then asked them a question for which I knew no answer can be found in the scriptures.“
‘We read,’ I said, ‘of the four aspects of human consciousness: mon, buddhi, ahankara, and chitta. We also read that these four aspects have their respective centers in the human body. Can you tell me where in the body each center is located?’ Well, they were completely stumped! All they knew was what they had read. I then explained, ‘Mon (mind) is centered at the top of the head; buddhi (intellect), at the point between the eyebrows; ahankara (ego), in the medulla oblongata at the base of the brain; and chitta (feeling), in the heart.’”
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