Kriya Yoga Mega-Thread

[billiesimon]

On 22/4/2019 at 3:56 PM, electroBeam said:

Is a child who became enlightened at 4 a noob? Just because they haven't practiced anything?

Advancement has nothing to do with how much  hours you've done a spiritual practice for, it has more to do with soul maturity.

There's a high chance your soul is mature enough to do Kriya, if it wasn't you would have given up already.

Kriya chooses you, not the other way around

I hope so.

I've been doing it for a month and a half without problems and I still have the same enthusiasm to this day.

I certainly have a lot of motivation for this practice.

[Girzo]

@Dovahkiin J. C. Stevens is for beginners. Get to the first Kriya Pranayama asap. After 1-3 months you can start doing advanced practices from SantataGamana book.

[kerk]

5 hours ago, Girzo said:

@Dovahkiin J. C. Stevens is for beginners. Get to the first Kriya Pranayama asap. After 1-3 months you can start doing advanced practices from SantataGamana book.

Much of Gamana is self-righteous hype from an author who imagines that his readers don't know any better. At least he has conceded that his so-called "upgraded" practices are not part of Kriya tradition. If you are not guided by a credentialed and responsible teacher in a recognized Kriya lineage, use Stevens and Nityananda.

[BuddhaTree]

On 16/04/2019 at 0:33 AM, herghly said:

@BuddhaTree Thanks for the reply! i have yet to try that version of Pranayama. You don't feel it is too complicated? 

 

I do a very simple pranayama similar to what leo does

Not really. I think anyone can do it if they have the motivation for it. Some practices I've read on Ennio book are much more complex like microcosmic orbit and some crazy kriyas.

 

 

[BuddhaTree]

2 hours ago, kerk said:

Much of Gamana is self-righteous hype from an author who imagines that his readers don't know any better. At least he has conceded that his so-called "upgraded" practices are not part of Kriya tradition. If you are not guided by a credentialed and responsible teacher in a recognized Kriya lineage, use Stevens and Nityananda.

Most of your posts on this forum are about Stevens in one way or another. Weird. 

Yet you didn’t answer my criticism of his book when I directly quoted you:

https://www.actualized.org/forum/topic/19678-kriya-yoga-mega-thread/?page=50#comment-368329

I don’t understand why is it so hard to grasp that while Stevens’ book is good (I have it), it falls short on many levels? Anyone with a bit if insight can see it. I agree that for Kriya, having a live teacher showing you the techniques is great though.

Stevens book is made to help you get started practicing Kriya, but it’s definitely not made to help you reach enlightenment. @Girzo is totally right.
 

[kerk]

@BuddhaTree I think your comments are reasonable for someone interested in whether enlightenment exists. I don't speculate about enlightenment and don't spend much time cogitating on Yogic philosophy. I wanted meditation instructions that hew close to Lahiri and obtained them from JCS and other sources.

Anyone who wants to plumb the depths of Kriya non-duality can get that in the 432 pages of Purana Purusha and they will have enough to think about for a lifetime.

It's quite true that KSR contains many techniques. Stevens goes through the entire sequence of initiations, while most Kriyabans IRL don't go beyond the second or third if that, and only after years of necessary practice. Stevens' approach was to produce a complete work of encyclopedic scope rather than release it in a series of separate lessons or books like Yogananda or Gamana. That doesn't make it better or worse; it's just one way to approach it.

KSR concludes with what I consider an optional and unnecessary collection of so-called "Babaji" practices mostly for reasons of historical completeness. The reader could be overwhelmed by all that stuff. So I think that is a valid criticism. I think he should have left that out. But I do not agree that KSR as a whole is disjointed; it is organized and carefully structured. He separates out into distinct lessons certain techniques that in practice, are performed together. But this is probably to the reader's benefit as each part deserves close examination.

Gamana's adaptation of KP, which is Mukherjee's, is probably fine and constructive to practice though it is not conventional Kriya (as explained on Gamana's website). His Kriya Bow is of course Hariharananda's; if one wants to do that, I suggest getting it from Prajnanananda his successor as it is widely available from that source. "Kriya Supreme Fire" is not found in Kriya Yoga as Gamana admits. So Gamana has taken various pieces and strung them together as Stevens is alleged to have done.

The distinguishing ingredients in the two works, to my mind, are the qualities that the author radiates. Gamana's vibe is of arrogance, dismissiveness, bloviation and selective misinterpretation of Yogiraj, while Stevens evidences honesty and respect for tradition and the reader's intelligence. In the end that is why I prefer one over the other.

[lostmedstudent]

i started reading the book secret power of kriya yoga and that is the first book ive ever read about kriya. i havent found the JC stevens ones.

so i followed the instructions and started with kriya bow this morning and i have a few questions. i am fairly unknowledgeable, i had to even look up what ocean breathing was, and the different chakras, so you can see why i would have a lot of questions...

1) i think i got the ocean breathing down. its like a darth vader breath so to speak? it kind of almost makes you snore if you constrict the throat just a little tighter? can someone confirm? also do you breath very heavily or normally with the ocean breathing? do i inhale strongly? 

2) how do you move yourenergy from different chakras to the third eye? when i did it today,i was just kind of "imagining" that im moving my energy? are there preliminary yoga exercises i should do if im not even familiar with the concepts of chakra and 3rd eye?

3) the book mentions chanting "om", is it just "om" "om" "om"? or what does it refer to...?

4) as of right now, i cant sit cross-legged, too unflexible. so is it ok to start with kneeling on a  meditation chair?

sorry for my noob questions. please if someone has some readings or videos they suggest i do before proceeding, let me know. 

thanks so much for your help!!!!!!!

 

[BuddhaTree]

@kerk I agree that more important than techniques, it's the connection with the guru, teacher, or better yet (for me), with the inner guru.

@lostmedstudent That book is quite advanced. Check http://www.kriyayogainfo.net/files/English II.pdf as well. It'll help you.

1) exactly, like darth vader! I breath normally, but slowly.

2) I've received a newsletter a few days ago about this: check here.

3) Yes, Om. Some people also prefer "Ong", but imo either way is fine.

4) Yes, but you should do some asanas or hatha yoga to improve flexibility. Practicing cross-legged is so much better.

Suggested readings: All Kriya Yoga books on Leo's book list.
 

Edited April 25, 2019 by BuddhaTree

[moon777light]

@Sahil Pandit there finally beginning to get easier haha and the eye twitching stopped

@BuddhaTree i remeber underlying that very same qoute in the KSR book and i was so confused by it, the i think therefore i am. I thought he was going to say the obvious like thats not true, but instead he verifies it, i thought something was weird there

I've talked to  alot of kriyabans online who've read KSR and who've been doing kriya for some decade(s) (10-20 years), and all of them agreed that the higher kriyas are wrong in KSR (?), and that the book is very valuable up until the second kriya. (page 216). And some said to continue with santatagamana's books after that, so im guessing the books are legit. But i feel kinda sad, i want to get into the fancy "higher" techinques lol. Yeah i know thats my ego talking. 

[lostmedstudent]

14 hours ago, lostmedstudent said:

sorry

@BuddhaTree  thank you thank you thank you

[lostmedstudent]

@BuddhaTree what is the newsletter about Kriya Yoga? I would love to sign up too for it  

[mkrksms]

How long does your daily kriya yoga routine take?

If I don’t mistake in the beginning of one of the books in the booklist it says that in the end you shouldn’t do more than 20 minutes or so per day and then just focus on every day tasks in life... And then I was on a kriya yoga retreat recently and they presented several different programs - the full version was 4 hours long, the short is 3 hours and the ”mini program” is 2 hours. And it’s recommended that you do the full one most of the time. That’s fine but I don’t get if it’s more or less useless in the long run to do a shorter program if you can’t manage to spend many hours every day. I’ll try to puzzle my life so that I can continue with the longer practice if needed but I’m curious how you guys are doing.

Edited April 27, 2019 by mkrksms

[oMarcos]

as a beginner is taking me around 45 minutes, but this is also because I need time to prepare to handle focus

[Esoteric]

@mkrksms What type of Kriya Pranayama did they teach on the retreat? Do you remember the sequence of techniques they used on their different programs? Was it strict that you follow their specific program or was there room for personal preference as well? Just out of curiousity.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Esoteric

[mkrksms]

2 hours ago, Esoteric said:

@mkrksms What type of Kriya Pranayama did they teach on the retreat? Do you remember the sequence of techniques they used on their different programs? Was it strict that you follow their specific program or was there room for personal preference as well? Just out of curiousity.

I tried to send you a PM but not sure if it went through

[Esoteric]

@mkrksms Yeah it seems I dont get notifications or pm's. I tried sending a pm to you, to see if it works like that.

[kerk]

14 hours ago, mkrksms said:

How long does your daily kriya yoga routine take?

Typically 20 minutes total to go through all the practices. It's one reason why I like it; it doesn't take that long to do and get the results. Two sessions per day @ 20 min each, longer at night if time permits.

Edited April 28, 2019 by kerk

[mkrksms]

22 minutes ago, kerk said:

Typically 20 minutes total to go through all the practices. It's one reason why I like it; it doesn't take that long to do and get the results. Two sessions per day @ 20 min each, longer at night if time permits.

How can it take only 20 min going through all the practices? How many Kriyas are you doing in one session? Please share an example if you want to!

[kerk]

1 hour ago, mkrksms said:

How can it take only 20 min going through all the practices?

Mahamudra, nabhi, talabya, 12-24 KP, mahamudra.

Edited April 28, 2019 by kerk

[mkrksms]

18 minutes ago, kerk said:

Mahamudra, nabhi, talabya, 12-24 KP, mahamudra.

Thank you