Kriya Yoga Mega-Thread

[iamthat]

On 6/11/2020 at 10:44 AM, astrokeen said:

 This may have been covered somewhere in this thread but posting the query here nonetheless: 

Is there a website which explains a basic Kriay yoga technique? I am referring to the Kriya Yoga techniques from the lineage of Babaji and Yogananda.

A couple of points before moving on to details.

Firstly, identifying a basic Kriya Yoga technique is not so simple. Babaji taught Lahiri Mahasaya, but then Lahiri Mahasaya is supposed to have given different practices to different disciples according to their temperament and level of development. So there are many lineages which may teach quite different practices.

Secondly, Yogananda is supposed to have modified the Kriya practices to make allowances for Western disciples. We have to bear in mind that he was teaching in the 1920s, when yoga and meditation was less well known in the West.

But if you want to know the details of practising Kriya Yoga as taught by Yogananda then try reading Kriya Secrets Revealed by JC Stevens. At the back there are three appendices with extensive details of Kriya practices from different lineages.

Appendix 1 - Kriya Yoga as taught by Panchanon Bhattacharya, the chief disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya.

Appendix 2 - Kriya Yoga as taught by Marshall Govindan, a teacher with an ashram in Canada.

Appendix 3 - Kriya Yoga as originally taught by Yogananda, which supposedly differs from what is currently taught by SRF.

I learned Kriya Yoga many years ago from Ananda, an offshoot of SRF, and what I learned is pretty much the same as Appendix 3. But I also learned from Marshall Govindan, and those practices are quite different.

Peace

 

 

[Kriya]

On 8/13/2020 at 6:22 AM, iamthat said:

I worked out many of them from the book, but unfortunately I have lent my copy out, so I cannot recall the details.

If you are curious about any in particular, then give a brief summary of that guru and I might be able to help.

Peace

Hi iamthat 

 

Do the below descriptions ring a bell....? 

 

1. Lahiri's descendent guru

2. Himalayan Yogi Nath guru 

3. PH's Yoga International

4. Swami Science of Lifeforce

5. PY's organization

6. Mauritius Bhakti guru 

7. Original kriya yoga guru 

8. Swami Shri Yukteshwar Ashram guru 

9. Sri Yogi Kriya Australia guru 

 

I was trying to figure out if any of them is Sadhguru. But i dont think any of them are based on descriptions. 

[Unseeking Seeker]

What a lively thread! 

The common factor amongst all spiritual seekers is to connect with our own divinity within. As such, not wanting to lose even a moment, yogic techniques emerge, to enable a direct experience.

Evidently there are some who have posted here, who have so experienced. Yet, each path is unique. The fears and impurities are blockages individual to each. It may be presumptuous to affirm any singular path as absolute.

To simplify, all being consciousness, the kundalini too is consciousness. Our consciousness, in aspects potential (Shiva) and kinetic (Shakti). The differentiated aspects create conditions for a throb, a current. Spanda. In fact, all of life, as we know it, is this throb. We feel it, cognise it, even in deep stillness, including Turiya.

So as not to go off on a tangent, while conceding the interim benefits of kriya yoga or other induced techniques, the root is simply this: All is grace. Surrender of mind-body and our vicarious knowing (identity) is a prerequisite.

For those here who have had a Kundalini awakening of some sort, as in felt, I am sure that if they compare their own experience as against that of another, including whatever may have been written (the written words are experiences of others), they will find differences. As such, beyond a point, over study becomes a mental blockage, since we attempt to anticipate the outcome before engaging, thereby limiting and even deflecting the pristinity of what is offered.

Our burning yearning to connect with God within is the only orientation that is needed. As in prioritised.

Of course, what I say, is an impulse I wish to share. In no way does it imply that any path including kriya yoga is unsuitable for the fearless and pure of heart, preferably taught on a one to one basis by a master, customising the transmission for the neophyte.

 

 

[Kutastha]

On 8/24/2020 at 9:01 AM, Kriya said:

1. Lahiri's descendent guru - Sibendhu Lahiri

2. Himalayan Yogi Nath guru - Gurunath

3. PH's Yoga International - Paramhansa Hariharananda's Kriya yoga institute, currently led by Swamiji Prajnananda

4. Swami Science of Lifeforce - No idea

5. PY's organization - Paramhansa Yoganandaji, Yogoda satsanga in India and Self realization fellowship in other countries

6. Mauritius Bhakti guru - Some kriya Ponzi scheme guy

7. Original kriya yoga guru - May be Mukherjee

8. Swami Shri Yukteshwar Ashram guru - Swami at Sriyukteshwar's ashram

9. Sri Yogi Kriya Australia guru - Some guy from Varanasi who now lives in Australia. Apparently a student of Satyacharan Lahiri.

 

I was trying to figure out if any of them is Sadhguru.

No. Sadguru doesn't have anything to do with kriya of Lahiri baba.

Generally if they ask for more than a symbolic amount of money for diksha ie. initiation, run away. Acharya's ie. teacher's intention shouldn't be on money but rather on helping you.

[okulele]

Hi there. Is there anyone who managed to do Kriya Yoga consistnently for a long time now? How is it going? You "there" yet?

[Kutastha]

9 hours ago, okulele said:

Hi there. Is there anyone who managed to do Kriya Yoga consistnently for a long time now? How is it going? You "there" yet?

Many did it. If you're looking for the proof of efficiency of kriya, then the proof is in the pudding. Also it is in the fact that it's an unbroken tradition of teacher-disciple succession (guru-shishya parampara) for the last 160-ish years.That's since it was reintroduced to the public by Lahiri Baba as instructed to him by his gurudev, Babaji Maharaj. It survived the test of time, if it was a bunch of mambo-jumbo people would drop it long time ago.

[OBEler]

Can you do pranayama the whole day (while doing mundane thinks)? And is it healthy or do I mess up my energetic system after some time?

Edited September 23, 2020 by OBEler

[Kutastha]

17 hours ago, OBEler said:

Can you do pranayama the whole day (while doing mundane thinks)? And is it healthy or do I mess up my energetic system after some time?

There's no need for that. Set aside some time to practice yoga in the morning and evening or just once per day if you don't have time for two sessions.During the day you can keep your mind focused on breathing when you don't need it to preform other tasks.

Pranayama affects subtle inner currents(vayu) and it can cause health and current flow issues if done incorrectly or excessively. That is one of the reasons why kriya should not be practiced by merely reading various books and without supervision of a person who is authorized by his teacher to teach kriya. Or at least a senior, experienced kriyaban(person who practice kriya is called kriyaban).

For example, if you need some complicated electrical work to be done and you don't know what you're doing when it comes to electricity, you'd call a qualified electrician or at least ask someone with a lot of experience for an advise. Or otherwise you should be ready to face possible consequences of messing with the electric current. The same goes for practicing yoga. And by yoga I mean stuff that comes after asana, according to Patanjali. 

[okulele]

21 hours ago, OBEler said:

Can you do pranayama the whole day (while doing mundane thinks)? And is it healthy or do I mess up my energetic system after some time?

You can do ujai breathing throught the day comfortably. Though it might be too much for you in some situations, listen to your body/inner self.

[herghly]

How are your practices going?

[Guillem12]

hi, just went into leo book list and i can see 4 books about yoga, which one contains the techniques to folllow?

[Loving Radiance]

22 minutes ago, Guillem12 said:

hi, just went into leo book list and i can see 4 books about yoga, which one contains the techniques to folllow?

The 2nd one with the description "This book teaches you the secretive techniques of Kriya yoga, as practiced by the famous yogi [...]".

(btw if you read the thread from the beginning, you would actually know which one it is)

[Koeke]

Lesson 4 procedure
It says that I should imagine looking forward from the medulla to the Bhrumadhya. Can anyone give me some tips on how to imagine this? I have done this procedure about 20 times and haven’t really stayed in this “concentration pose” for longer than 10 seconds. Even though it says that it should only take a few seconds to assume the concentration pose. 

[Loving Radiance]

@Koeke If you want to access this chakra more, then become aware of Medulla (tricky, as it is in your body and not on the skin). Feel looking from Medulla to Bhrumadhya, like you feel looking from your eyes to an object in your field of view.

Place yourself (like a miniature version of you as an observer) at Medulla. You could imagine that you are the lighthouse illuminating the body from Medulla. Now, illuminate Bhrumadhya. Focus your light there while "standing" at Medulla.

[martins name]

A note on SantataGamana's pranayama: don't underestimate the importance of chanting aum. It is used to stimulate the first 5 chakras and is the whole reason Santata's pranayama can replace the classic pranayama. Learn the basics by chanting aum and feel where in the body it is felt and which chakras it is stimulating. 

 

He got the technique form the book: original kriya yoga https://originalkriya.com/

[caspex]

Can anyone link me the book everyone is talking about?

[Loving Radiance]

@Swarnim

Edited November 20, 2020 by Loving Radiance

[martins name]

@Swarnim Santata's Gammas real yoga series. Especially the first 2 books.

[martins name]

Doing kriya without a guru is tricky, there are many subtle ways one can make mistakes. I think one should read many books on kriya and try to piece the puzzle together. I recommend Ennio Nimis'es book. I don't like JC Stevens book, it's to mechanical.

[caspex]

On 11/19/2020 at 2:57 PM, martins name said:

@Swarnim Santata's Gammas real yoga series. Especially the first 2 books.

thank you!