Kriya yoga

[yellowschnee]

Why is Kriya Yoga held so secretive?

 

[kerk]

Most of the discussion on Kriya Yoga seems to be happening in the Kriya Yoga Mega Thread.

As to the question about why it's held secretive ... There are probably several reasons, but here are two of them.

Kriya's founder Lahiri Mahasaya was very resistant to organizations and groups forming around Kriya Yoga, and asked his disciples to keep it to themselves. It was said that even next-door neighbors who were longtime Kriyabans did not know that about each other. While Lahiri held group readings and discussions in his home, these were not Kriya instructions which were always given individually, or to married couples.

So in keeping with his wishes, that tradition has held -- to some degree -- in the years since his passing in 1895. His chief disciple, Panchanon Bhattacharya, perhaps relaxed it slightly, as he traveled in India to meet groups of Kriya practitioners and apparently these events included some technical discussions or demonstrations.

In the main, however, Kriya spread through the network that grew from Lahiri to his disciples and then to their disciples and on to today. You will also find Kriya teachers who baldly claim that they belong not to Lahiri's known lineage, but were taught by "Babaji" himself, the immortal, quasi-mythical guru Lahiri encountered in 1868.

When there are thousands of people who want to learn Kriya, some sort of structure and organization would appear necessary. Today, some organizations such as SRF and KYIO teach their versions of Kriya in groups, though these are still nonpublic events and admission is only to those who have agreed to keep the techniques secret. Dozens of other, perhaps less well-known sources, still teach privately.

Another reason is simply guided, personal instruction so that the initiate knows what to do, is monitored to see that they are doing OK, and has the opportunity to ask questions. You see on the Kriya mega thread people trying various techniques from books, not all of which are Lahiri's Kriya; some apparently doing them to excess and mixing them with drugs even. I don't think any legitimate Kriya teacher would support that.

Some have been frustrated with the culture of secrecy and written at length about it and even reinterpreted it in attempts to expose the teaching to the greater world. There are widely varying opinions about whether their information is authentic or even safe.

I hope that helps answer your question.

 

Edited July 17, 2019 by kerk

[cetus]

@yellowschnee You could have posted your question in the Kriya yoga Mega Thread. You got a good in depth answer from@kerk but it's ashame it's segregated from the others.

[yellowschnee]

@kerkVery good answer, thank you

@cetus56@kerk  I didn't know there was a Kriya Yoga Mega Thread. Let's move my question there. I'm not sure if mods can move things in such a fashion so I'll just post the question in the thread and try to quote kerk.

 

[cetus]

@yellowschnee Copy and paste it there