The science of Kriya Yoga, so often mentioned in this book, has spread widely in modern India thanks to Lahiri Mahasaya, the Master of my guru. The word kriya is derived from the Sanskrit kri, to do, to act, to react; the same root is found in the word karma, the cosmic law of cause and effect. Kriya Yoga thus means “union (yoga) with the Infinite through a certain action or ritual (kriya). A yogi who practices this technique gradually frees himself from the slavery of karma, or the universal chain of causality.
Due to ancient restrictions, I cannot give a complete explanation of Kriya Yoga in a book intended for the general public. The technique itself must be learned from a Kriyaban (Kriya Yogi). In this book I will mention some general aspects.
If I had to explain Kriya Yoga in a few words to a Westerner with a scientific education, I would say that it is a simple psychophysiological method which causes at a physical level the elimination of carbon dioxide from the blood and the charging of it with oxygen. The atoms of this additional oxygen are transmuted into subtle currents which vitalize the brain and spinal centers. In this way the yogi can slow down or even prevent the aging of the tissues by stopping the accumulation of venous blood; advanced yogis transmute matter into pure energy. Elijah, Jesus, Kabir, and other prophets had mastered Kriya or similar techniques that allowed them to materialize or dematerialize at will.
Kriya is a very ancient science. Lahiri Mahasaya learned it from his great guru Babaji, who rediscovered it and clarified its techniques after it had been lost in the dark ages. It was Babaji who called it simply Kriya Yoga.
“The Kriya Yoga that I am giving to the world through you in this nineteenth century,” Babaji told Lahiri Mahasaya, “is the same science that Krishna taught Arjuna many thousands of years ago and which was later known to Patanjali, Jesus, St. John, St. Paul, and other disciples.”
Krishna, India’s greatest prophet, alludes to Kriya Yoga in two sutras of the Bhagavad Gita. One of them says: “Others sacrifice the expiratory breath <apana> and the inspiratory breath <prana>, stopping the movement of inspiration and expiration, striving for the mastery of the breaths <pranayama>.” The interpretation is: “The yogi stops the bodily decomposition by calming the action of the heart and lungs through the additional influx of prana (vital force); he also stops, by controlling his own will the apana (current of elimination), the growth mutations in his body. Thus neutralizing decay and growth, the yogi learns to control the vital force.”
The other sutra is: “By removing external contacts with the gaze [focused] only between [the two] eyebrows, by equalizing the inspiratory breath <prana> with the expiratory breath <apana> passing through the nose, the ascetic with the mind, the internal sense and the senses controlled, who has as his ultimate goal liberation, devoid of desire, fear and pity, he alone is liberated forever.”
Krishna also says that in a previous incarnation he had taught yoga to Vivasvat, the ancient saint, who taught Manu, the great legislator. The latter, in turn, instructed Iksvaku, the founder of the solar warrior dynasty of India. Thus passed from one to the other, from century to century, the royal yoga was preserved by the sages until the advent of the era materialistic. Then, because of the secrecy with which the priests surrounded it and the indifference of the people, the sacred science became more and more inaccessible.
Kriya Yoga is mentioned twice by the ancient sage Patanjali, the best commentator on the yoga system, who writes: “The discipline of the body, the control of the mind and the meditation on AUM constitute Kriya Yoga.” For Patanjali, God is the cosmic vibration of AUM that you hear in meditation. AUM is the Creator Word, the noise of the Cosmic Engine, the witness3 of the Divine Presence. Even the beginner in yoga does not delay in hearing in the depths of his being the wonderful sound AUM. Receiving thus a spiritual proof, the practitioner is convinced that he is in contact with the divine world.
The second time Patanjali speaks of the Kriya technique or the control of the vital force as follows: “After the asana has been performed, pranayama is the cessation of the movements of inspiration and expiration.”
The Saint Paul knew Kriya Yoga or a similar technique allowing the vital currents to be switched on or off in the senses. That is why he could say: “I die daily; this is as true, brothers, as it is true that I have reason to boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord.” By a method that concentrated inward all the vital force of the body (a force usually directed outward, towards the sensory world, thus giving it an apparent validity), Saint Paul lived every day the experience of a true yogic union with the “joy” (bliss) Consciousness Christ consciousness. In this state of supreme bliss he was aware that he was “dying” to the illusory world of maya.
In the initial state of communion with God (sabikalpa samadhi), the practitioner’s consciousness is merged with the Cosmic Spirit; the vital force is withdrawn from the body, which appears “dead”, rigid, inanimate. The yogin is fully aware of the fixity of his body. When he reaches higher states (nirbikalpa samadhi), his waking consciousness is in communion with God, even while his body is performing daily tasks.
“Kriya Yoga is an instrument that allows the acceleration of human evolution”, explained Sri Yukteswar to his disciples. “In ancient times, the yogis discovered that the secret of cosmic consciousness is intimately linked to the control of the breath; this is India’s contribution to human knowledge and it is absolutely unique and immortal. The vital force, usually absorbed in the course of cardiac activities, must be released for spiritual activities, by a technique that allows the incessant rhythm of the breaths to be slowed down and calmed.”
Kriya The Yogi mentally directs his vital energy up and down along the circuit marked out by the six centers on the spine (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral and coccygeal), which corresponds to the 12 zodiac signs, the symbolic Cosmic Man. Half a minute of ascension of energy along the spine, according to the Kriya techniques, allows a person to make a progress equal to a year of normal spiritual evolution.
This sidereal system on a human scale, with the 6 inner constellations (12 by polarity) in revolution around the sun represented by the omniscient spiritual Eye, is in relation to the sun of the physical world and to the 12 signs of the celestial zodiac. Every man is therefore under the influence of two universes: one inner and one outer. The ancient sages discovered that this action of the celestial and terrestrial environment on man slowly pushes him forward on the path of his normal evolution in cycles of 12 years. The scriptures teach us that a million years of normal and disease-free evolution are necessary to perfect the human brain to the point of making it capable of attaining cosmic consciousness.
A thousand Kriya techniques performed in 8 and a half hours give the yogi in a single day the equivalent of a thousand years of natural evolution, or 365,000 years in 12 months. Kriya Yoga thus enables one to achieve in three years, through intelligent effort, the progress that nature makes only in 10,000 centuries. Moreover, only very advanced yogis who, under the guidance of their guru, have prepared their body and brain to make them capable of supporting the power developed by assiduous practice can call upon the help of Kriya.
The beginner in Kriya should only practice yogic exercises in sets of 14-48 executions, twice a day. Some yogis achieve liberation in 6, 12, 24 or 48 years. A yogi who dies before reaching the supreme goal carries with him the favorable karma due to his efforts in yoga practice; in the next life he will be harmoniously directed towards the Supreme Goal.
The body of an ordinary man can be compared to a 50-watt light bulb which cannot withstand a current of millions of volts generated by intense Kriya Yoga practice. A gradual and regular increase in the time devoted to the methods of yoga transforms the body, on the astral plane, day by day, until it is capable of expressing the infinite potentials of cosmic energy which constitute the first active, material manifestation of the Spirit.
Kriya Yoga has nothing in common with the unscientific respiratory methods practiced by a number of misguided zealots. Their attempts to forcibly retain the breath are not only against nature but also with very unpleasant consequences. On the other hand, Kriya is accompanied from the very beginning by a state of perfect serenity and tranquility due to a regenerative force flowing along the spine.
This ancient yogic technique converts the breath into mental energy. Spiritual progress allows the perception of the breath as a mental act: a breath in a dream.
Many examples could be given to illustrate the mathematical relationship between the respiratory rhythm and the corresponding variations in states of consciousness. When we focus our attention on an extremely difficult matter, on an urgent and delicate task, breathing automatically slows down. The fixity of attention thus depends on the slowness of breathing. Rapid, panting breathing inevitably accompanies violent emotional states: fear, envy, anger. The turbulent monkey inhales 32 times per minute, while man only 18 times, on average. The elephant, the tortoise, the snake and other animals known for their longevity have a slower respiratory system than that of man. Thus, the tortoise, which lives for 300 years, breathes only 4 times per minute.
The rejuvenating effect of sleep results from the fact that man temporarily loses consciousness of his body and breath. D ormind, he becomes a yogi: every night he performs the yoga ritual consisting of freeing himself from all identifications with the body, of refreshing the vital force in the 6 centers of force in the spine and in the “thousand-petalled lotus” in the cerebral region. The sleeper thus recharges himself, without knowing it, with the cosmic energy that sustains all life.
Unlike the sleeper, the yogi consciously and of his own will carries out a simple and natural process of the same type. The Kriya-yogi uses the technique to nourish and saturate the cells of his body with imperishable light, thus preserving them in a state of spiritual magnetization. Scientifically, he makes breathing useless, without thereby entering (during the hours of practice) a negative state of sleep, unconsciousness or death.
In people who are under the influence of maya, or the laws of nature, the flow of the vital force is towards the external world; they instinctively use its currents, dissipating them in the senses. On the contrary, the practice of Kriya Yoga reverses the direction of the flow: the vital force is mentally directed towards the microcosm of the being, where it reunites with the subtle energies in the centers of the spinal column. Thus regained, the vital force, the spiritual elixir, renews the body cells of the yogi and especially those of the brain.
Proper food, sunlight and harmonious thoughts are elements that lead those who are guided only by Nature and her divine plan to perfect their Self-realization in a million years. It takes 12 years of normal and healthy life for a perfection to appear in the structure of the brain, however small; and the purification of the brain until it can manifest cosmic consciousness requires a million years. But the yogi, by using the spiritual science of yoga, evades the necessity of observing the laws of nature for such a long period.
Breaking the chain of breaths that binds the soul to the body, Kriya Yoga prolongs life and infinitely enlarges the field of consciousness. The yoga method overcomes the conflict between the spirit and the senses subjugated by matter and frees the disciple to allow him to regain his Eternal Kingdom. The yogi knows that his true nature is not chained by the carnal shell, nor by the chain of breaths – symbol of our slavery to Air, nor by the constraint exerted by the other four elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Ether.
Introspection, or “sitting in silence,” is an unscientific way of trying to forcibly separate the spirit from the senses, which are bound together by the vital force. The contemplative mind, in its efforts to return to the divine, is constantly being drawn back to the senses by the vital currents. Kriya Yoga, by directly controlling the mind with the help of the vital force, is the easiest, most effective, and most scientific way of approaching the Infinite. In contrast to the slow and uncertain path of theology, Kriya Yoga may justly be called the air route; for to reach God one must travel by plane, not by bullock cart.
The science of the Yogis is based on the empirical study of all forms of meditation and concentration exercises. They allow the practitioner to gain full control over the closing or opening of the circuits specific to each of the 5 senses, causing vital currents to pass through these circuits or not. By learning to isolate his senses, the yogi can connect at will with the subtle, divine or material worlds. He is no longer brought, against his will, by the vital force to the realm of noisy sensations and agitated thoughts of the ordinary human sphere. Master of his body and mind, the Kriya Yogi finally achieves victory over the “last enemy”, death.
“Thus, my soul, feed on Death, she who feeds on men; For Death once dead, you have no more reason to die!”
The life of an advanced Kriya Yogi is no longer influenced by his past actions, but only by the directives of the soul. He thus avoids the slow progress which is due to the selfish actions, good or bad, of daily life; the crawling of a snail is incompatible with his flight as an eagle.
This superior method of spiritual life liberates the yogi who, escaping from the prison of his own ego, eagerly inhales the free air of divine omnipresence. On the contrary, the slavery of common human life unfolds with humiliating slowness. Man, even when he follows undeviatingly the normal path of evolution, remains under the tyranny of nature; supposing he does not violate any physical or mental law, he will have to wear the garment of successive reincarnations for 10,000 centuries before he attains final liberation.
The rapid method of the yogis, which enables them to free themselves from physical and mental identification, imposes itself on those who are dissatisfied with the duration of a million years.
ormind, he becomes a yogi: every night he performs the yoga ritual consisting of freeing himself from all identifications with the body, of refreshing the vital force in the 6 centers of force in the spine and in the “thousand-petalled lotus” in the cerebral region. The sleeper thus recharges himself, without knowing it, with the cosmic energy that sustains all life.
Unlike the sleeper, the yogi consciously and of his own will carries out a simple and natural process of the same type. The Kriya-yogi uses the technique to nourish and saturate the cells of his body with imperishable light, thus preserving them in a state of spiritual magnetization. Scientifically, he makes breathing useless, without thereby entering (during the hours of practice) a negative state of sleep, unconsciousness or death.
In people who are under the influence of maya, or the laws of nature, the flow of the vital force is towards the external world; they instinctively use its currents, dissipating them in the senses. On the contrary, the practice of Kriya Yoga reverses the direction of the flow: the vital force is mentally directed towards the microcosm of the being, where it reunites with the subtle energies in the centers of the spinal column. Thus regained, the vital force, the spiritual elixir, renews the body cells of the yogi and especially those of the brain.
Proper food, sunlight and harmonious thoughts are elements that lead those who are guided only by Nature and her divine plan to perfect their Self-realization in a million years. It takes 12 years of normal and healthy life for a perfection to appear in the structure of the brain, however small; and the purification of the brain until it can manifest cosmic consciousness requires a million years. But the yogi, by using the spiritual science of yoga, evades the necessity of observing the laws of nature for such a long period.
Breaking the chain of breaths that binds the soul to the body, Kriya Yoga prolongs life and infinitely enlarges the field of consciousness. The yoga method overcomes the conflict between the spirit and the senses subjugated by matter and frees the disciple to allow him to regain his Eternal Kingdom. The yogi knows that his true nature is not chained by the carnal shell, nor by the chain of breaths – symbol of our slavery to Air, nor by the constraint exerted by the other four elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Ether.
Introspection, or “sitting in silence,” is an unscientific way of trying to forcibly separate the spirit from the senses, which are bound together by the vital force. The contemplative mind, in its efforts to return to the divine, is constantly being drawn back to the senses by the vital currents. Kriya Yoga, by directly controlling the mind with the help of the vital force, is the easiest, most effective, and most scientific way of approaching the Infinite. In contrast to the slow and uncertain path of theology, Kriya Yoga may justly be called the air route; for to reach God one must travel by plane, not by bullock cart.
The science of the Yogis is based on the empirical study of all forms of meditation and concentration exercises. They allow the practitioner to gain full control over the closing or opening of the circuits specific to each of the 5 senses, causing vital currents to pass through these circuits or not. By learning to isolate his senses, the yogi can connect at will with the subtle, divine or material worlds. He is no longer brought, against his will, by the vital force to the realm of noisy sensations and agitated thoughts of the ordinary human sphere. Master of his body and mind, the Kriya Yogi finally achieves victory over the “last enemy”, death.
“Thus, my soul, feed on Death, she who feeds on men; For Death once dead, you have no more reason to die!”
The life of an advanced Kriya Yogi is no longer influenced by his past actions, but only by the directives of the soul. He thus avoids the slow progress which is due to the selfish actions, good or bad, of daily life; the crawling of a snail is incompatible with his flight as an eagle.
This superior method of spiritual life liberates the yogi who, escaping from the prison of his own ego, eagerly inhales the free air of divine omnipresence. On the contrary, the slavery of common human life unfolds with humiliating slowness. Man, even when he follows undeviatingly the normal path of evolution, remains under the tyranny of nature; supposing he does not violate any physical or mental law, he will have to wear the garment of successive reincarnations for 10,000 centuries before he attains final liberation.
The rapid method of the yogis, which enables them to free themselves from physical and mental identification, imposes itself on those who are dissatisfied with the duration of a million years.
The delay is even greater for those who, content to live without caring for the soul, pursue grosser pleasures, thus offending the sacred nature of their being by deeds, words, and thoughts. For them, at least two million years are needed to free themselves! The average man rarely or never realizes that his body is a vast empire, ruled by the Spirit Emperor, seated on the throne above his head, and whose provincial governors are the six centers of force at the level of the spinal column, or “spheres of consciousness”! He governs a numerous people: 27 billion cells endowed with infallible elementary intelligence, which execute all the functions of the organism: growth, transformation, disintegration; 50 million thoughts, emotions, and other qualitative variations suffered by consciousness in 60 years of average life. Any apparent revolt of the cells or the soul against the Spirit, translated into diseases, lack of reason or states of depression, is not attributable to the lack of loyalty of these humble servants, but rather to the improper use, past or present, of man’s free will, which was given to him by God together with the Soul and which he cannot alienate.
Man identifies himself with a false self, which he calls the one who thinks, who wants, who eats, who digests and who keeps himself alive, refusing to admit, although a little self-analysis would be enough for him, that, in daily life, he is nothing more than a puppet governed by his past actions (karma), by his environment, by his entourage. Intellectual reactions, tendencies, habits, feelings are under the close dependence of past causes which have their origin either in this life or in a previous one. Only the Spirit escapes this determinism, and Kriya Yoga aims to liberate this Spirit, destroying the veil of so-called human truths and freedoms. The scriptures declare that man is not a perishable body, but a living spirit. Kriya guarantees him a method that allows him to demonstrate this statement.
“Outer rituals cannot destroy ignorance, these two terms not being mutually contradictory,” writes Shankara in his famous A Century of Verses. “Only knowledge actually realized destroys ignorance… Knowledge can only spring from an inner inquiry. Who am I? Where does the Universe come from? Who created it? What is its Ultimate Cause? Of these kinds of questions I speak.” The intellect cannot answer these questions, which is why the sages approached yoga as a technique of spiritual inquiry.
The true Yogi, refraining from identifying himself in thought, will and feeling with the desires of his body and releasing the superconscious forces from the astral centers, lives in the world as God created it, not being pushed by the impulses of the past nor by the recent attractions of human weaknesses. At the moment when the Supreme Desire is fulfilled, he is safe in the harbor of eternal happiness of the Spirit.
Lord Krishna, referring to the sure and methodical efficacy of the science of Yoga, praises the one who applies its technology in these words: “The Yogi is above the ascetics and is considered even above those who have Knowledge (Jnana Yoga); the Yogi is above those who perform rites (Karma Yoga); henceforth be a Yogi, O Arjuna!”
Kriya Yoga is the true “fire ritual”, often mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. The purifying fires of yoga practice bring eternal enlightenment, and are thus very different from the ineffectual ceremonial fires of religion, which roast even the perception of truth.
The yogi throws his human aspirations into the fire dedicated to the one and only God. This is the true yogic fire ceremony, where all past and present desires constitute the “coal” consumed by divine love. The Supreme Flame burns away all human folly and man is freed from all impurity. His bones are stripped, metaphorically speaking, of all flesh of desire, his karmic skeleton whitened by the antiseptic rays of the sun of wisdom has nothing offensive to humanity or to the Creator; here he is at last pure.
Autobiography of a Yogi – Paramahansa Yogananda
CHAPTER: 26