Namaskar Oct 2012

Yoga Styles
God-Realiz
alization ation through Kriya Yoga
Allen Yao
“You are walking on the earth as in a dream. Our world is a dream within a dream; you must realize that to find God
is the only goal, the only purpose, for which you are here. For Him alone you exist. Him you must find.”
Paramahansa Yogananda
22
In the Katha Upanishad (one
of India’s most widely read
ancient scriptures), Yama, the
Lord of Death, explained to
Nachiketa, the teenage spiritual
aspirant, that the Self (God)
cannot be known through the
Kriya Yoga takes one to God by the
universal highway: the spine
study of scriptures nor
through the intellect, nor
through hearing discourses
about it. He asserted, “The Self
cannot be known by anyone
who desists not from
unrighteous ways, controls not
his senses, stills not his mind,
and practises not meditation.”
Paramahansa Yogananda, the
famed author of the spiritual
classic “Autobiography of a
Yogi”, described meditation as
the science of God Realization.
He said, “It is the most
practical science in the world,
and most people would want
to meditate if they understood
its value and experienced its
beneficial effects. The ultimate
object of meditation is to
attain conscious awareness of
God, and the soul’s eternal
oneness with Him.”
He once explained, “You can be
in a room 20 years, trying to get
out through the walls, the
ceiling, the floor. It is when you
finally discover the door that
you find your way out. That’s
how it is with the soul. The
average devotee may struggle
his whole life trying to escape
the bodily limitations by
unscientific means, and by the
paths only of devotion or
discrimination. By Kriya Yoga,
however, if he is sincere, he can
escape quickly. Kriya Yoga takes
one to God by the universal
highway: the spine.”
Kriya Yoga is a powerful and
scientific meditation technique
for spiritual evolution.
Yogananda said the Sanskrit
word Kriya derives from the
root “Kri”—”to do, act and
react”. Yoga derives from
“yuj”—”to unite, join,
connect”. Yogananda stated
Kriya Yoga is the supreme yoga
science for the attainment of
union or oneness with God.
This technique focuses on the
growth of inner awareness and
the experiencing of the
indwelling Divinity, and leads
ultimately to God-realization.
Sri Yukteswar (1855-1936),
Yogananda’s guru, asserted
human evolution could be
accelerated through the practice
of Kriya Yoga. He said the
ancient yogis discovered the
secret of cosmic consciousness
to be intimately linked with
breath mastery. By this method
of calming and stilling the
ceaseless demands of the
breath, the life force ordinarily
absorbed in maintaining heart
action, would be freed for
higher activities.
Its roots go back to antiquity,
as saints and sages had been
practising this technique since
time immemorial. The ageless
Mahavatar Babaji reintroduced
it in 1861 to the illustrious sage
Lahiri Mahasaya (1828-1895)
with instructions to
disseminate it for the benefit
of mankind.
He told the sage, “The Kriya
Yoga I am giving to the world
through you in this nineteenth
century, is a revival of the same
science that Krishna gave
The Direct Lineage of
Kriya Yoga Gurus
Mahavatar Babaji, date of birth
and death unknown
Lahiri Mahasaya 1828 -1895
Shriyukteshwarji 1855 - 1936