Article Kailash

The word KRIYA means activity or movement - activity or movement of awareness or consciousness. It also means practical or preliminary action.

In contrast to other forms of Yoga, Kriya Yoga does not ask you to curb your mental fluctuations but asks you to purposely create activity in your consciousness. In this way, mental faculties are harmonized and flower to their fullest potential and coordination is brought about between the nervous system and the brain.

There are no restrictions or barriers to those who want to practice Kriya Yoga. Your religion, age, social- status, diet does not bar you from practicing Kriya Yoga. According to me, Kriya Yoga is an ideal method for the man of today. Only the important requirement of successful practice of Kriya Yoga is correct preparation and constant touch with 'Guru' who understands, rectifies your mistakes and guides you for the proper practice of Kriya. It is observed that the world over, many have benefited immensely with wonderful results by practicing Kriya yoga. At the same time, there are some others who have gained very little or nothing, even though they have been practicing Kriya regularly with a lot of enthusiasm. Generally, the fault of these people, who have not got the required results, lies in their not following appropriate sequence of the practice. The system of Kriya Yoga loses its full power if the sequence is wrong. Another reason for not getting full results in Kriya Yoga is, not understanding one's own body properly. I have seen a number of times that those who have backache, knee problem or any of such physical limitation, force themselves to do Asanas, which they are not supposed to do. Consequently, their physical problem aggravates. Then they lose the interest in Kriya Yoga. When there are physical limitations, there are other techniques, which give the same benefits as those of asanas. To know these techniques, it is absolutely necessary to be in regular contact with the Guru.

While practicing Kriya Yoga, problems and doubts may arise, both with regard to your performance of Kriya and also the consequence of the practices. Here you need to get immediate guidance of your Guru.

Your right attitude is an essential part of Kriya Yoga; it leads to full blossoming of the potential contained within the Kriya Yoga practices. A wrong attitude stunts and prevents this blossoming. The potential of the Kriya is really amazing, still I advise Kriya Sadhak to try and adopt the basic attitude of 'Effortlessness' and 'Non Expectations'. The practices speak for themselves. Try to integrate the Kriya practices into your daily life like other daily activities. While doing the Kriya Yoga practices one should have the attitude of trying, but without trying, doing without doing. I know it is very difficult but this attitude will bring the greatest results. There should be regularity of practice with minimum expectation of results or experiences. Perform Kriya as a form of Worship rather than an intellectual exercise. Never have any doubts as to whether you are making progress or not. So do your Kriya Yoga sadhana with regularity and intensity but without any expectations. Expectation means Ego and Ego does not allow Dhyan to arise. So expect nothing and you will gain everything in Kriya Yoga.

Kriya Yoga is a scientific and sophisticated method of harmonizing and synchronizing the natural forces and energizing one's being. The purpose of Kriya Yoga is to transform your whole life into a continuous expression of joy, bliss and wisdom. It is designed to transform Tamas into Sattva. Regular Kriya practice allows one to explore and know the mind and go beyond. This induces Dhyan and intensifies spontaneous awareness.

Kriya yoga comprises of a number of techniques, which should be practiced under the authentic Guru who gives explanations of what is happening from time to time. He can rectify the mistakes and give 'timely' tips to the Kriyaban.

Kriya Yoga Practice as a whole has:

  1. Asana (Physical pose / postures)
  2. Mudra (External expression of an inner attitude)
  3. Bandha (Physio-Psychic locks)
  4. Mantra (Special Sound pattern, which can produce subtle impact and change)
  5. Pranayam (Manipulation of breath to control prana)
  6. Psychic passage awareness.

These six are the building blocks of Kriya Yoga. They are combined together in a scientific and specific manner in order to bring about changes in one's being.

Some preparations for Kriya practice: -

You should undertake to do Kriya Yoga sadhana only if you can assign sufficient time to practice. Practicing Kriya once in a blue moon by taking a number of shortcuts does not lead you anywhere and hence do not expect to get all the benefits one gets after regular and intense practice of Kriya Yoga. This habit of being irregular is itself a mental block or lack of commitment. It is not necessary to practise Kriya for hours together. It is a scientific path in which sequence-wise perfect and regular practice is necessary to get fast and definite progress. Kriya yoga is an effective means to Self-Knowledge; it is not a plaything to be taken lightly. To gain the most benefits from the Kriya Yoga practice, it is essential to drop or give up all beliefs, concepts and ideas about Yoga practice. These preconceived ideas are a big barrier for getting conscious perceptions of the subtler aspects of your being. During any serious physical illness do not push yourself to practise Kriya yoga but cure your illness by any suitable treatment.

Increase your awareness in your activities of day-to-day life. Try to register things when you are doing these activities. It is only by regular practice that you will reap the fruits of Kriya yoga. Try to practice Kriya every day without fail. Even if your mind is in the state of turmoil or it jumps here and there, still try to carry on your daily practice of Kriya Yoga. Stop your practice only if you become ill.

Another preparation of Kriya Yoga is, develop reasonable degree of sensitivity to those parts of the body utilized in Kriya yoga techniques. Try to locate the chakras and trigger points associated with them. Your place of practice should be clean and tidy. It should be well ventilated. Do not sit on bare floor. Take some asana or blanket. Wear lose and comfortable clothes. Do not practice your Kriya in darkness. Since your breathing and its special techniques are the key factor of Kriya practice, keep your nasal passage clean. Before practicing Kriya always take cold water wash, which will prevent you from drowsiness.

Remember, Kriya Yoga is a secret technique, as it is required to be practiced correctly, in proper sequence as taught by authorized Guru. Hence any spiritual aspirant can take advantage of this simple, scientific and guaranteed path by getting Initiation into Kriya Yoga from an authentic Guru and by practicing the techniques regularly with patience and sincerity. It is designed to illuminate and flood the understanding of the practitioner so that he removes his misconceptions, cleans his mind and re-identifies himself with his deeper nature. This re-identification can only come through overwhelming personal experience. A person can never raise his level of wisdom without aspiration, for which you have to make a resolve to detach yourself from all intellectual speculations. Use your intellect but do not be bound by it. In this way you will allow the Kriya Yoga practice to manifest itself to the fullest potential.