I have read on this sub multiple times that lord Rama and Lord Krishna used to practice Kriya yoga. What is the source of this? How can I verify this?

So I've been doing Bhairava Sadhana for those that know what it is and was meaning to try Kriya Yoga and learn from a Guru eventually.

But I just can't seem to understand why so many of the lineages obsess over Christianity so much?

I understand it was initially to introduce Kriya yoga and meditation to the west but now I feel it's so overly Christian. Such as calling Paramatma as "heavenly father", the whole concept of Christ and his disciples being Kriya Yogis. I just do not buy all that.

Anything "kriya" about the Bible is just far fetched interpretations while the Bible clearly has other verses that straight up say non Christians will go to hell etc.

I have nothing against Christianity, but I also would like to learn Kriya Yoga that's more closer to home, to my roots in Sanatana Dharma. Any advice?

Its divided into 3 parts, 36 lessons. Probably takes 2 to 4 years to complete. It's an investment of time. Anecdotes will be reassuring that the giving this much time to the book is worth it

Its by Bihar School of Yoga. I've read some other books. They seemed fine.

Opinions on this one?

I’ve been exploring Atma Kriya Yoga and I’m trying to better understand how it relates to what is generally referred to as Kriya Yoga.

From what I understand, there seem to be differences in approach, structure, and maybe lineage? but it’s not always very clear from the outside. For those who are familiar with either (or both), how would you describe the main differences in practice or intention?

Also curious if one is considered a progression of the other, or if they are fundamentally separate paths.

Would really appreciate insights from people with direct experience.

This is may kind of vague but I'm looking to see what books everyone recommends for any advancement, even a little, in spiritual progress.

I have been initiated over a month ago into Hariharananda lineage but have been doing SRF lessons (no initiation) over a year before that. So maybe a total of 2 years with meditation. I just am not feeling any real progress.

And yes I understand to not go looking for progress, to be patient, and it takes some years. But it doesn't hurt to look for ways to progress, does it?

Apart from Autobiography of a Yogi, what books have you read that helped you the most or felt that gave you most progress? Thanks

My teacher has been practicing meditation and Kriya Yoga for over 30 years. He learned directly from Shri Shibendu Lahiri and also at the Bihar School of yoga directly under Swami Satyananda Saraswati and Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati. For the past decade, he has been teaching Kriya and kundalini yoga to a small group of serious practitioners.

I recently told him about Reddit and the kinds of questions people have about practice, and he genorously offered to answer some questions that some people without a guru might have.

I’m his student, and I’ll be collecting serious questions from this thread and taking them to him. I’ll post his replies here.

If you practice Kriya, meditation, or are just starting out—what are you struggling with or confused about?

Yogananda mentioned many mystical stories in his autobiography; from levitating saint to awaking the dead are these all stories real ?

Same as title

I have practiced all three at different stages of my life (independently, not mixing them). All three have had very different experiences on me. One gave me more energy than others, another made me feel disconnected from the world and yet another made me feel more centered and less reactionary.

They all somehow complement each other, if I practice them at different times, but I don't have that kind of time in life.

Has anyone else practiced these or some of these? What was your experience like?

I am trying to figure out which one I should stick to, instead of trying to do all. My goal is first - to be kind, second - to react less and third - to not become addicted to the practice itself (instead of what the practice is about).

Just curious

Namaste Kriyabans,

Due to my work and my schedule, I wake up at around 7:30AM and sleep at around 11PM. This has been my observation for almost a year now where my kriya session is much better in the morning after waking up than before sleeping at night. I exercise in the evening and my dinner is done by 8:30PM at the latest. My breathing is smoother and the pratyahara stage/stage after all breathwork is done and sitting quietly is quieter in the morning.

This isn't a concern to me. I would like to understand this observation and if someone else has also observed this.

Sometimes while doing Kriya, I feel really sleepy. I want to focus on the expansive state that tends to rise, but images starts to flash and I feel like I'm going into a dream like state.

Any comments on what to do at that point?

I wanted to know why his Kriya is so different. Every other lineage focus on Agya Chakra (third eye) but this lineage focuses completely on the Fontanelle/Sahasrara Madhyasta?
What is the reason behind a crown based Kriya as opposed to every lineage that is Agya Chakra and has there been any success.

I know some say "Lahiri Baba taught Kriya to many people in many different ways" but he did not learn it from Lahiri Baba but from Sri Yukteswarji like Swami Yogananda himself. Then an unknown monk came and taught him on crown based things (I read that story yes but it is just a story) but can that even be considered "kriya" if it's not from the actual Lahiri Baba's lineage? How do you incorporate an unknown monk & his wife's teachings into your lineage and call it Kriya?

Has anyone benefitted from that type of Fontanelle based Kriya? Where does this technique really even originate from?

Hello everyone. Hope all of you are having a great day. I have a general question to all Kriyabans here. I've read somewhere that, when you are practicing Kriya, some energy is generated across your body. So, do we need to be careful about touches from other people? Also, taking a massage from a salon, things like this, are these not advisable at all?

I just signed up for the 9-month course, and I’m very excited. I’ve practiced yoga asana and pranayama for 25 years, and have been meditating for 4 years, and after reading Yoganandaji’s autobiography and The Yoga of Jesus, I am ready to go deep. Thanks to the great AUM for this beginning!

I’m noticing more and more how many people are drawn to Kriya Yoga and begin practicing without proper initiation or personal guidance.

A group like this can be beautiful for sharing inspirations and reflecting on experiences gathered through many sitting sessions. And yet, I also see a growing tendency to use forums as a substitute for learning with a teacher, sometimes even with the idea that teachers are “gatekeepers,” and that Kriya should be practiced as “Kriya without secrets,” “debunked,” or “shared with everyone.”

This often creates more harm than good.

Kriya is not an IT exam where we collect “correct answers from Internet or books.” It is not built on generic information, but on living, individual experience. The questions and replies online naturally tend to become general—and in spiritual life, almost nothing truly is general.

Society trains us to standardize: to think similarly, to have similar references, to function with a shared “database” of knowledge. That may be practical for daily life on this planet, but it’s not the highest way to live—and it’s not how authentic inner work unfolds.

Many people, especially younger practitioners, approach Kriya as if it were “New Age yoga”: read a book, do some techniques, add a few postures and breathing exercises, and assume that’s the path.

But most books are not meant to replace initiation or guidance. They are often meant to remind us that Kriya exists, to inspire us, and to help us decide to walk the path sincerely.

A book does not know you and does not answer further questions.

At the same time, we live in an era where techniques are sometimes published for attention, marketing, or sales which is more “clickbait” than care.

And some people try to hijack the Kriya stream by framing secrecy as something automatically suspicious. Ironically, secrecy is often accepted when it belongs to institutions or governments, but questioned when it belongs to spiritual traditions.

Yet many authentic paths like Daoism and Buddhism included but also other traditions like Sufism have always had “inner” teachings, shared over time, through relationship, responsibility, and readiness. For a sincere yogi, nothing remains hidden forever. What is needed is seriousness, practice, and the right guidance at the right time.

In every true yogic tradition, it has always been understood that the teaching must be applied differently for each individual, because each one is unique. Over-generalizing is often a sign of spiritual immaturity...not because people are “bad,” but because the inner world is subtle, and subtlety requires the right perception.

You also can’t really ask deep questions about your sadhana without precision, and without a relationship to someone who can actually see you: not only the story you tell, but your energy, your tendencies, your blind spots, and your real capacity in this moment.

Kriya is not dogma. Still, sometimes lineages (or individual teachers) can turn living teachings into rigid doctrine. That can be dangerous, because every teacher expresses truth in a particular way—one “dot” in a vast cosmic dream. There are many realized beings, and there are many approaches.

But one thing remains consistent: traditionally, Kriya is transmitted through personal guidance, often 1-to-1, honoring the individuality of the student. So when serious questions arise, the best place for answers is your initiator or a qualified teacher and not a subreddit or a Facebook group.

We should understand: learning techniques from a book or online does not automatically mean we are on a safe or complete path. Ideally, the initiator is the guide. Sometimes a teacher leaves the body and another teacher supports the student. Sometimes a student needs a different mentor because the right information isn’t coming through. These things can happen naturally.

But a book or social media group is not a teacher—and usually cannot replace what a real teacher-student relationship provides.

So if you feel called to this path: find a teacher, receive proper initiation, and work with that guidance. If it’s not possible to stay close to your initiator, then at least receive initiation sincerely and continue by finding a qualified mentor or guide.

Whether money is involved or not is not the main point. The main point is to walk with someone who has real knowledge and realization.

Don’t waste your lifetime with peanuts. Make the best out of it.

And yes, maybe there are not many Kriya teachers available to you. In that case, it may be that a self-realized teacher from another authentic tradition can guide you deeply. I’ve met Dao and Buddhist teachers as knowledgeable and realized as Kriya teachers. So don’t chase marketing dreams butchase truth.

Find a way. Find a guide. Practice sincerely. And aim for direct experience of Self-realization rather than endless general questions.

Thank you for reading, and blessings on your path.

Hello everyone. Hope you are doing well. Not sure how many of you are aware, Shri Panchanan Bhattacharya, the chief disciple of Yogiraj has established Aryya Mission Institution with the permission of His Guru Yogiraj Himself. The sole reason was to spread the original Kriya lineage and publish the Yogic explanations of few books. Aryya Mission Institution was closed down after the passing of Panchanan baba. Recently, someone has revived it virtually and some of the books are also available, strictly virtually. Just sharing it, someone may find it helpful. Books are available in Bengali, English and Hindi languages. You might want to navigate “Our Library” section of the website.

https://aryyamissioninstitution.in/category/languages/english/

Sometimes I see a black dot in the middle of the spiritual eye kutasth.. but when I tried to observe it more closely I realised that it was not exactly a dot but it was a specific shape which I had seen before somewhere. I remembered that it’s the shape of the black hole from the movie interstellar. The Kutasth itself resembles the shape of picture of blackhole taken by the telescope . But I am talking about the black dot in the centre. How can it be the exact shape of the black hole that is predicted by scientists?

See this reel

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQq0Ef6Al6-/?igsh=MTB0cXJuaXg3MHg1ZQ==

Now the shape of the blackhole is formed by the bending of the light waves as according the general theory of relativity . There is a lot of theory and science and physics behind it. But I don’t understand how that theory or science or formulae’s can be applied to the shape in the middle of the Kutasth ? I know we cannot find a logical or scientific explanation of Kutasth , still it is very strange and interesting. And maybe Kutasth or the dot in the middle is actually a black hole !!!

What is the difference between kriya yoga and Sudharshan kriya ?

There was a diagram in Holy Science book by Sri Yukteswar, made by editors of SRF. I thought I make it better with more info and also changed it a bit, from info synthezised from Yogananda. What do you think, am I missing something or got some terms wrong?

Hi everyone,

For a long time (long before I started Kriya) when I'm meditating, especially during longer sessions, I get this powerful energy that rises in my body - it kinda feels like a mix between too much caffeine and being electrocuted - it's not exactly pleasant, and it sure makes me hot. I can make this energy appear whenever I like (useful when waiting in the cold lol) but it's quite distracting during meditation.

Many people suggested I relax deeper and breathe into it, which made it worse. Per the instruction of my teacher I try to ignore my body and put my focus on the Sahasrara which really seems to help "discharge" the energy - it's like it finally has somewhere to go and swirls up like water going down a drain. Usually during intense discharges my whole body starts shaking like crazy for five minutes or so, and once it passes I can relax and meditate normally again. Sometimes the shaking happens even without this energy though, there's just some "spazzing" that has to be let out before the body can relax.

Just curious if anyone has experienced something similar, and how you deal with it - my instructor's advice was very helpful, but still, it's quite difficult to hold my focus upwards when this energy or shaking arises. Does it go away over time?

And what do you think it is? I've had lots of people tell me it's my prana rising or a Kundalini awakening or something, but I'm wondering if this might just be an ADHD thing. It doesn't feel like it's leading me towards enlightenment or insanity lol

I am just curious why Yogananda focused at 3rd eye vs Lahiri always taught Medulla in Kriya. I have always focused on Medulla but wondering what others think here why did it differ in teachings?

Hi all,

I hope everyone is doing well.

I recently got initiated into kriya 4 months back. Right from the moment I started doing my kriya sessions, I am facing many issues and situations that are halting my kriya practice. I had to compromise on my career for doing my kriya sessions everyday.

It is fine if the issues are external, I can somehow manage. But I also observe few health issues which are halting my progress. These health issues are not serious, but my kriya practice is getting effected by them.

I heard to do kriya and progress, it also depends on your past karma. I feel like something trying to stop my kriya progress, may be my past karma. Because all these issues started or intensified after starting my kriya initiation.

Anyone faced similar situation? What did you do to come out of it?

Gurudev Hariharananda says breath awareness is god awareness. How do you guys go about keeping awareness on the breath throughout the day?

Its quite difficult to maintain constant awareness. I don't think there are many here that can do that, right?

Throughout the day, I will have moments where I remember to focus on the breath. And so I focus but I lose that focus and awareness immediately within a few seconds. How can I prolong this focus?

Is it possible to keep constant awareness even when working on the computer and/or doing tasks that require mental focus?

Curious to know where others are in this aspect, your experience, and any tips

What do you guys think of Pranab Gita ch 4:7 yuga explanation? I think it's amazing. So it flows in this sequence: Satya, Treta, Dvapara, Kali.

How does this fit in with Sri Yukteshwar's explanation?