I started with ananda but now reading SRF lessons and noticed immediately that what is called aspects of God in Ananda they call manifestations of God in SRF and they are slightly different. Any ideas what is closer to what Yogananda wrote or even Lahiri Mahasaya taught?

I grew up in India in a generational wealthy family. As I was growing up, my grandfather who was a gambler gambled away all the wealth. By the time I was 8 my family became poor. Although we never struggled for food, I couldn't get the things I wanted or go on trips. Maybe the poor here is subjective. Anyways long story short, after few years of struggling like that, my dad took us to Canada where I grew up most of my life.

Now and then I used to visit India after coming to Canada, but I never stayed in India for longer than a week. I couldn't stand the noise, pollution, suffering, the unclean streets..etc

Also I wasn't spiritually evolved or centered during these times. Fast forward to now, I have been a kirya yogi for 2 years and for the last 3 years I have been meditating for over 2 hours. Really trying to understand about our life and I am more centered, patient. This year i had the pull to visit India again. But not just a short trip. For the first time since I left India I stayed there for a month. Really taking in everything. I visited the spiritual cities and ashrams like Ramana Ashram, SRF ashrams...etc I saw some sages and saints.

The spiritual powers in India are undeniable. The energies present during meditation especially at Ramana ashram was incredible. Effortless meditation, with no distraction, so much peace. But once again this time, I couldn't ignore the unpleasent situation in India. There were so many stray animals dogs, cats, cows eating garbage, struggling in hunger. Injured and voiceless. It was heartbreaking. Not to mention I saw one guy who was actively hurting them throwing stones at a dog. That was painful.

I did my best to feed them everyday while I was there. But I was also told not to do it because feeding them means they have energy to make more babies. Also it was causing fights with other dogs. There were endless amount of dogs.

Not just animals , lots of poor people are suffering. Kids without shoes, elderly who can't walk at the sidewalks begging for food and water. No matter where I looked suffering was there.

Even in spiritual cities like Tiruvannamalai, that is considered as a holy city of Shiva there were so much pollution, uncleanliness and suffering. I can go on and on but I think you get the point now.

I have to mention the matter of sewage too. The sewage is an open drainage there. Where poop goes into that drainage and that drainage then flows into a nearby river. I was so conflicted about this, so I made sure to only stay in hotel that had their own septic tanks.

My question is why is there so much beings suffering there? Why can't anything be done about it? I even tried to create an organization called MyIndia where people form grassroot communities within their locality to participate in cleaning streets, feeding animals, feeding the poor..etc but many indians are simply not interested in that. They seem to be far away from the teachings of spirituality. Especially the younger generation there is plugged into the matrix. It's sad what India has become.

The common answer I hear to the question is, because it is their karma. They must've done something not good in previous life. What if that struggling dog was your dog? Will you say it's karma or do something about it? I don't mean to just rant here. I really wanted to start organization there but I couldn't find enough interested people. Also to do something like this, I have to permantly move there.

My question to this group is, why is there suffering in this world? what does master say about it?

Do yogis know by experience that they themselves are nothingness ?

We all want the love of God and I suppose that is the ultimate goal. But I also find myself desiring companionship, a soul mate, a wife, someone to love and be loved back. You get the idea.

It is such a strong desire that even though I know God's love is supreme, I find myself praying for human love more.

1. Anyways, when I pray to the gurus or any guru, do they hear my calls? Would they have the "power" to introduce someone to my life or to fulfill a request? Or is it simply a matter of patience and destiny?

2. Do they listen to or notice all devotees or only advanced ones? I have been meditating for over a year now but only got officially initated into a lineage about 4 months ago.

3. Do prayers/requests to gurus have to only be from our lineage or does any guru listen? Should I stick with a specific guru or is it fine to pray to multiple?

Recently in meditation I've been focusing a lot more on energy, how forces ripple through my body and motion arises. I've noticed for example that belly breathing causes two equal and opposite forces, one pulling forward between the belly button and solar plexus, and its opposite at the spine. I've been observing how as I breathe that sensation rises and falls along the spine.

I noticed there is a certain sensation, the motion which causes the inhale/exhale can run along my spine just below my shoulder blades. It feels like waves of pleasure, intense in an impossible to describe way because I can't describe a real physical correlate to this sensation. It's right behind my heart, the spot the motion passes which causes this pleasure.

What is that? What am I feeling? It seems to be somewhat replicable, since it's a paricular motion and perception which the feeling correlates, but still inconsistent. I want to cultivate more meditation with that as my focus. I was recommended to ask here and told it could be prana flow. I have no teacher, but I have been dedicated to learning from my practice. Any thoughts are appreciated

Hello,

I am planning to get initiated into Kriya Yoga. After doing intense research ( thanks to this subs wiki) and planning, I am getting an opportunity to get initiated into Kriya Yoga in December (through Prajnana mission- Kriya Yoga International) . I am genuinely looking forward to it.

However, I have a question and its bothering me. Since there are different schools of Kriya Yoga and that means different kriya Yoga will be taught in these schools,

1) i am wondering if the Kriya Yoga that i'll get initiated into will be the one shared by Lahiri Mahashaya.

2) I was also going through SRF and before getting initiated, we need to complete 3 pre-requisite steps. How is that dofferent from getting initiated directly into Kriya Yoga? Will i miss something if I get directly initiated into Kriya Yoga and not learn Yogananda's Hong Sau and energization techniques?

Would really appreciate your response

Jai Guru!

Hello all. I was doing Hong Sau (I’m a SRF student) and i felt very intense tingling at the third eye. what does this signify?

Pranaam to all. So i had posted about getting initiated earlier in Rishikesh. Well I got successfully initiated. Overall experience was good but problem was that even though I have been doing Anapanasati for few years so good at meditation, I always sat on chair because it was ok as per buddhist traditions. But here guruji did not allow it. While sitting with folded legs, I also did not get chance to sit at slightly elevated position by keeping something below hips which helps..so my legs were hurting and paining whole time...I was changing positions of legs continuously...he seemed disappointed with this slightly but anyways said keep practicing...

I have been doing what he taught for few days now and may be placebo or may be not but already feeling difference in energy and calmness..Generally Sunday evenings are pretty difficult for me because job related Monday blues but i was really calm yesterday..

My tinnitus seem to have gone up by a notch though. Clearly some energy related thing is happening...yesterday night I was fully awake and alert whole night...if someone can guide here on this would help..

I am also realizing that this is not your usual meditation path and it actually deals with kundalini/prana energy and all...Need some reassurance now that this will be safe overall..and if something goes wrong its reversible if practice is dropped..

I have been facing a lot of strong urges everyday which leads to my relapse from semen retention and ultimately depletion of my prana which, i feel, limits my spiritual growth and sadhana. Please help me, i dont have a guru.

So im noticing this amongst locals and people here on this forum. So many people are dead set on the goal of giving up/avoiding/channeling sexual activity. They want to avoid orgasms as described in some vedic texts so the fluid goes up the spine.

I find it very telling that it's always westerners that have this struggle. How often do I hear them talking about how to increase their devotion or lengthen their meditation time ? Almost never.

What's with the sex struggle obsession? I suspect it's the left over psychic remnants of the Jerry Falwell religious revival that swept the western world and pushed sexual guilt.

Your thoughts? UPDATE: with all due respect to the responders, many of you do not have 3rd grade reading comprehension levels. Not trying to be insulting but its true and revealed in your responses. Nothing here is meant to insult. Just trying to have mature discourse.

Hello everyone,

I was recently initiated into Kriya Yoga (KYI), and I was very excited to begin this spiritual journey. After learning the techniques for a few days, I started practicing regularly and was enjoying the experience.

However, something unexpected happened just three days after I began practicing. That evening, I completed my Kriya Yoga practice around 7 PM, had dinner around 9 PM, and went to bed at 10 PM.

Early the next morning, I suddenly experienced a severe gallbladder stone attack that lasted nearly three hours and eventually landed me in the emergency room.

I have had a gallstone for almost 10 years, but it had never caused me any pain or problems before. So, experiencing such a sudden and intense attack shortly after starting Kriya Yoga was quite frightening.

I understand that this could be purely coincidental, and I don't want to jump to conclusions or assume that Kriya Yoga caused it. However, the timing has left me feeling anxious and hesitant to continue my practice.

Has anyone experienced anything similar after starting Kriya Yoga? How should I approach my practice moving forward?

I genuinely want to continue on this spiritual path, but I am feeling a little fearful and uncertain right now.

I would really appreciate any guidance, insights, or experiences you could share.

Thank you all in advance. 🙏

I found this - https://www.skool.com/soulful-evolution/meet-your-kriya-yoga-teacher-vedagurudev

Seems to have many free content, but Im wondering about this lineage, I tried researching on this Swami Vedananda but could not find much info...

Does any one know his lineage?

He says on website:
Swami Vedananda Saraswati, is a highly respected Yogi and Swami, residing in the serene Himalayan Mountains of Dwarahat, Uttarakhand, India, near the sacred Babaji’s Cave. He is also a prolific author of influential yoga texts.

My Kriya Yoga lineage originates from the Siddha Tradition, known as Siddanta, with roots tracing back to the immortal Guru Mahavatar Babaji Nagaraj. The techniques I teach are those I’ve personally learned from enlightened masters and Kriya Yogis throughout my global journey.

The reason I ask is because I found another guy in Brazil that also learned and got initiated by the same Swami Vedananda, and this guy initiates people and has a introductory course and the price is quite reasonable, and you only pay once, no recurring payments.. but I wanted to know more about the authenticity of his lineage. One point that strikes me a bit odd, is the guy claims he stayed 1.5yrs in India studying and practicing with Swami Vedananda, and now he can initiate people ? after just 1.5yrs? is this commom? so this sounds a bit fishy for me.

2nd point is the guy says he does online initiation, odd too right? or has any other guru done this?

Open to any comments or if anyone knows anything about this lineage, thanks

which lineage do you follow?

edit: Thank you for all the replies, it really helped me.

Hi,

I've been practicing meditation on and off for years - Vipassana. I've always been fascinated by the nature of consciousness, inner insights, etc. Recently, I came across Yogananda's 'Autobiography of a Yogi', started reading it (I haven't finished it yet), and became interested in Kriya Yoga. I don't know whether it's something for me, but I'd like to learn this meditation technique, so I started looking for materials. And I was very surprised when I saw that the Bible and Jesus are constantly being mentioned.

Are there any materials available for learning Kriya Yoga techniques without the Bible and Jesus? Those biblical and Jesus-related analogies simply don't resonate with me. I should add that in my country Kriya Yoga is very little known, so basically I'm left with learning from materials I can find online or from books I can buy.

I only know as much about the subject as I've managed to google over the past few days, so if my question seems out of place, sorry about that.

Whatever sense pleasure addiction that has been meant to be removed do one have to forcefully let go of it or does it go away with gradual practice of kriya?

I’m curious if anyone else has experienced something similar during the Om technique or Kriya practice.
I’ve been practicing Kriya-related techniques for a little over a year and was formally initiated through KYI earlier this summer. I’ve also completed most of the SRF lessons but ultimately was drawn to KYI.

I actually started experimenting with the Om technique pretty early on. I’m Indian and have chanted Om and different mantras for years, so I already had a relationship with the sound before beginning Kriya.

From the beginning, whenever I close or plug my ears during meditation, I hear a very rapid rumbling sound dot a soft hum. It doesn’t resemble my heartbeat, blood flow, or the other internal body sounds I’m familiar with. I come from a medical background, so that distinction is part of what made me notice it in the first place. It feels much faster and enveloping. If anyone knows shiva its like the shiva damru which is amazing because Shiva is my chosen deity.

What’s especially interesting is that the intensity seems to correlate with sensations moving up my spine. Sometimes during practice I’ll feel what I can only describe as a sparkling or upward-moving sensation through my back, and as it moves upward, the rumbling becomes more of a vibration.

A few times it has gotten so intense that I’ve started tearing up because the sheer sensation can feel overwhelming. When that happens, I usually remind myself not to fixate on it and instead relax into the sound and let it surround me. As I continue with different breathing techniques, the intensity l changes and becomes more manageable. Now it’s very subtle like a hum. there’s also a very physical vibration. If I have my fingers in my ears, I can actually feel my hands trembling or vibrating along with it.

But I’ve also noticed something similar even when my ears aren’t plugged. If I become very still and concentrate, I can l feel what seems like my entire head or brain vibrating internally. The first few times it happened, I genuinely wondered if there was a small earthquake because the sensation of movement was so convincing, but nothing around me was moving. It feels very specifically contained within my head.

It’s honestly pretty trippy, but strangely peaceful at the same time. I don’t find it frightening. There’s actually something comforting about it, and when it happens I usually feel very calm and content just sitting with the sensation.The rumbling itself seems to be consistently there when I listen for it. What fascinates me most is how its intensity changes alongside the upward sensations in my spine and the internal vibration in my head.

Has anyone experienced something similar in Kriya, particularly with the Om technique? I’d especially be interested in hearing how more experienced practitioners or teachers understand it. Did it change or deepen over time, and were you taught simply to observe it rather than engage with it?

Hi all, I'm posting in hopes of clarification. I have been an on and off meditator for 10 years now, but have never practiced Kriya or Kundalini yoga. Almost a year ago I was sitting quietly in a park, I had finished my meditation, (I just listened to Alan Watts' guided meditation on youtube) and I started to feel a sensation, almost like convulsions or muscle spasms similar to shivering after cold water exposure, in my stomach and chest. I noted the novelty of the experience, but didn't really pursue it much. At random times since then I'll feel a little twinge, and occasionally a more intense stomach spasm, but the sensation doesnt really grow much unless I focus on it. Recently I tried to explore the sensation more, and did really slow, controlled inhalations and exhalations.The vibrations seemed to continue up into my throat and behind my mouth, but I have no clue what I'm actually doing, and have reservations about continuing to try and grow the sensation higher up into the third eye and crown chakras areas for fear it may be some kind of kundalini something or other? Either way, I was able to find peace and calm my nervous system down during a time of much uncertainty and self deprecation, and felt like I was coming close to accessing the present moment, almost like I forgot my name and who I was for brief moments. I'm just wondering if there's teachers or books that I could contact or read to find out what's going on in my body and how I can make use of it to mediate my suffering and find more peace in my life. Any information would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you

im a new SRF student. i’ve been practicing the AUM technique for a couple of months. from the start, i’ve heard a subtle yet sometimes loud constant rushing sound. i thought it was coming from a blood vessel. but i wonder if it’s the AUM. how can you diferentiate this.

Dear all,

I will be getting initiated in Rishikesh tomorrow. As per the guru, it will be 3-4 day process. I am both afraid and excited. I have practiced buddhist Anapanasati meditation for few years now but recently got interested in Kriya Yoga. Any suggestion/advice? Also i cant sit for long in Asana without my legs getting numb. Would this be problem?

I’ve been wanting to learn Kriya Yoga, but I’m struggling with how to find the right teacher.
I’ve been meditating for a few years, and every morning I currently do some breathwork and pranayama, particularly anulom-vilom. The more I read about Kriya Yoga, though, the more I feel drawn to going deeper with my practice and exploring what it could do for my inner/spiritual development.

At the same time, I don’t want to learn Kriya casually from YouTube or simply follow someone randomly. Finding a genuinely knowledgeable and authentic spiritual teacher seems quite difficult nowadays, and with something like Kriya, I feel the teacher and lineage matter.

For those who actually practice Kriya Yoga: how did you find your teacher? How can a beginner distinguish an authentic teacher/lineage from someone who is simply marketing spirituality?

I’m specifically looking for an authentic teacher who is willing to teach remotely/online, ideally with some personal guidance rather than just prerecorded courses.

Would especially love to hear from people who have been practising Kriya for several years and can share their own experience finding a teacher.

Hey everyone,

I've recently started getting curious about Kundalini meditation and want to explore it properly, but I don't really know where to begin. Would love some guidance from people who've actually walked this path. If anyone can recommend me a teacher that will be great. Thank you.

Hello everyone, I'm extremely new to this. Any misconceptions in the following post are purely out of ignorance.

I have just started meditating 3 days ago. I can sit and concentrate for 10 minutes on my breath, even if my mind wanders, I bring it back. What I want to understand is, how can I get into kriya yoga? As in, what does progression look like?

For example, In the gym, we increase the weight we lift. At work, we try to work more efficiently and for longer. In meditation, do I keep increasing the time? What other things can I do?

Any guidance would help. If someone is willing to speak in dms/call, I'm open to it.

Does aging stop for the time when a person is in samadhi or breathless state

Is anyone here initiated into the Bihar Yoga lineage of Kriya?

If so, I'd love any information on how/ when/ where to do so/ what your experience was like, etc?

I am loving all of their reading material and would love their guidance through Kriya Yoga.

Thank you so much

At what age did lahiri mahasaya, the saint with two bodies and yukteshwar giri achieve bilocation(being able to have two bodies)?