Kriya Yoga initiation concerns

Since finishing Autobiography I've been wanting to find somewhere to get initiated into Kriya Yoga. I thought for a long time I would have to go to India for it, and then I realized I could do it in the US, and so I signed up for an initiation ceremony. I was very excited.

Then I did some research. There's a myriad of websites dedicated to Kriya Yoga, and I found lots of disturbing reports of the techniques being taught not usually being the "real deal," of some self-proclaimed gurus not even knowing what they were talking about, and, of course, some so-called gurus exploiting their status for personal gain, sexually, financially, and so on. I suppose I should have expected nothing less, but I was sure people practicing this would be well on their way to enlightenment.

So anyway, I was supposed to do a 2-day initiation and guided meditation program this weekend, which I now will not attend. This is with Kriya Institute (kriya.org) The cost is $150, I've seen the costs vary, up to nearly $500.

What I found curious was that there were no questions asked, just "show up, bring 5 flowers and 5 fruits, and money." The more I look, the more it seems to be just another way for unscrupulous people to earn a buck from people on a sincere spiritual search. (Not this specific organization necessarily, but many others)

Of course there are sincere teachers as well. I'd like to find one. Any ideas? Has anyone been initiated, or heard any reports of frauds/whatever?

I've also read some really disturbing things about the SRF; if not for that, I would just have given them a call to find out.

 

There are no non-cult Western/Eastern gurus here in the US. I know that is confusing sounding but here it is - various students of eastern Gurus from the East dumbed down their systems and brought them to the West. They may have had good intentions but as we became an obvious cash cow for all things Eastern, and as we were easy marks we became seen as the willing dupes of the world. Even now such patent charlatans as Kalki, Nirmala, and so many others keep assembling a huge following, and as in the case of Kalki he only recently was run out of India for giving his followers a mixture of drugs.

I learned Transcendental Meditation and experienced very profound things. I was a student at Maharishi's University in the 80s when we had groups of 2,000 meditators. Somewhere along the line the TM Organization became super greedy, super aloof, and out of touch and then all sorts of wild and wacky cult ideas came including 'flying competitions' and other things. I still like TM, but I have disavowed the whole Maharishi Cult. That he is now dead and his uncles are in control of the legacy which includes billions of dollars is to the point that even now cults can make huge amounts of money.

Kriya - means action - a kriya is a specific yogic or unification method. Kriya necessitates a pure lifestyle. Not all yogas are kriya. Tibetan Buddhism has many yogas which are called Mahamudra which is a mandala practice whereby one learns to visualize all of life into two unified objects - the experiencer and experienced, who are in co-union. Proper mahamudra practice brings a type of bliss called one taste. To discuss it is not allowed. But there are plenty books on the subject. Buddhism doesn't recognize God/dess. So in contrast to what many people believe not all yoga is about God/dess, nor about finding God/dess.

You must be able to consider yourself first before the practice. That is to say that you are not doing the practice for someone else, not for the benefit of others, not for God/dess, not for your parents, not for any other reason than for yourself. To think otherwise is to be deceiving yourself and to be prey to another's ego-machinations. It is very common for the cult to first portray the student as a wise person, a magician, a shaman, a bodhisattva, a profound thinker, or as something set apart from other people, as better than ordinary, as unusually talented, gifted, thoughtful. That's all bullshit. Most people seek self betterment because they feel lack. Know therefore what it is you lack before you seek to fill it, and you won't also empty your pockets instead.

That's not to say that much of the yogic world isn't true, but consider this deeply - there is no specific quality or quantity to ones experience of yoga, and thus therefore it will never qualify or quantify into anything. Yes it can relieve stress, center one, balance one out, provide rest, give one spiritual knowledge and maybe psychic powers, but none of that is any 'thing.' Thus the more people sell and talk about how this system or that system is a 'thing' the more you should know that they are either misinformed or trying to hoodwink you.

Autobiography of a Yogi is a great work of bhakti. But the supposed scientific analysis of the yugas and of ones evolution through Yogananda SRF Kriya technique is bullshit. Or you can take it on faith. But there's no system of math which can prove any spiritual accomplishment, and nor can you prove that you had a life before or that you will have one after.

I am a yogi, I also have mental problems and have been abused at the hands of cult leaders and so I am here to tell you that the only proof you have of anything is that you're alive, and working with that, make sure you develop patterns of existance which promote more caring and enjoyable life.

I wish you luck and levity on your path.

 

l would not hesitate to get Kriya from Swami Hariharananda's
group.Also there is Swami Satyeswarnanda in San Deigo.Also you can get the lessons free from SRF

 

There are genuine Yogis out there. Always Feel around with your Heart~Fire, that will lead you to the right person every time. Just wondering around without any awakening of Heart~Fire to guide you can lead to abuse. Be aware, and own your spiritual practice, the Heart of God's Realization is always present.

All yogas are limited, and have their boundaries. The Guru is a function of God's Realization working in you through another person, place, animal or thing. Many want to be the Guru, but the Real Guru Always comes with Blazing Heart~Fire, and a Shining Light that is (Freely) noticed in Communion with that person. No Heart~Fire, then no real deep Self Realization. The body/mind springs to life with genuine Self Realization, there are no ways around this; and no one is Self Realized without a bodily Awakening of the spiritual/esoteric anatomy of consciousness. Be careful of the intellectual snakes in the grass.

 

''All yogas are limited, and have their boundaries''
i don't think we have to worry about this till we start to reach those boundaries..long time

 

Kriya deconditions and sets the seeker free from past karma. It transforms fundamentally the gross ego-centre of the seeker into the subtle individual uniqueness which also includes universality.

 

Bandu/Fellow men,

From some authentic sources i have got to know that none of these groups are genuine and all are either naive or commerce.

some masters who largely never show in the societies are very upset with the tainting of the authentic procedures and about these many unenlightened people trying to make their own books and material
for business purposes creating imperfect and nonfunctional systems.

hence it is told to us that we should avoid subscribing to any of these masters, and shortly a clear work will be authored where anyone and everyone can in great detail follow the recipes and formulations, and where people will be requested not to belong to any organization or masters.

for now i cannot state many details. but I have stopped associating with the groups i was associated and silently in wait for the new work to come out ( i am guessing ti is going to come in form of a book or yoga manual but not sure. )


but kindly don't get cheated, i would suggest being in a silent wait at the least for some time, awaiting such a great work instead of getting ripped or getting into a naive group which has no real knowledge ( both are equally dangerous )


regards,

 

The second sentence is apt, but the first is rather off. For example, after yoga what hand holds the fork when you eat? The same one? Do the feet still walk? These are karmas, each according to how it is. They do not change through yoga.

The more specific definition of yoga as liberating is to become free from vritti, which is habit, and when that is complete, free from the samskara or habit of rebirth.

This is different than free from karma.

 

I was initiated by SRF in 1987. The ceremony was so-so. I saw no special lights. After 8 years of meditating I went into Samadhi. The first thing I was shown by the light was that the whole SRF path was false. Yogananda & Sri Yuktesware were no Avatars (I can also prove that). However Kriya was real. (The light only lifted me up to just show me that and then dropped me back down.)

So I searched for the real Kriya and found Lahiri's. I practiced it, compiled it all together into lessons and found I had a book. So, I published it. Its complete. I researched endlessly every idea spoken or published by Lahiri Mahasaya. I surveyed different schools. Oh so many lies!!! (They lie a lot about Babaji.)

Now, I just want to leave this plane, but I am remaining here just to promote my book. I hope this initiates a different era in the Kriya Yoga secrecy. There are too many false Gurus (who claim that others are false.) A Real Kriya Guru just wants Mahasamadhi; He just wants out of here. A very few remain to just help others or to fulfill some kind of debt (like me.) I have a debt of gratitude to Lahiri Mahasaya.

So that's why you find so few Real Gurus in the world. In fact, you can't fully trust anyone external to yourself. Initiation is not required to have success in Kriya. Kriya is scientific, so you don't need it. Cultivating devotion is not required. Plus initiation is misunderstood. You also should not meditate in groups (forbidden by Lahiri for good reason). However, secrecy in Kriya is no more. That's over. It was a requirement in the past, but no more. That has changed due to the Internet and because of so many false Gurus and because of the degradation of information secrecy has caused.

Ok, so the book is Kriya Secrets Revealed. Get it on Amazon or from CreateSpace: createspace.com/3961018. Yes, the book costs money. I had to pay for an editor and other things so that the book could be of the required quality. However, I hope you will feel its worth it. You can find the information free here and there on the Internet, so the only reason you might want a book is to save time and also to have something you can practice with as you are sitting in your meditation seat.

I wish you all much success in your Kriya practice!
-Peace

 

More - shouldn't kill the messenger syndrome. Yes, the various gurus are only human. This is something we cannot abide when young, become disenchanted with in adulthood, but relish in our older years. The message is good so go with it. The postal outlet is nuts - stay away after you get your letter.

 

I did the whole srf thing, didnt get far as the initiation, but i dropped it.... a lot of wisdom and some true things but it is not the true path for me anymore. what disturbing things have you read about srf? i would like to know! kriya is real but the path is still wrong for me.

 

The Kriya Yoga Institute was founded by Hariharananda, a brother disciple of Yogananda. They both studied with Sri Yukteshwar. I was initiated by them in 2000. It's the real deal. The differences in teaching methods between them and SRF are miniscule. The main difference is that SRF makes you wait a long time and learn a bunch of other exercises before initiation. I met the current founder, Swami Prajnanananda, and he is realer than real. Definitely not a cult. Your 150 bucks ensures they can put swamis on airplanes and teach around the world.

 

Also, in every tradition, there's politics. If someone does anything even slightly differently, people are going to talk smack about it. It's the same for healing arts, religions, etc.

 

This guy is the best... http://anmolmehta.com/blog/2007/11/19/free-online-kundalini-yoga-kriyas-e-book/

You can learn everything for yourself, for FREE.
But he also offers a $50 certification yoga teaching program, very extensive.

 

No guy is 'the best.' No book is going to equate with kundalini initiation. Kundalini is Shakti - the Divine Mother. She will not rise if She will only drive you crazy. Which, people are already crazy, and getting crazier all the time, since viable role models are now all gone. So kundalini shakti is in many ways closer because of those who got initated by viable people the last century are still around, but those initiators are mostly gone, and now we have tracts about how to do it, written by those who haven't done it. So they unnecessarily complicate things, while oversimplifying. There is little truth to be found amongst other people's opinions. Only the true aspirant and real seeker can hope to find real answers and true traditions. It all depends upon the inner resonance of truth finding something to entrain with.

I see a webpage with too much trying to explain I know they are telling and not showing.

 

Another thing is since there's no proof, and no objective standard for yoga, meditation teahings, every Indian, and Nepalese conman is trying to set themself up as guru, lama, etc... so Beware. Just because someone can easily plagarize tantric teachings just means they can talk the talk, but can they walk the walk?

If they are trying to sell you something then that has already spoken about their goal. While it's common to pay something now for teachings, you must not be charged in any spiritual tradition for trying to come to an understanding of what you're getting into. Introductions must be free and clear.

 

Jaredfelix, Kriya Yoga is different than Kundalini Yoga which is what Anmol teaches. I know that guy because I write for his blog sometimes. I'm also initiated in Kriya which is my preferred technique overall. Again, I give my highest endorsement to the Kriya Yoga Institute. Swami Vidyadishananda taught me the technique in Aspen, CO. Swami Prajnanananda, who runs the institute now, is pure love. I spoke to him for one minute and felt nothing but instant absolute bliss. It was miraculous, and we were just talking about me finally having the money for the initiation from a few months ago and where to send it. I also like Anmol. He's way cool.

One more thing. @Chodpa: They charge so that they can afford to send these monks off to teach. They're not getting rich from it. They're taken care of. Monasteries always have some type of business model. Some non-monastics also charge those who can afford it so that they can keep teaching. You can't teach during your 8 hour shift at McDonald's. That's the idea. The money frees up time so that you can spend it teaching. Neither the monastics nor the non-monastic teachers need to be homeless and wandering from soup kitchen to soup kitchen. That also takes up time they could spend teaching.

 

Ok correct me if I'm wrong, but do you mean "specializes" in. i thought on his website I have seen him teach various other forms of yoga; including but not limited too hatha yoga , kundalini yoga and pranayamas.

 

I have heard it all, inluding the claims of gurus being pure love - it's all a business. If you think otherwise, you're just a kid.

Being a guru is a business, being a seeker is a true quest. One you have found your ultimate answer and you teach it with all kinds of specious claims then you're running a business. There's other types of payment besides money. But any money is a quite specific sign of materialism.

In nonduality there is no difference between us. There is no reward to wisdom, and so there can be no payment. We all die. Nobody has given you anything of superlative value.

Most spiritual types are closet egoists. (or not so in the closet).

 

DO THIS

http://anmolmehta.com/blog/2007/03/29/3-most-powerful-yoga-pranayamas-and-kriyas-part-1/

Makes me feel light as a feather