Kriya Blog #1 - Sanskrit Origins & Its Place in Yogic Text, Classical Yoga & Ayurveda

 Introduction

I first experienced Yoga practices using the word Kirya when my Mom brought me to a Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan class in 1997.  As a teenager I was taken by the story around the practice and the high I got from the powerful breath work.  I continued with this practice for the next 13 years until 2010.  At times I practiced for minimum of 3 hours a day, doing early morning sadhana singing with my friends in Sikh Dharma and enjoying the ups and downs of being involved with many of the traveling musicians in the 3HO community.  Community life was rich and a wonderful yet challenging time of my life.

Back in 2001 while sick with lyme disease, I laid in bed and went on a mystical journey reading Yogananda’s classic work Autobiography of a Yogi.  Up to that time I had exclusively been following Yogi Bhajan’s view on Kriya.  Reading Yogananda’s amazing book, which brought up Kriya Yoga often, made me very curious as well as confused.

Why is Yogananda’s Kriya secret?  Why does Yogi Bhajan teach so many Kriyas? Yogi Bhajan said secrecy was a thing of the past and he had made public secret teachings.  Yogananda’s organization still teaches secretly.  In both of these Yoga traditions the word Kriya is used with great importance and exciting claims.  My mind was intrigued as there seemed to be different nuances around the word usage and intention of practice.  I felt deeply drawn to learn more.  I also had a powerful connection with Yogananda and his way of explaining Yogic states leading to Samadhi and the path of Yoga. Why was Yogi Bhajan not teaching about Samadhi?  The questions were building.

Soon after reading Autobiography of a Yogi I meet a powerful Tantric Mantra master who chanted mantras on my body brining my body to squirm in bliss entering into what is called Shakti Kriyas. This was yet another use of the word Kriya. I was seeing the Yoga world can be very diverse, fascinating and full of methods to experience Divinity within. I didn't know back then, but I do now, the word Kriya does not simply have one meaning.

Here I am over almost 20 years after reading Autobiography of a Yogi, which started my realization that there was so much to learn about Yoga beyond what Yogi Bhajan’s system of yoga was presenting.   After I read Autobiography of a Yogi I continued with Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan for another 9 years including attending a teacher training Yogi Bhajan taught at, soon before he passed.  All this time I was wondering how I could learn more about what Yogananda taught. Since I got the idea in my mind from Yogi Bhajan’s teachings that secrecy is unnecessary, I was very turned off by Yogananda's organization having secret initiations.  I felt deeply resonance with stories Yogananda told about Kriya Yoga and his explanations of a systematic and scientific path to experience the Divine directly.  While I had this powerful attraction with various synchronicities and mystical experiences making me more and more curious about Yogananda’s techniques, at the same time I had deep inner guidance that his main organization, the Self Realization Fellowship (SRF) was not a home for me.  Not that there was a problem with SRF. I had a deep knowing that other teachers would come to me, that would not be part of SRF. 

Time went by. The teachers didn't show up. I waited, and still they didn't come. I continued to practice Yogi Bhajan’s Kriyas but felt that I was stuck in a vortex of highs and lows from heavy breath work. I was also starting to doubt and feel overwhelmed by the large amount of prescriptive approaches to his large body of Kriya practices.  Yet my Kriya teachers, who I knew were coming, hadn’t shown up.  I was feeling frustrated.

Long story short, (or perhaps for another time) when the time was ripe and I was exhausted by the cover up and scandals in 3HO along with various psychic issues form the practice, I eventually found my teachers and took initiation under a linage that comes out of Yogananda’s Gurus ashram (Swami Shri Yukteswar Giri).  I happily and joyfully have been practicing Kriya Yoga in the lineage of Paramahasma Hariharananda and Paramahasma Prajnanananda since 2008.  I am happy to report the Kriya they teach is truly a systematic method leading through the stages towards Self Realization. The entire Kriya makes absolute sense in-light of the Yoga Sutras and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. The teachers in the community also model a loving state that shows the fruit of practice. 

Since this series of blog post are about Kriya some of you may be wondering or even assuming that I am going to share secret teachings from Yogananda’s lineage.  I am not sharing any of the secret Kriya Yoga techniques, nor do I in my Yoga teaching work.  So what is this blog all about?  Why am I writing it?

Since the publishing of Pamela Dyson's Memoir,

Premka: White Bird in a Golden Cage: My Life with Yogi Bhajan

I have watched those who practice and share Yogi Bhajan’s system of Yoga fall into a deep crisis.  I began my own personal crisis around Yogi Bhajan’s projected sainthood being in conflict with reality when I first was told about Premka’s story in 2004. It shocked me to the core. It also helped me begin to see 3HO and Yogi Bhajan more clearly.

My own journey of reframing yoga practice has been a deeply personal journey.  I have spent time with many high level Sanskrit scholars, Swamis, Acharyas and deep Yogic practitioners. This has helped me come to understand Kriya in what I call a full system view.  While my personal practice which I am very grateful for is called Kriya Yoga, I understand that the word Kriya is much more involved than that. 

Who is this blog written for?

This book is for the 3HO family who I love with all my heart.  I spent over a decade of my life in that community and I hope my personally studies can illuminate and quicken your own journey around how to integrate Yogi Bhajan’s teachings into your life or let go of them if that is what you need. This blog celebrates those who wish to hold to Yogi Bhajan’s body of work and those who wish to release it form their life.

This book is also for people who are interested in Yoga Therapy, Ayurveda, Classical Hatha Yoga, Yogic cleansing techniques and Yogic text.

Who is this blog NOT written for?

This blog is not intend to as therapeutic advice for those who have been abused by Yogi Bhajan.   This book is not meant as advice or replacement of professional therapy for  those who have had history of trauma that have been triggered due to the overwhelming stories of abuse in 3HO and from Yogi Bhajan.  While some of the reframing I offer maybe helpful to you my heart goes out to all who are suffering from the linage of abuse and coverup.  

This blog is NOT written for my brother and sister disciples in Kriya Yoga International.  Although you may find it interesting.  You are better off to read a book by Hariharananda ji or  Prajnanananda ji as they are much clearer than I am.  Our teachers give rich teachings on scripture which are much more profound than what I am presenting here. 

This blog is not for practitioners from the various branches that came from Yogananda‘s life. The teaching Yogananda gave are full and complete.  You are better to focus on his teachings than what I’m sharing here.

While I have put considerable effort and many years of study into these topics what I am offering is in no way the final stance on Kriya or Yoga. Some of the information shared in this blog is common knowledge from the larger Yoga tradition.  My hope is you can take what I offer here, challenge it, build upon it and use to gain a larger understanding of full system, historical accurate yoga teachings.

Section 1

Kriyā ~ General Language Usage & Sanskrit Origins

The word Kriyā (क्रिया) is used in many ways. Like any word there is flexibility around its use in common language.  The word Kriyā in Sanskrit is specifically defined as action, deed, effort, cleansing process and preparation.

In more common use Kriyā is used to explain ecstatic experiences, Yoga sequences, methods of attaining Samadhi, cleansing techniques and as any general action. It is used as a synonym with the word karma.  Both words refer to taking action.

The word Kriyā is also used as slang to explain any psychological purification process.  “Life situations are all Kriyās playing themselves out.”

Etymology

The word Kriyā can be broken down into two parts.  Kri and Ya.  Kri means to do, or to act.  Ya means soul.  The great Kriyā Yoga master Hariharananda taught that all of Kriyā Yoga practice is contained in these two syllables and that the living power of God is within every human being, he teaches that we are taking action Kri, but God or Soul is the real doer Ya.  We need to see that God is the doer, while the body is acting, this is Kriyā Yoga.  This is a simple and profound teaching.  It pulls us away from the complicated ideas around Yogic technique and points us to the essence of Yoga, waking up to the truth that God is in every object and the doer of all actions.

‘Kriya Yoga’ are Sanskrit words, a combination of two root words. One is Kriya and the other is yoga. In the word Kriya there are two syllables: kri and ya.   Kri means to pursue your work in daily life and ya means to be ever aware of the invisible God who is abiding in you and is directing and accomplishing work through you.  Thus, the word Kriya signifies that you lead your daily life as directed from your brain and at the same time, watch the invisible God who inspires your brain to direct. Without the invisible Being, your brain cannot function. A dead person cannot think because the invisible soul is not there. So it is necessary to remember that each and every thought comes from the invisible Self within.  If you perceive that the indwelling Self is the sole doer in you, that He Himself is functioning in the body, then Self-Realization is attained. 

Paramahamsa Hariharananda Giri

Kundalini and Kriya as Informal Synonyms

Once during an informal conversation with one of my Kriyā Yoga teachers he told me that the teachers in Kriya Yoga International could call Kriyā Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, as the practice is working directly with Kundalini energy.  The lineage of teachers are happy to avoid the word Kundalini for various reasons.  Prior to this conversation with my teacher I would  often say anyone doing Kundalini Yoga is doing Kriyā Yoga and anyone doing Kriyā Yoga is doing Kundalini Yoga.  Needless to say I was happy to hear my teacher confirm my view on the topic of Kriyā Yoga and Kundalini Yoga as synonyms. 

Kundalini is an energy is not separate from the authentic Hatha Yoga system laid in the the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.  Yantra and Mantra are used separate from Hatha Yoga to awakening Kundalini.  These Yantra practices are part of Tantric deity traditions.   Hahta Yoga has an in-depth teaching about awaking Kundalini, which shares much in common with the various schools of Kriyā Yoga and Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga teachings. Kundalini and Kriya practices all share the use of bandha, mudra, and breath work in a dynamic relationship to asana. Hatha Yoga has in-depth teaching on how to enter into deep meditation as a byproduct of awakening Kundalini.  Different teaching traditions use the words Kriya and Kundalini interchangeably.  That being said Kriya often relates more to cleansing techniques. We will explore this in great detail in this while blog series. 

If you would like to learn more about the primary Classical Yoga Text on Hatha Yoga, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and its teaching on Kundalini check out my in-depth course on the topic by following this link.

Brief Overview of Major Yoga Teachers and the Word Kriya

Major Yoga teachers use the word Kriyā in slightly different ways.  Yogi Bhajan simply explains Kriyā as a complete action, or a yoga set with a specific outcome. 

In his in-depth book, Classical Hatha Yoga, Swami Rajarshi Muni (disciple of Kriupulvananda) simply defines it as “process.”  He also gives in depth teachings on Shat Kriyā which we will review below.  His tradition also uses Shakti Kriyas and Shaktipata.    

Swami Satyananda Saraswati gives a few definitions of Kriyā.  “The Sanskrit word means ‘action’ or ‘movement’.  Kriyā Yoga is so called because it is a system where one internally rotates one’s attention along fixed pathways.”  He also goes on to explain it as meaning “practical”, and “preliminary”.

In his short book on Kriya, Swami Shivananda goes straight to major Yogic Shastra (scriptures) to define the meaning of Kriyā Yoga.  He quotes the famous 1st Sutra of the 2nd Pada of Patanjalis Yoga Sutra which we will explore in depth below.

The Kripalu lineage, in its essence, and many lesser known schools, works with Śaktipāta  which brings one to experience Shakti Kriyā aka Pranic awakening.  Shakti meaning energy or power.  Pata (sometimes spelled pada) means to fall or to transfer.   Śaktipāta is a transfer of the power (Shakti) to the practitioner by the teacher or by Gods grace.  When one enters into a Shakti Kriyā, spontaneous movement of energy occurs which brings the Yogi into an altered state.  It can be subtle or very strong, obvious and even violent appearing.  When Śaktipāta is given and Shakti Kriyā’s take place various sensations occur such as spontaneous and uncontrollable asanas movements, inner sound, light and vibration as well hand mudras and unpredictable pranayamas.  This is different then regular willful pranayama.  In some cases during Shakti Kriyā the breath will enter into a state of cessation and the practitioner will enter into a yogic trance (samadhi).  When these movements occur the Shakti in the form of Prana or Kundalini is moving you.  You are not making the movements happen. 

Shakti Kriyās are common in Tantric schools of Yoga, particular in Shakta or the Goddess traditions.  In a matter of common language in the above explained case, Kriyā movement and Kundalini are considered to be similar or one and the same, depending on the manifesting symptoms.  Prana is also considered to relate to this type of intoxicating movement as well.   One might say “he had a Kriyā” or “she went into a Kriyā.”  Or, “there kundalini is moving.”    

Shakti-pad in Yogi Bhajan's teachings is an independent idea then Śaktipāta.  While Yogi Bhajan taught thousands of Kriyā’s and called his system Kundalini Yoga it is not a Śaktipāta tradition.  I place Yogi Bhajan’s Kriya system under Guru Based Yoga Therapy which I will explain more in the third blog post in this series. 

These spontaneous movements of energy is considered to be the source where yoga sets and the physical systems of yoga arose form.   

In many of the above mentioned lineages of practice Kriyā generally refers to a sequence of energetic transformational practice using a variety of yogic techniques beyond simple āsanas.  Some of these systems focus on spontaneous movement while others focus on pre-organized sequences. Spontaneous or pre organized sequenced most all Kriyā practices contain mudra, bhanda, āsana and pranayama in some synergistic way. 

Various teachers also call stand alone practices Kriyā.  The Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes Kapalabhati, often called Breath of Fire as a stand along Kriyā for purification (one of the Shat Kriyā’s aka six purification methods).  We will discus this in depth in the fourth blog post on Kriya focusing on on Hatha Yoga’s Shat Kriyā system of cleansing. 

Kriyā as an organized practice sequence is mostly used as a detailed approach to God or Self Realization (Yogananda, Satyananda, Sivananda).  Yogi Bhajan’s offers deflated organized practices called Kriyā in a unique way with many therapeutic claims attached to the over 5000 Kriyas he shared.  We will discuss his large body of work in the various blog post to come on the topic of Kriyā. 

Other groups that teach Kriyā that I am not qualified to give comment on include but aren’t listed to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living organization and ISHA Yoga of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.