Paramahamsa Prajnanananda
Kriya Yoga is an ancient and powerful system of meditation, which promises perfect health, peace of mind and a stress-free life. The people of India have practiced it for many centuries under the guidance of trained teachers. Kriya Yoga approaches the study of the Self with a sense of reflection and introspection so that the spiritual traveler may understand the conditions of his / her mind. The ever-changing mind is the biggest barrier to calmness and self-realization.
Kriya Yoga is the ancient path of Soul-culture and spiritual life. The life of the entire creation is breath. The life force of the entire creation is God Himself. The entire creation is permeated and pervaded with His presence. Without God, there is nothing. Everything is born in God, lives in God and merges with God like waves in the ocean.
The soul is immortal, deathless, pure and divine. Because of the Soul, the body is alive, beautiful and active. Through the Soul, man does many types of work. Work in Sanskrit is derived from the root Kri. Kri means to do and Ya means the Soul. All work is done by the power of God, the living life of God, the breath; this is Kriya.
In the teachings of Kriya Yoga we are taught how mind and breath are correlated: We are what our mind is and our mind is what our breath is. The significance of breath has been known to human civilizations by realized souls for thousands of years. In the middle part of the 19th century an elusive and mysterious Master Mahavatar Babaji brought this technique to the world through the lineage of Masters Sri Shyamacharan Lahiri, Swami Shriyukteswar, Swamy Sri Bhupendranath Sanyal, Paramahamsa Yogananada, Swami Sri Satyananda and beloved Gurudev Sri Paramahamsa Hariharananda. Today this lineage is continued by Sri Paramahamsa Prajnanananda.
Breath is life. Breath is an indestructible gift of God with its own presence. Breath integrates the body and soul. Without proper breathing process, disintegration starts. The physical body starts diverging away from the soul, which is a form of death. Not only the breath, but also its quality or type, or the way each inhalation and exhalation is undertaken, is important to the evolutionary process of becoming a human being.
The word Yoga comes from the root yuj. It has 32 meanings in Sanskrit, but the most appropriate here is to unite. The union of the individual Self with the Cosmic Self, the child of God with God, the Father. Therefore, the body with the Soul is Yoga.
Kriya Yoga is a supreme science of Self-realisation. It is a scientific technique of action with constant God-consciousness, which ultimately leads to realisation - going beyond the body, mind, intellect, thought, and even the world, to Soul-consciousness.
To perceive the Soul in every breath, in every moment, in every action, in everything and every being is Kriya Yoga. By the practice of Kriya Yoga meditation, one aspires to lead a life of divine consciousness, which ultimately brings love, purity and joy.
Paramahamsa Hariharananda