Kriya Yoga Lessons of Lahiri Mahasaya
Yogiraj Lahiri Mahasaya provided a treasure trove of timeless teachings about Kriya Yoga and self-realization. The lessons below merely scratch the surface of his unassailable wisdom and provide practical tips to help you understand Kriya Yoga and improve your practice.
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Kriya Yoga of Lahiri Mahasaya, Lesson 1: The Om Japa Revolution - Unleashing Kriya Yoga’s Supreme Power
Imagine transforming your Kriya Yoga practice from simple breath control into a profound source of spiritual realization. Yogiraj Lahiri Baba, the modern founder of Kriya Yoga, revealed that Om Japa is the essential core of Kriya. He redefined the focused repetition of the primal sound Om as the vital, integrated mechanism that anchors the mind to the Divine, systematically purifies the subtle body chakra-by-chakra, and prevents the dangerous “tamasic” dissipation of life energy. This synthesis is the key to unlocking Kriya Yoga’s true purpose: transforming physical breath into a powerhouse for realizing higher consciousness and paving the way to Kriya Yoga mastery.
Kriya Yoga of Lahiri Mahasaya, Lesson 2: Kriya Prānāyāma - The Arrow of Arjuna’s Bow
Kriya Yoga is fundamentally a scientific, mathematically structured system centered on Kriya Prāṇāyāma, a unique breath technique that directly controls the life force (Prāṇa) along the spine (Sushumna) to calm the mind, a process that must be energized by Om Japa at the chakras to remain effective. This practice progresses through the stages of Raja Yoga—moving from Pratyāhāra (12 cycles) to Dhāranā (144 cycles), and culminating in Dhyāna (1728 cycles)—thereby systematically destroying accumulated karma and leading naturally to the ultimate goal of Paravāsthā (the Highest State) and spontaneous breath-stillness.
Kriya Yoga of Lahiri Mahasaya, Lesson 3: Kumbhaka - Mastery of Breathlessness
Kumbhaka, or breath retention, is the transformative, essential core of Kriya Yoga, acting as the critical final step for achieving spiritual liberation and higher consciousness. While the dynamic Kriya Prāṇāyāma technique is used to charge the life force (prāṇa), its true purpose is to lead to kevala kumbhaka—the state of absolute, effortless stillness (parāvasthā) where the mind is completely tranquil. The ultimate instruction, “always remain in kumbhaka,” refers to abiding in this continuous stillness, which is the necessary prerequisite for experiencing the primordial cosmic vibration of Omkar and achieving spiritual freedom (samādhi).
Kriya Yoga of Lahiri Mahasaya, Lesson 4: Parāvasthā Revealed - The Supreme Poise
Parāvasthā is the master key and ultimate goal of Kriya Yoga, representing the effortlessly attained state of Supreme Poise. It is the transcendent culmination where the breath spontaneously stills (kevala kumbhaka), the mind’s activity (vrittis) ceases, and the practitioner is absorbed in the Supreme Reality (Parābrahma). Kriya techniques are the necessary tools, but parāvasthā itself is reached through their diligent application, coupled with faith (shraddha) and devotion (bhakti), allowing for the Guru’s grace to draw consciousness inward. Lahiri Baba’s ultimate instruction is to make this non-dual, tranquil awareness permanent—to “remain in the Kriya Paravastha all the time.” This achieves freedom from karmic bondage by performing worldly duties while the inner consciousness is unshakably anchored in the Self.
Kriya Yoga of Lahiri Mahasaya, Lesson 5: Breaking the Invisible Chains of The Three Granthis
The journey toward yogic liberation is architecturally defined by the challenge of the Three Granthis—Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra—three potent psycho-spiritual knots of ignorance (Tamas, Rajas, and Sattva) along the suṣumnā nāḍī (central channel) that impede the ascent of Kuṇḍalinī. While classical tradition, such as the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, prescribes systematic bandhas (yogic locks) to pierce these obstructions, Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya Yoga offers a swift and direct method (Granthi Bheda), utilizing dynamic prāṇāyāma (life force control) and advanced mudrās to quickly dissolve these barriers, thus guiding the householder practitioner beyond all individualistic limitations to the non-dual realization of parāvasthā (the after-effect poise state of Kriya Yoga).
Kriya Yoga of Lahiri Mahasaya, Lesson 6: The Spiritual Eye - Indestructible Anvil of the Kūṭastha
Beyond the sensory storm lies the kūṭastha, an indestructible anvil of consciousness where the raw iron of the ego is hammered into divine gold through the sacred science of Kriya Yoga. By sealing the world away through yoni mudrā and the Guru’s grace, the practitioner penetrates a luminous “inlaid cave” of sapphire depths and silver starlight, transcending the perishable to reach parāvasthā—a state of supreme poise where the mind falls silent and the seeker finally merges with the Infinite. This is the Spiritual Eye: the unchanging screen of the universe where you cease merely watching the light and awaken to the sacred recognition that you are the light itself.
Kriya Yoga of Lahiri Mahasaya, Lesson 7: Science of Sacred Stillness
In Kriya Yoga, as taught by Lahiri Mahasaya, the human nervous system is likened to a turbulent ocean where the breath acts as a disruptive wind, obscuring the true Self through sensory noise and mental chatter. By scientifically redirecting the life force (prāna) from peripheral channels into the central spinal highway, the practitioner achieves Sthirattwa—a state of profound, breathless stillness. This physiological transformation replaces the flickering ego with the steady gaze of the Kūṭastha (Spiritual Eye), signaled by a “cool current” in the spine and the internal vibration of Omkar. Ultimately, this process leads to parāvasthā, where the limited individual consciousness is re-absorbed into the divine equilibrium of the Infinite.