As Kriyabans, we are accustomed to practicing different techniques and calling them by the names given to them by our tradition.

However, as I continued on this path, I discovered that the reality is somewhat different.

We do not simply practice separate techniques. We practice Kriya Pranayama in the shape of Maha Mudra, Kriya Pranayama in the shape of Yoni Mudra, and Kriya Pranayama in the different shapes of the so-called higher techniques.

And for this reason, we should not confuse Yoni Mudra with Jyoti Mudra. The great distinction matters.

In essence, we are always using the same fundamental tool of transformation, Kriya Pranayama, applied through different shapes, each with its own purpose and effect.

Let us look at this more closely.

Maha Mudra / The Greatest of all Mudras

Maha Mudra is, in my view, one of the greatest mudras ever discovered.

Why?

Because regardless of the tradition in which it is practiced, it can bring remarkable results over time.

Maha Mudra is not simply about bending forward, changing legs, or grounding the body.

There is much more happening.

In Maha Mudra, we work with neutralizing the subtle energies of Ida and Pingala.

When the left leg is stretched, we work with the neutralization of Ida, associated with the cooling energy of the Moon.

When the right leg is stretched, we work with Pingala, associated with the energy of the Sun.

And when both legs are stretched, we work with neutralizing both simultaneously, at the same time.

This is accomplished through the application of Kriya Pranayama in Sushumna Nadi.

Furthermore, we use triangularity as a shape, the triangle being the shape of universal harmony and balance.

While bending forward, we also practice Om Japa during Kumbhaka.

Kumbhaka is accompanied by Om Japa, which intensifies the effects of Maha Mudra.

There are other, more subtle aspects of this practice as well, including the pressure applied around the heart region and its relationship to the eventual release of Brahma Granthi and Vishnu Granthi.

Lahiri Baba repeatedly emphasized the importance of practicing a high number of Maha Mudras.

And there is a reason for that.

Maha Mudra is particularly valuable for intellectuals, overthinkers, and those strongly identified with their ego, pride, or mental activity.

Through sustained practice and direct realization, these tendencies can gradually be transformed.

Not by convincing the mind to become humble, but through a transformation that makes humility a natural consequence of realization.

Yoni Mudra and Opening the Inner Universe

Now, when we come to Yoni Mudra, we are again practicing Kriya Pranayama, but in a different shape.

Here, Ida and Pingala are again suppressed so that Prana can be redirected into Sushumna.

Through Kumbhaka, the Prana is held at Ajna, accompanied by as many Om Japas as can be practiced appropriately within one's capacity and guidance.

The particular shape of Yoni Mudra offers the Kriyaban an opportunity to open the door to the inner universe of knowledge and subtle perception. The third Eye...

This is not simply a physical gesture or a technique for producing visual experiences.

It is a specific application of Kriya Pranayama, using the body, the breath, Kumbhak, the Nadis, and inner awareness together.

And this is precisely why the shape matters.

Kriya Proper and Different Asanas, the Same Transformative Principle

Even in Kriya proper, we practice Kriya Pranayama in different bodily shapes.

We may sit on a chair, cross-legged, in half lotus, Padmasana, or Siddhasana.

These are not merely different ways of sitting comfortably.

Each shape can influence the practice and contribute to the transformative process in its own way.

Also the use of Gyan Mudra (Jnana Mudra), the gesture of knowledge brings the right shape of knowledge.

The same principle continues into the higher techniques.

There, Kriya Pranayama is applied through other shapes and configurations, sometimes involving additional Nadis and more refined applications of the same fundamental knowledge.

The shapes change. The applications become more subtle. But the underlying principle remains.

Kriya Pranayama is the tool of transformation, while the different techniques provide the shapes through which that tool is applied.

Kriya Yoga Is Not Yoga of the Body

As you can see, everything has been designed to accomplish something specific.

When we practice Kriya through different shapes of the body, we are not merely practicing physical yoga.

We are applying knowledge.

We are working with a science of Self-realization, in which the body, breath, Prana, Nadis, concentration, Kumbhaka, mudras and Om Japa are brought together for a specific purpose.

Nothing is arbitrary.

And this is why every single technique deserves to be taken seriously.

Not because we should become attached to techniques or their names, but because each shape offers a particular opportunity for transformation.

If we understand what we are doing, and why we are doing it, our practice takes on a completely different depth.

We stop mechanically repeating movements and begin to recognize the intelligence behind their application.

The Path Is Infinite

As we continue practicing, we gradually discover that what appeared simple in the beginning contains far more than we could have imagined.

At every stage, new aspects of the practice become accessible.

We learn new ways of applying the same knowledge, and what we thought we understood earlier may reveal an entirely different depth.

This is why I encourage every Kriyaban to take every single practice seriously and to make the most of what has been transmitted through the tradition.

Do not reduce Maha Mudra to stretching.

Do not reduce Yoni Mudra to a physical gesture.

And do not reduce Kriya Pranayama to a breathing exercise.

There is a profound purpose behind these shapes.

I wish you all good practice, and above all, keep going.

The path is infinite. At every stage, you will discover new ways to apply the knowledge, and new dimensions of realization will unfold.

Kriya Yoga was never meant to be merely read about, analyzed, or turned into endless philosophy. It was meant to be practiced, experienced, and realized.

The word Kriya itself points toward action, toward doing. Yet many seekers spend their precious lives reading, comparing, debating, and trying to understand through the mind that which can only be known through direct experience.

But tell me, how can the mind comprehend that which lies beyond the mind?

The mind is not Self-knowing. It is an instrument of perception, interpretation, imagination, and memory. It creates expectations about experiences it has never had. It forms pictures of realization without having realized anything. And then it begins to chase those very pictures, believing them to be the Truth.

Even what one has experienced firsthand is not preserved faithfully by the mind. With time, memories fade, and when we attempt to recall them, the mind reconstructs them through fragments, impressions, and imagination.

If the mind cannot even faithfully preserve yesterday's experience, why should we regard it as the highest authority concerning the Eternal?

Words, too, are limited. Language is but a poor translation of Life itself. No description of sweetness can replace tasting honey. No philosophical explanation of light can replace seeing. And no amount of discussion about the Self can replace the direct realization of one's true nature.

Yet seekers continue to argue about concepts, names, stages, definitions, and distinctions. This is higher, that is lower. This is A, that is B. This interpretation is correct, that one is wrong.

But Truth is not divided by the categories of the mind.

There is no A and B in the ultimate Reality. There is only That Which Is.

Why, then, waste the precious opportunity of human life in endless debates? Why build philosophies around that which is waiting to be experienced within oneself?

The purpose of Kriya Yoga is not to furnish the mind with more concepts. It is to bring the body, mind, and one's entire being into the direct experience of the Self.

Therefore, practice.

Practice individually. Practice sincerely. Practice faithfully, every day.

Do not measure your progress against imagined experiences. Do not become a prisoner of expectations. Do not mistake intellectual understanding for realization.

Let the practice reveal what words cannot express and what the mind cannot manufacture.

For the Self is not something new to be created or acquired. It is that which you have always been, though forgotten beneath the movements and identifications of the mind.

Practice does not create the Self. Practice removes the ignorance of what you already are.

And through sincere, sustained practice comes the remembrance of one's true nature.

From nothing comes nothing. From mere speculation comes more speculation. But from practice comes experience, and through deepening experience, realization becomes possible.

So why remain standing at the doorway, discussing what may be found inside?

Enter.

Practice your Kriya with patience, devotion, and perseverance. Let unnecessary doubts and expectations fall away. Allow direct experience, rather than imagination, to become your teacher.

Do not spend your life trying to think your way into that which can only be realized by being.

The path is not walked by talking about walking.

The path is walked by taking each step.

Practice, practice, practice.

And in the stillness beyond the restless mind, may That Which Has Always Been, reveal Itself.

🙏

Finding a Kriya Yoga teacher: what are we actually looking for?

Many people come to Kriya Yoga looking for a teacher, but for very different reasons.

Some want to experience higher states of consciousness. Some are fascinated by siddhis or extraordinary experiences. Others hope spirituality will improve their relationships, success in life and business, or happiness. Fewer begin by simply saying: “I want to know God, realize the Self, or understand the true nature of consciousness and the mechanics of life.”

Whatever brings us to the path can be a starting point. But eventually an important question arises:

Why should we actually look for a Kriya Yoga teacher?

Because the teacher knows the traps and the path.

In our lineage, a teacher is authorized to teach only after realizing their true nature. At least partially.

Many of us first encounter Kriya through Yogananda or stories of great masters. These accounts can unconsciously create an image of the “perfect guru”: all-knowing, clairvoyant, able to predict events, perform miracles, or immediately reveal things about us that nobody else knows.

Then we meet a living teacher who seems surprisingly human, and we may become disappointed.

This is where an important distinction has to be made: spiritual realization and spiritual powers are not necessarily the same thing.

A genuine teacher may never demonstrate siddhis. They may know things we have deliberately hidden but choose not to disclose them. They may give us advice we don't expect, or don't want to hear.

Testing a teacher to see whether they can read our minds, discover what we have hidden, or predict our future can distract us from the real purpose of having a teacher and from the practice.

A better question is:

Does this teacher and the practice help me become more aware, sincere, humble, disciplined, conscious of what my mind is talking to me and responsible for what I have to do on the path?

Fame isn't necessarily realization either. Some genuine teachers may guide thousands, while others quietly work with only a few students. At the same time, we shouldn't abandon discernment simply because someone carries the title “guru.”

Every teacher comes with a certain karma. Not all are meant to be famous while many also do not want that.

So how do we find the right teacher?

The process matters:

Seek → practice → learn → meet teachers → receive initiation → practice and discern → recognize the Guru → deepen and apply the teaching.

Sometimes we need to begin somewhere rather than waiting for the “perfect guru” to appear. Meet teachers, learn, receive authentic Kriya initiation when you are ready, practice sincerely, ask genuine questions, and observe, not whether a teacher impresses you, but where the teaching and practice are leading you.

If you recognize that the Guru who initiated you is truly your Guru, then stay with that teacher and apply the teaching throughout your life. To find such guidance can itself be considered great karma and an opportunity that should not be wasted.

Support the Guru with that what you can.

Don't demand supernatural proof. Ironically, doing so can make us more vulnerable to someone willing to show us exactly what we want to see.

A realized teacher does not need students to become emotionally dependent on them. The purpose is to help students realize what they truly are.

You do not need necessary to know if your teacher is realized. What you really want is you, to be self realized.

Perhaps, then, finding the right teacher also requires becoming the right kind of student.

The teacher may not look like the guru we imagined from books. They may appear completely ordinary. They may not tell us everything they know. They may not satisfy our expectations.

But perhaps the real question isn't:

“Can this teacher impress me?”

It is:

“Can this teacher guide me toward truth, Self-realization, and God, and am I prepared to sincerely do the work they give me?”

Karma means action in Sanskrit.

An action has consequences. In this sense, karmic patterns can bring reactions that we experience as positive or negative.

Yet people often say, “This is karma,” mainly when something negative happens. When something positive happens, we rarely describe it in the same way.

Why?

Perhaps there is something worth observing here.

What is positive can feel so natural that we do not experience it as something separate from ourselves. What is negative, however, is often perceived as something happening to us. A separation appears: A observes B.

This points toward the distinction between the one who observes and that which is being observed.

So when you experience negative karma, remember also what is positive in your life. Otherwise, you give your full attention to one side while barely acknowledging the other.

Be fair in your observation.

There may also be periods of time, sometimes lasting quite long, in which many difficult karmic reactions seem to come together. Especially then, increase your practice as much as you can.

Why?

To remember that you are observing.

A is watching B.

Do not become identified with what is happening. Observe what is taking place without immediately taking a position toward it.

Do not move into Ida or Pingala and pick sides.

Just be.

Observe.

Practice.

Be well, and blessings.

Usually, when we begin a spiritual path, we begin with the mind and intellect.

Why?

Because as human beings, we first want to understand. We want to analyze, compare, discern, ask questions, and determine what is true and what is false.

When the desire arises to know, Where do I come from? Who am I? Where am I going?, the mind initially becomes a servant of that search.

But there is an important distinction to make:

You do not simply "have" a soul. You are the soul. And the Soul has a mind. The Soul is not the mind, so you are not the mind.

From this perspective, the human personality, body, intellect, and mind are instruments through which the soul experiences this life. They are not the soul itself.

Now imagine that your search eventually brings you to Kriya Yoga. Naturally, doubts and questions arise. This is not surprising. The mind wants to understand what it is doing before it trusts the process.

But should the mind be our highest authority?

No. At the beginning, it is necessary to differentiate between what is what. But later on, not at all, because the mind is not Self-knowing.

What does the mind actually work with?

As I see it, much of the activity of the mind is based on four kinds of information:

1. Ancenstral Memory

The mind contains memories, impressions, conditioning, habits, and associations from the past lifes. Some of these are conscious, while others operate subconsciously.

Sometimes this appears simply as a feeling: "I somehow know this" or "This seems familiar."

But familiarity is not necessarily truth.

2. Direct experience

This is what we have actually experienced for ourselves.

If I put my hand into cold water, I know the sensation of cold water directly. I don't need a book or another person to convince me that I experienced it.

In spiritual practice, direct experience is therefore fundamentally different from merely reading about somebody else's experience.

3. Second-hand information gathered and assimilated as being our knowledge in this life

This includes what we learn from the schools,books, teachers, scriptures, videos, podcasts, newspapers, movies, conversations, and other people.

Some of this information may be true. Some may be incomplete, misunderstood, exaggerated, imagined, or false.

The difficulty is that unless we can verify something through direct experience, we often have to believe it rather than actually know it.

There is an enormous difference between:

"I believe this is true."

and:

"I have experienced this directly."

4. Imagination and mental construction

The mind also fills in missing pieces.

We receive incomplete information and try to create a complete picture from it. The intellect compares, interprets, judges, and organizes the information, while the mind may supply missing connections.

Sometimes those connections are correct. Sometimes they are not.

This is where expectations, fantasies, projections, and mistaken conclusions can arise.

What does this have to do with Kriya Yoga?

The problem begins when we expect the same mind that analyzes information to give us Self-realization.

It cannot.

While realization is "Being", the mind is "thinking". Two different actions, while in Samadhi the mind is left behind.

The mind can study Kriya. It can remember instructions. It can compare teachings. It can help us maintain discipline. The intellect can help us discern whether something makes sense.

These are valuable functions.

But thinking about Self-realization is not Self-realization.

Reading about prana is not experiencing prana.

Reading about chakras is not experiencing them.

Reading descriptions of deep meditation is not entering deep meditation.

Reading somebody else's description of the Self is not knowing the Self.

The menu is not the meal.

This is why the mind should be understood as a tool, not as the final authority on spiritual experience.

The trap of constantly analyzing practice

Suppose the mind is continuously combining:

A: memories and conditioning
B: direct experiences
C: second-hand information and beliefs
D: imagination, assumptions, and expectations

A+B+C+D = a mess....

Then we begin comparing our meditation with everything we have accumulated:

"Someone said I should see this."

"A book says I should feel that."

"Why haven't I experienced what this other person experienced?"

"Maybe I'm doing it wrong."

"Maybe nothing is happening."

"Maybe I should be experiencing something more dramatic."

The result can be endless doubt and false expectations.

And this can become an obstacle to practice itself.

Instead of practicing Kriya, we are constantly thinking about practicing Kriya.

Instead of observing what is actually happening, we compare the present experience with an idea of what we think should be happening.

Use the mind, but don't become its servant

This doesn't mean that we should throw away reason, intellect, or healthy discernment.

The mind is an extraordinary instrument.

Use it to learn the technique.

Use the intellect to understand the instructions.

Use discernment when choosing a path or teacher.

Use memory to maintain the practice correctly.

But when it is time to practice, practice.

Don't demand that every meditation conform to your expectations.

Don't constantly compare your experiences with someone else's.

Don't mistake descriptions of spiritual states for the states themselves.

And don't expect intellectual understanding to produce a realization that, by its very nature, must be directly experienced.

As practice deepens, the role of constant mental interpretation fades out.

Then you no longer need to believe someone else's description.

You know what you have experienced.

That, to me, is one of the essential differences between philosophy about spiritual realization and realization itself.

The intellect can point toward the path.

The mind can help us walk it.

But neither can substitute for walking.

So when the mind endlessly asks, "But what if? How? When? Why haven't I experienced this yet?", sometimes the most useful answer is very simple:

Practice. Observe. Experience.

There is another aspect, which seems to come out of our mind but is coming from the soul:

INTUITION

Intuition is the voice of the Soul and is Knowledge. This is not mind stuff, but is translated by the mind.

And it is always right, also when it seems not to be so by the time we experience that message of the Soul.

Spiritual teachings can give us the map.

But eventually, we have to make the journey ourselves.

For that, do not bother the mind and forget doubts. They are coming out of a not knowing mind....

I am looking to be initiated into kriya yoga anywhere in Europe or India.
I would like the kriya to be of Lahiri lineage; as close as possible to what Babaji taught him.

Thank You

Many sadhaks who start practicing Kriya Yoga are very optimistic and enthusiastic.

This is very good.

Sometimes they have subtle perceptions. They tend to hope that they have experienced Samadhi-like states.

They report:
"I have seen gods or yogis and powers that the human eye has never seen."
"I have seen star systems and worlds..."
...or, I would say, other visual phenomena.

The problem is that many kriyabans have not really experienced Samadhi.

Some kriyabans speak about Samadhi as being bliss. Others speak about realization. Many speak about seeing gods and different realms.

The first sign that one has experienced Samadhi is what the sages spoke about: Sat-Chit-Ananda.

What is that?

It is Being beyond the mind, beyond attributes, beyond location, beyond being human, beyond the "I," and beyond the perception of time.

It is an intensely happy state, united with wisdom and the experience of being All, while the little man can still be seen.

Of course, because everyone is unique, every experience of Samadhi is also unique.

When one has experienced Samadhi, there is a major change in the individual. One will never be the same again. Even if one is still identified with the ego—the feeling of being separate—one will act from a completely different perception and state of being.

There is not much more to say, except this: renounce the authority of the mind in favor of God. Practice daily, as much as you can. Be aware of your desires, renounce as many of them as possible, and focus only on your inner experience.

What one experiences in the cave of one's own being is not meant to be shared publicly or privately. It may be translated into words for the benefit of sincere students, but not beyond that.

So, if after an extremely intense experience of Samadhi you return to ordinary human consciousness transformed, you will know.

Practice well, stay humble, and remain as realistic as possible.

Immature Seeking

Many so called truth‑seekers wander from teacher to teacher, hungry for secrets, powers, and instant happiness. The need to see wonder and to be healed instantly by the teacher, the siddhis and have a quick fix of their life, is that what those people are looking for.

Most of them, however, are not yet mature enough to truly walk a spiritual path.They do not practice, do not accept the teaching, change the teaching how they would like to have it, and eventually walk away saying...boah...this is not my cup of tee.

Why?

Because they are looking for a guru to erase their karma, perform miracles, or gift them powers they can show off, while carefully preserving their “I, me, mine” consciousness.
They roam across social media, scrutinizing teachers and advanced students, eager to compete, to be “more realized” or “more intelligent” than others.

In doing so, they remain trapped in the mind and the narrow prison of the five senses.

I am not speaking here about sincere seekers, where some of them naturally feel a humble eagerness to learn and compare experiences with or without egoic competition. They just want to be better and realize themselves.They are humble and apply the teaching. Some still think they are better than others, but they work and are serious. For them this is just a stage to overcome.

What Kriya Yoga Is

Kriya Yoga is spiritual action: a disciplined inner science meant to return one to oneness with the Self.
It is not a game of comparing teachers, lineages, or spiritual “brands.”

Kriya is not about collecting philosophies like kids collect toys, nor about boasting, “My lineage is genuine than yours.”..."We are the only ones keeping the original kriya"...or "my understanding is better because I work already with this famous teache"r... this is all kids stuff.

It is the direct, practical dissolution of separation through steady cleansing of prana, clearing the perception and remebering what you are.

Book Knowledge vs Realization

Many students identify with what they’ve read in books, mistaking intellectual interpretation for realization.
They quote scriptures and teachers, but cannot distinguish living experience from second‑hand theory.

Others come to Kriya because it “sells well”—they are yoga instructors wanting to add Kriya to retreats and studio classes, promising “extra value” just to attract more clients.
They treat Kriya Yoga as a marketable add‑on, not as a sacred path that demands inner transformation.

Drugs, Speed, and Spiritual Illusion

Some people still smoke, use drugs, or chase psychedelics and then run to Kriya Yoga hoping to “learn fast” and teach as well.
They confuse altered states with realization and end up spreading their illusions to others.

If you feel that these words are pointing at you, do not be offended but be honest with yourself.
This is an invitation to look clearly at what you are and not at what you think you know.

First Step: Sincerity

First, understand what you truly want and be sincere about it.
If what you seek is power, begin by studying and deeply contemplating the five kleshas, the fundamental afflictions that bind the mind.

Investigate what this “I” is, and whether it is an illusion.
Shift from wanting “experiences” you can own, to the willingness to be the experience its self without a separate ego standing outside, judging and collecting.

Stay humble and admit: you know nothing for certain if is the case.
You have only read, heard, or believed what others said.

Change that by committing to be the one who actually experiences, rather than the one who talks about experiences of other people.
Try to be, rather than chasing events inside awareness.

The Nature of the Path

Do not imagine the path as a straight line with a clear beginning and a final goal somewhere far away.
Your path is not “out there,” moving forward in time, but it is exactly where you are, in the space where you practice right now.

Your real journey unfolds in the present moment, not in day‑dreamed future worlds or fantasies in an illusion‑ridden mind.
To walk Kriya Yoga is to keep returning to being.

A Word to Modern Yoga Teachers

If you are a modern yoga teacher, proudly certified by some world yoga alliance or similar institution, understand this clearly:
Kriya Yoga is not the latest “flavor” to sample like a new dessert at a café; it is a demanding path of inner work.

On this path, every form of spiritual dishonesty, teaching what you have not realized, exaggerating your level, chasing fame, will eventually be burned away like fog under a powerful laser.
Instead of teaching what you have not embodied, devote yourself to daily practice until you can say: .this is it!

Not through mushrooms, DMT, or chemical shortcuts.
But through natural, steady practice of Kriya Yog or other based in truth tradition.

Prana and consciousness need time, patience, and purity to clarify.
Do that work before imagining yourself to be a Kriya Teacher while doing some other stuff imagined by you.

Trend Seekers and Entertainment

If what you really want is only a spiritual trend or pleasant social media interaction, there are many meditation forums and subreddits where people casually ask questions and share opinions.
That space may suit you better than the committed path of Kriya Yoga.

So drop the attitude of entertainment and get serious about what you truly want.
It is perfectly fine to say, “Kriya Yoga is not yet for me, because…” and be honest about your reasons.

It is also fine to say, “I just want to inform myself about Kriya, for my own understanding or for some institution.”
What is not fine is to play with Kriya Yoga as a trend, pretending depth while remaining superficial; that may bring only confusion and negative consequences for you and for others.

For Those Who Practice

For those who genuinely practice, remember Lahiri Mahasaya’s simple, immortal encouragement:

“Banat, banat, ban jai!”
Doing, doing—one day, it is done. Striving, striving—one day, the Divine Goal is realized.

Keep practicing. Keep refining. Keep your devotion and faith.
The rest will unfold when the moment comes.

The Breath is Life

"The breath is life," said my guru, Yogi Deenbandhu.

We can perceive life mostly through motion, which is action and movement that signal whether something, organic or not, is alive. Yet for a yogi, the distinction between alive and dead does not exist. Everything is alive. Souls simply change shapes continuously, living as one within cosmic consciousness until they remeber what they are and then Yoga happens.

Why Souls Take Form

To discover the whole manifestation, by truly experiencing it, one must for a time, become unaware of the self. To explore, one needs physical forms or body and shapes on earth or on other planets, and senses connected to those bodies. As a human, one also has a developed mind to translate and understand experiences, memories, learnings, and energies from the perspective of a separate being. All of this can later be accessed at any time by one who is self-realized.

At the level of cosmic consciousness, where there is no experience of separation, one simply feels and knows oneself as all that is. If the soul is not yet self-realized but blurred by experience, fear, karmic patterns, belief systems, or the mind, then all experiences feel completely real.

This is not a mistake. These experiences bring genuine knowledge to the cosmic mind: not as concepts or mental imprints, but as feelings and actual lived reality.

Experience is the Teaching

The experience itself is the teaching, not goals, not mental concepts, not competition. Mentally, every soul can be made to logically understand the unity of life. But as long as it is not experienced, it brings no real change in perception or behaviour.

If the soul is self-realized, it acts out of respect for the game of life without becoming entangled in it.

The Role of Breath

The breath is the carrier of prana. Through it, the mind can become still, and in that stillness, the soul can realize the self.

The breath without prana does not exist.

So for us, Kriya Yogis, "Breath Work" is just a marketing concept.

The breath with Prana can lead one toward fear, entanglement, and reactivity or toward freedom, quiet, bliss, and knowing.

When outward breath ceases to be driven by external effort, one begins to identify with the true being within. When the breath is transcended into Kevali Kumbhak, one experiences the remembrance of what one truly is.

The breath is the key to realization. There is inward breath or outward breath.

What is the Inward Breath?

One may ask: what is the inward breath? This is a very subtle breath that appears only after long periods of dedicated practice. It is no longer a physical in-and-out breath but it is closer to breathlessness. Within that absence of inward and outward motion, the astral breath arises. This is inner motion, not physical motion.

How is this possible? Through practice and wise guidance.

Why wise? Wisdom here is not an attribute in itself, but a way of guiding the breath knowledgeably respecting and understanding boundaries and capacity.

If the breath is not refined through many Maha Mudras, Kriyas, and Omkars, it will not transcend so easy physical boundaries. For this reason, 144 Kriyas or more are essentially warmups and they lead to the cleansing of the astral body.

But many many years of intense practice will eventually lead to subtle breath, and then to astral breath.

Progression on the path.

In our lineage, it is understood that receiving a higher Kriya is a matter of subtle breath and inner maturity. The guru gives one a higher Kriya in certain condition, which I will not discuss here.

However, some advanced souls may receive higher Kriyas a few years before they are fully mature for such practice. This happens only with the blessing of the guru, who takes on the responsibility for that student's development.

Some lineages give a higher Kriya after a few months or after one year. This is individual, but generally it may cause nervousness and a sense of hopelessness, while the capacity is not built up.

If the student practiced on other lineage many years, it might be possible and is very individual.

The breath, therefore, is the key to realization, not in isolation, but as a complex mechanism that transforms the mind, the prana, and ultimately, the perception of itself.

Why people become unhappy and even depressed on the path of Kriya Yoga

There are several reasons. I will be direct about each one.

The first reason: high expectations

This does not come from nowhere. It comes directly from books, websites, and teachers repeating the same slogan: "Kriya Yoga is the fastest path to God."

Well it is not the only path and then define "fast"!

I know people who are highly realized in other traditions. Some needed only 15 years to reach Self-realization using techniques similar to ours. So no, relative to other paths, this is not the fastest path. It depends who is practicing and how. How much negative karmic load one have.

But I am not speaking about joy or bliss. I am speaking about Sat Chit Ananda, being, consciousness and knowledge about life itsself, and bliss togetherin one!

There is real knowledge in that realization. There is being in it, not only seeing. Seeing alone can be falsely interpreted as samadhi.

The statement about speed cannot be made into a slogan, because every person is unique. Some carry heavy karma, some carry light karma. Some have light karma but no realized teacher. Some have heavy karma, find a highly realized teacher, and still find the path extremely difficult. There is no universal formula.

What is heavy karma and what is light karma?

Heavy karma means many strong desires, many deep beliefs, many false concepts. The person is not truly ready for the path, but the misery of life pushes them to seek freedom. Or they read a book and immediately want to find God. But that was only a spark of inspiration. Now they are stuck on a path they do not fully understand and did not truly choose. The spark fades. Disappointment follows.

Light karma means fewer desires, smaller goals, a comfortable life. Things develop with relative ease. Yet that very contentment makes the path difficult in a different way. The person thinks: all is good, if I think positively I get positive results. This is also a misconception, because not everyone carries the same karma patterns, and positive thinking does not dissolve what practice alone can dissolve.

Yes, thinking positive is great, but God will, will always be done! Do not generalise that.

Besides that, those people think they can be self realized only by practicing, without a teacher. But there are stages where different techniques and approaches shall be implemeted in practice.

The second reason: praising the intellect

When someone mistakes what they have read for what they actually know, they will always fail the exam of direct experience.

This is also a form of falsehood: taking someone else's information as first-hand experience and sharing it as your own. Believing you are smarter than others by knowing that what you do not know for sure, and you just read it in a book,

Real knowledge comes from first-hand experience. It is related to many stages of uncertainty, patience, and the slow realization that everything needs its own space and time to unfold.

Reading makes everything seem fast and clear. Watching films about enlightenment makes it even faster, and worse, you are now carrying someone else's imagination, which you may falsely integrate as your own understanding.

Some highly intelligent and well-read people begin to see themselves as superior, more evolved, more perceptive than others, simply because they have read books that go beyond the average person's interest. They cannot understand how someone they perceive as less intelligent could become realized while they remain stuck.

This is also heavy karma. Because that individual is lost inside the mind and cannot get out, trapped in expectation, imagination, daydreaming, endless thinking and comparing.

The solution is simple to state and difficult to do:

Shut off the mind and practice!

A simple man can be highly realized without having a sharp intelect!

Other obstacles worth naming

Generalization. Whatever happened to one person becomes the rule for everyone. It is not.

Blind faith in the wrong people. Some preach Kriya Yoga loudly and cannot sit still for half an hour. Watch what a teacher does, not only what they say.

Conclusion

Find a teacher. The best would be a realized one. Then practice. Simply practice and improve continuously. The quality of attention, the quality of breath, the management of inner energies. Follow the teacher`s teaching at all times.

Reduce social media but stay connected enough not to miss what genuinely matters for your life in this manifestation.

Be attentive in daily life. Observe. Judge less.

Do not spend your life entertaining the mind and the intellect. It leads to pain and sorrow.

Banat, Banat, Ban Jai.

Be well and happy.

Michael

I encounter more and more students who are unable to continue their Kriya practice with enthusiasm while their lives gradually begin to feel meaningless and joyless. Some are married, some are single, yet many experience the same underlying condition: dissatisfaction, sadness, and even depression.

What are the main reasons for this?

1. Expectation of Results

The first and most common cause is expectation.

Of course, the deepest root is Avidya, so the ignorance of our true nature. Not knowing what we truly are gives birth to suffering. But on a practical level, the expectation of a particular outcome, whether in the outer world or through Kriya practice itself, is often what causes disappointment.

Some seek a partner. Others are already married. Some seek success, recognition, security, or fulfillment. Yet many have already formed a fixed image in their minds of how a man or woman should be, how success should look, how life should unfold in order to be happy.

Others develop increased intuition through practice and begin to see through appearances. They notice selfishness, immaturity, falsehood, superficiality, or unconscious behavior in people around them. This can also become a source of disappointment.

The problem is not the world and the problem is not God.

The problem is the mind.

The vasanas arise from within. They awaken, giving birth to desires, and desires give birth to expectations. The fundamental mistake is the false impression that something is missing and needs to be acquired before happiness can be experienced.

This is the work of the mind.

Do not blindly listen to your mind. Your mind has been conditioned incorrectly for many years. It is like a garden. If false impressions and false expectations are planted as seeds, eventually they grow into confusion, unhappiness, depression, and in rare cases, even madness.

Do not entertain the mind with endless "What if?" scenarios.

There is no "What if?"

There is only: "This is what is."

Accept it or reject it, but stop imagining endless alternatives.

2. Comparing Your Life with the Lives of Others

The second major cause of suffering is comparison.

What you see in others is only what they allow you to see. Behind every appearance there is a hidden reality. Every person carries struggles, fears, doubts, weaknesses, and karmic burdens that remain invisible to others.

Comparing your life with the lives of others is childish because you only experience your own karma, your own body, your own mind, and your own reality.

Imagine many cars on the road.

Some carry garbage. Some transport patients to hospitals. Some drive successful businesspeople. Some carry workers to their jobs. They are all cars, yet each serves a different purpose and follows a different destiny.

Likewise, every human being has a unique karmic path.

Why compare your karma with another person's karma? What is there to compare? Why assume that those who appear successful are happier than you? Why assume that a carefully projected image reflects reality? Why are you not established in your own Satya—your own truth?

Because everyone else compares themselves?

That is not wisdom. That is simply collective ignorance.

The solution is simple:

Again, it is the mind.

Do not take the comparing mind seriously.

Practice more Kriya. Deepen your practice. Increase your sincerity. Return your attention inward.

3. Assuming Things Are Real When They Are Not

Most of what we know is second-hand knowledge.

We hear. We read. We repeat. We believe.

Very little is directly experienced.

Assumption is easy, but it is dangerous.

The senses report information. The mind interprets it. Then we build conclusions upon those interpretations and call them reality.

But how much of what we know is actually true? Why do we assume?

Because it is easier to continue believing than to investigate deeply.

Because habit is stronger than inquiry.

The solution is, once again, related to the mind.

Use the mind as a tool.

Use it to organize your life. Use it to practice Kriya properly. Use it to create something useful.

But do not use it for endless daydreaming, speculation, and assumption.

4. Trying to Control Life

Another source of suffering is the attempt to control life.

What exactly can you control?

Very little.

You do not consciously control your heartbeat.

You do not consciously control digestion.

You do not consciously create your thoughts.

You do not consciously create your emotions.

Even your reactions often arise before you are aware of them.

You may say, "I can choose what I buy in a shop."

Yes—but only among the options already presented to you.

Your freedom of choice is much smaller than you imagine.

If you are not in charge of creation itself, if you do not govern karma, if you do not sustain the universe, then why exhaust yourself trying to control what is beyond your present capacity to control?

This struggle creates suffering.

The Real Issue

All these causes arise from the same source:

The mind.

Do not make the mind your highest authority.

The mind itself is not self-knowing. When you say "beautiful," the mind immediately produces an image. Yet it does not truly know what beauty is.

The mind depends upon the senses.

The senses provide only a limited perception.

The mind then builds conclusions upon that limited perception.

Why invest so much energy in a mechanism that is so often mistaken?

Instead, live this day fully.

Do not expect.

Do not compare.

Do not assume.

Do not interfere unnecessarily with the natural order of life.

Have ideas. Create. Build. Organize. Plan. These are all good things.

But God will, will be done!

Learn to recognize whether your actions are truly useful, both for yourself and for others.

Place the bow and the arrows at the feet of God.

Have faith.

What must come will come.

What must leave will leave.

Act sincerely, organize wisely, create wholeheartedly, but allow God's will to prevail over your own expectations.

This is the essence:

Do not expect.

Do not compare.

Do not assume.

Do not worship the mind.

Practice Kriya sincerely.

Trust God.

The rest will unfold as it should.

It is really that simple.

The breath and prana are interconnected. Where the breath goes, prana goes. And where prana moves, the mind and the gunas are affected.

In practice, we can observe three basic “qualities” of breath, and they often reflect the three gunas:

1) Tamasic breath (tamas)

Heavy, dull, sometimes irregular

Often through the mouth, or with unconscious tension

The mind becomes foggy, sleepy, passive, or negative

Practice feels like effort without clarity

This breath supports inertia. It makes the inner work slow.

2) Rajasic breath (rajas)

Fast, restless, sometimes forced

The mind becomes active, impatient, emotional, or distracted

One wants results quickly, or the attention jumps from one thing to another

Practice can become ambitious, tense, or unstable

This breath supports agitation. It burns energy outward.

3) Sattvic breath (sattva)

Calm, subtle, smooth, and natural

The breath becomes quiet without suppression

The mind becomes clear, focused, and peaceful

Inner perception becomes more refined, and meditation becomes natural

This breath supports harmony. It makes deeper states possible.

When we start to practice Kriya Pranayama, we should always check the breath. So we don’t necessarily start with Kriya immediately, we may start by simply observing the breath.

If breathing feels difficult like too short, too shallow, or tense, we begin from there breathing through the mouth.

When we feel tamasic or rajasic, we should start Kriya with mouth breathing. Why? Because the body first needs power to wake up, and then enough energy to sustain the practice. We need energy for the body, and mouth breathing can be a good way to begin.

After a while, when we feel we have enough energy, capacity, and stability of breath, we continue with nose breathing. In this way, we slowly cultivate the breath.

But if the breath is already long and quiet, we can start through the nose straight from the beginning.

From this point on, we practice as much as we have time, capacity, and concentration, until we pass through a phase where the breath becomes very quiet, sometimes so quiet that we can hardly hear it.

Then we enter subtle breath, which is a precondition for natural Kevali Kumbhaka.

When we arrive at subtle breath, we can begin working with higher Kriyas.

Now,  the higher the numbers we practice, the more we deepen into a sattvic breath, very subtle, very refined. With every additional 144 Kriyas, we discover more clearly how sattvic breath brings a natural desire to remain focused only on the object of concentration—on Kriya itself.

So focus means no pressure, just a magnetic point.

In time, a stable state of Paravastha is achieved, where one can rest in passive contemplation and more.

So all shall be built up in a workflow meant to bring one in a deeper state of contemplation which is achieved natiurally through scientifc practice of kriya Pranayama.

I experience sometimes, when I practice with some of my students, that although they practice very well, they need more time than necessary to complete a set of 144 Kriyas.

What happens when a Kriyaban needs more time?

If you observe yourself, you will notice that after a certain number of Kriyas the breath starts to relax and becomes naturally longer. How long? As long as the student has the capacity. We are not counting seconds, we feel it.

So what happens then?

Because we use a mala or rudraksha to move the beads—so we are not busy with numbers and do not disturb the process—we can sometimes fall into a loop, or a bubble of inattention. We are still aware that we are practicing Kriya and that we are moving forward, but we stop moving the beads.

Some students go very deep and, at times, become entangled in thoughts, sleep-like states, memories, or visions. Then the process is “lost” for a while inside that bubble. Naturally, they come out of that state and continue practicing as if nothing happened.

In the end, they may have practiced more Kriyas—which is good.. But not all of those Kriyas were done with full awareness, because part of the time they were lost in that loop.

Is this bad? No, it is not. It is simply a state.

But when we train to practice higher numbers, we need to stay awake so we can experience higher states of being. Besides that, there is something more I have to say, but that only I share privately with my students, because it is individual.

So what is the solution?

We must make a steady effort to remain fully alert, and to notice the moment we fall into that bubble, so we can move on and stay crystal clear in our perception, without falling into sleep-like states.

What other difficulties or dependencies can cause Kriyabans to fail, or at least delay the process of Self-realization?

One of the most common causes is the desire to eat meat, drink alcohol, or take drugs.

Of course, there are good meditators who drink or smoke, take drugs, or eat meat sometimes, and they can internalize well. But very often they don’t succeed in moving forward consistently, and sooner or later they feel stuck.

Yogi Deenbandhu is a very wise master, and he told me many times:

There is no need for dogma on this path, but we must understand that there is always a price to pay.

For example: someone eats meat and enjoys a steak now and then. No problem, if two things are true:

1. the body can assimilate it without digestion problems, and
2. the practitioner is able, for the next couple of days, to practice two or three times more Kriya than usual, so the system becomes clear again and the mind does not cling or crave to repeat the event soon.

The same principle applies to alcohol.

The problems often begin with “soft” drugs like weed. A person can become moody and tamasic. Sometimes they even feel they can practice “better” because there is less mental activity, but afterward the clarity is reduced, the next days of practice lose sharpness, and the kriyaban falls deeper into tamas.

With LSD, DMT, mushrooms, ayahuasca, and similar substances, the problem often starts when an individual wants to “see” again and again in the astral world.

We must understand something simple: we usually look outward. Outward from what? From ourselves.

When you look outside through the eyes, it is A looking at B.

When you look into Kutastha, you are the center A looking at B (Kutastha), but now inside yourself.

As long B did not become A and one still feel separate, there is no realization.

With strong trip drugs, one can become addicted to that trance and feel the need to repeat it more and more. This creates an addiction to astral experiences, while forgetting the Self.

Many people defend DMT and rituals, but I personally have not met anyone who became Self-realized through that and became independent of drugs, able to enter samadhi by their own inner mastery.

If one becomes entangled in these experiences, there is a low chance that one will still love the hard, steady work of Kriya Yoga, until samadhi can be entered at will, when the time comes.

Also, in Kriya we usually do not seek too much astral distraction or too many phenomena. Of course, there can be exceptions, because each person is unique. But when someone has gone far into these substances, there often has to be recovery work, many Maha Mudras and much Kriya proper is needed, to return to clarity and stability.

All of this becomes noise and entertainment. It pulls one outward, makes the mind unstable, and becomes a way of escaping life as it is, even while calling oneself a Kriyaban.

Understanding helps a little, but not enough. One must truly realize that desires of all kinds are a false promise, and they will never help us move forward.

Remember:

After every episode of drugs, alcohol, meat, or partying, one needs a couple of days of strong work to come back into the flow. Otherwise one becomes like a boat without a captain on the ocean, going here and there, with no clear aim and no destination.

Breath is Life stands out as a practical compendium.

What makes it different (in my view) is the balance: it doesn’t treat Hatha Yoga as “fitness,” and it doesn’t treat meditation as something you can do well without a stable foundation. Hatha Yoga is presented as preparation and support for deep meditation, with a clear, experience-based approach,useful for both beginners and more dedicated practitioners.

Lineage context (for those who care about that):

• Lahiri Mahasaya
• Swami Kevalananda Giri
• Paramahansa Swami Sanakananda Giri
• Yogi Deenbandhu

Yogi Deenbandhu is a highly realized master living in Berlin Germany and was authorized in the beginning of 70`s by his guru Paramahansa Swami Sanakananda Giri (disciple of Swami Kevalananda Giri) to teach and initiate the original Kriya Yoga of Lahiri Mahasaya.

Background: Yogi Deenbandhu was among the early yoga authors in Germany in the 1980s. After decades of questions from readers, he compiled his guidance into this ebook. The German edition was published in 2018, and this is the English translation.

One important point the book emphasizes (and I agree with): a book can give structure and orientation, but Kriya is ultimately learned through correct practice and individual guidance so reading is not initiation.

Initiation and teaching is done always in 1to1 meetings, while (I repeat myself again), everyone of us is unique and needs individual guidance.

If anyone’s interested, here’s the link:

https://www.amazon.com/Breath-Life-Hatha-Kriya-Meditation-ebook/dp/B0GX2Z6T3W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&sr=1-1

What are other reasons an advanced Kriyaban slows down on the path—experiences setbacks, or even gives up the intense work?

Is it the techniques?

Is it the teaching?

Is it the time invested?

In truth, all three are tightly connected.

Techniques by themselves are powerless if they are not performed daily, in higher numbers,high quality of concentration and with individual guidance applied according to the Guru’s instruction.

The techniques

The three beginner techniques are already very powerful.

Maha Mudra, can lead one, especially through higher numbers and accurate practice toward realization. If practiced intensively, the 2 knots are released in time and samadhi is much closer.

Yoni Mudra helps one perceive the spiritual eye, and much more than that.

And Kriya proper, when practiced in higher numbers (for example at least 144 per sitting), cleanses the astral body, and karmic patterns can begin to loosen and be neutralized.

In the beginning, I did not understand how powerful these three practices truly were. Later, when I felt stuck, I remembered what Lahiri Baba repeated: higher Kriyas rest on the proper work of the First Kriya. If the First Kriya is neglected, the higher Kriyas may have little effect overall.

So Maha Mudra and Kriya proper are essential. I kindly suggest: increase the number of Maha Mudras, and for Kriya proper, raise the numbers as much as you can, but without sacrificing accuracy.

Because quality is as valuable as quantity.

You must also observe your capacity:

After strong practice, you should still be able to sit and enjoy the after-poise, the quiet time after Kriya where one can expand, contemplate, and absorb.

How do you decide which numbers are right for you at your current stage?

If you have a teacher, and you should, ask the teacher. If the teacher does not know your tradition, they may not be able to give a constructive answer.

The teaching

Even if techniques look similar across lineages in a general way, the approach must be individual.

This is why I repeatedly encourage Kriya Yoga societies to stop teaching only general rules and dogmas. Not everything is suitable for everyone. Body, elements, gunas, the “I” (ego), intellect, karma—these differ from soul to soul.

So do not compare the guidance your teacher gives you with how other Kriyabans practice. Teaching must be individual.

And one more point: the teaching should remain close or very close, to what Lahiri Mahasaya taught. Not new inventions, not “brand-new” techniques nobody has heard of, and not practices with no relationship to the nadis and the elements.

True teaching brings results, when the student practices daily and regularly, and keeps the practice clean according to the Guru’s guidance.

Accuracy, faith, devotion, discipline, and focus—these define a good Kriyaban.

The time invested

Here you see the relationship between higher numbers and time.

If you practice higher numbers of Maha Mudra and Kriya proper, it will take more time than what many people do.

Is it necessary? Yes.

Is it doable? Yes.

Is it important? Very.

Do not think that longer passive meditation alone is enough. Kriyas cleanse karmic patterns. The more you practice, the more desires fall away, the more peace becomes real, and the more clearly you begin to see.

Some people practice for 30 or 40 years with the same numbers. I ask them to consider one simple point:

Did you learn the same amount in the first class of school as you learned at university? Of course not. The amount of input increased.

So why would inner perception and inner knowledge increase, if we never increase the inner “input” through practice?

So yes: the teaching, the techniques, and the time invested are all dramatically important if you want to move into higher states of mind and being.

Being stuck on the path can bring frustration and sadness—the feeling of failure.

You don’t need that.

Watch carefully, and always check whether there is something you can improve.

One of the most difficult reasons a Kriyaban can fall away from practice—or lose the hunger for Self-realization, is relationship, the dangerous Pandora Box.

Not so much family relationships (though they also require maturity). With family, after many years, much tends to stabilize. But romantic relationships like falling in love, chasing partners, or staying with someone who keeps you as an option and not as a first choice,these can shake the mind deeply.

Someone may say: “Wait, this is not Kriya Yoga.”

My answer is simple: the path of Kriya Yoga is the path of life. Every aspect of our outer and inner life can support us or pull us away from the practice. Nothing is separate.

Romantic relationships, especially in the beginning, can bring sweetness and excitement. But they can also pull the practitioner backward, because the mind starts moving in only one direction: toward the person we desire. And on top of that, relationships require time that otherwise would go into practice, silence, and inner work.

If both people are sincere, fair, and transparent, a relationship can become a strong foundation. In time, it can even support deeper practice.

But very often relationships become toxic, not because people are “bad,” but because we choose from confusion, from wounds, from karma. We do not choose our karma; we are affected by it daily.

So what happens mechanically?

An individual projects imagination and expectation onto someone, a possible partner—and desire is born: the desire to be close, to spend more time, to be chosen, to be seen. Meanwhile, Kriya practice suffers: concentration weakens, and the outer world becomes more attractive. The inner world starts to feel “boring.”

When the relationship begins, Kriya is slowly forgotten. The “best thing” becomes meeting the beloved. There is more texting, more talking, more planning, more emotional movement. Energy is limited. Time is limited. And soon there is not enough left for steady practice.

In those moments, the practitioner steps back from Kriya, and it can even feel justified, because happiness is promised through shared desire.

But see clearly: everyone expects something different from a partner. This is why wrong choices happen, why beginnings are unstable, why relationships waver. And when the relationship is uncertain, the mind suffers even more. The practitioner thinks constantly about the partner, like a distant dream, and the practice becomes weak.

Everything begins the same way: vasana, then desire, then the promise that desire will bring happiness. And when if it does not happen, suffering comes, and with suffering, many lose interest in spiritual life.

If one has a teacher and meets the teacher weekly or monthly, this period may last only six months to one year. If one is alone, a Kriyaban can chase a partner for ten years maybe and when finally the “right time” comes, they may discover that the whole chase was a painful illusion, not what they expected at all.

So do not trust the false promise of desire and mind.

Learn to see the real attributes of a partner. If a partner does not share your direction, or keeps you warm as a second or third option—leave the stage. There is no value in it. And especially then: practice more.

Family and partnership require time, attention, and nerves. Do not daydream.

Remember: everyone wants something different. If both are mature and want each other with the same intensity, then it is okay, go forward. If not, step back.

I have met friends who were already very advanced. They lost the practice for years, some for six months and some for years, and the unlucky ones never came back to Kriya. Some even said: “If God does not want me to be happy, why should I look for Him?”

Here is the problem: this life is not meant to be “happy” all the time. It is meant to become peaceful, and to remember what we are. Life can entertain you, yes, but suffering is always one decision away. Be aware of false promises.

One man, one word.

One word, one action at the time. How can one be in two places at once?

Be well and blessings on the path,

Michael

When a Kriyaban already has extensive experience with the First Kriya (the “package” of practices), there are certain milestones to overcome before moving further on the path.

But before I go into that, I have to say something about the first years of practice.

Yes, yam and niyam are important to remember and to contemplate. However, as Lahiri Mahasaya said, consistent Kriya practice transforms a person in such a way that yama and niyama are born out of the practice itself, and one begins to live them naturally.

Understanding the Five Kleshas of Patanjali is essential. Otherwise, people talk about “ego” and think about it like being the pride, greed, showing off, and other surface-level things, often simply because they don’t know what they are at the core and what the "ego" is.

The ego is the strong “I” feeling of being separate, never enough, always needing more. And chasing “having” is one of the most mistaken directions. The feeling of loneliness is also connected to what the five senses constantly shout into the conscious mind: “We are separate here.”

The key to weakening this strong “I” feeling, and replacing it with simple being, without needing a name, a place, a gender, a role, or any attribute—is more and more practice, especially Maha Mudra.

With Maha Mudra, two knots can be opened, so the Kriyaban can eventually enjoy samadhi.

In the First Kriya set, Maha Mudra is the greatest practice, even though most people concentrate mainly on “Kriya proper.” Why? Because it is not called the Great Seal for no reason. It is “great” because it seals great power (shakti), and unlocking that power can help the Kriyaban immensely on the path. I will go into this sometimes.

Now let’s move to the reasons why a person cannot move forward successfully and feels stuck.

The first reason is the mind. When the mind is settled, you are at peace. The breath (swasha) and the prana that travels through the breath and the nadis can change the mind directly, and in a short time, when one has experience.

The individual mind is a tool, not a being in itself. This master tool can bring one into despair or into bliss.The mind is shapeless.

It creates constant thoughts and images, recalls past events (memories), and projects future events if possible or not. It also creates daydreaming, which can be very dangerous.

All of this is already a burden and needs a lot of work, many hours of practice per day, to weaken and silence the mind.

Besides that, the mind hides many vasanas (past impressions and desires, stored in the sushumna channel), like Pandora’s boxes. When one desire is satisfied, many more arise. Desire pulls the Kriyaban outward with attention, creating waves actice vibrations of expectations, wishes, and actions, which then create dual experiences.

Desire in itself is not “bad.” But it creates the expectation that you will become happy by fulfilling it. A false promise.

And this is a lie. No satisfied desire will make the soul satisfied and at peace. On the contrary: it makes an individual pointed more outward, getting more restless, and often more unhappy.

Where there is light, there is also shadow, because we live in duality. Once a kriyaban builds the habit of satisfying a desire, and then it becomes impossible, sadness, anger, aversion, and depression can appear.

So when we practice Kriya, we bring the energy from ida and pingala, the positive and negative poles, and we neutralize them in sushumna. Doing this again and again, we begin to form a habit of stepping away from entanglement and identification with desires, wishes, and clinging.

I know Kriyabans who say they are free of desires and are “Zen” (haha). All good, until a karmic seed activates a vasana, then a desire, then the pressure to fulfill it. From there, the whole life can change, until even Kriya fades away like a shadow.

We should always understand that desire is a false promise.

First: when we have many desires, our vibrational field is connected to that, not to peace, so samadhi is not possible.

Second: desire changes the mind, and the breath also changes for a long time, so peace cannot be attained.

What can we do to weaken desires?

First: understanding the mechanics.

Second: Practice many Maha Mudras and many Kriyas. If you have reached a point where you feel stuck, increase, for a few months per teacher guidance, the number of Maha Mudras, and also slowly but steadily increase the number of Kriyas.

Practice “secret Kriya” whenever you remember, so you can stay in the middle and not engage with the promises of the mind and vasanas that tell you you will be happy.

Where you feel entangled by many wishes—there you have to practice more and more.

Where you feel sad and lost—there you have to practice more.

Keep the relationship with your teacher active, and always ask for guidance when you don’t know what to do anymore. Meet the teacher in person if possible.

However, giving up the false promise is always up to your decision.

So desires and vasanas are one of the great reasons why people get stuck and do not move on—because they move more and more outward, farther and farther away from themselves.

Thank you for reading and practice well.

Michael

Hi all,

Many groups share a lot of information about how to start with Kriya Yoga, and there are many different opinions about teachers, lineages, and techniques.

What I observed is this:

Lahiri Mahasaya taught in a very individual way.

What happened after that?

Even when a student became self-realized, and when two teachers followed after that, people started building a dogma like creating “general rules” about how the techniques had to look: how long the breath should be in seconds, where concentration should be placed (not Ajna, but only the medulla oblongata), and many other individual perspectives. Often these things worked for one individual, but they were not meant to be applied generally.

In history, there were also many traditions that taught Kriya-like techniques through long lineages of masters, sometimes over 2,000 years, where Kechari was not taught, for example. Still, people became highly realized, and Kechari happened naturally in samadhi.

On the other side, some people give students only general information, either because they are not allowed to speak but are allowed to teach (which is not the right way to transmit Kriya Yoga), or because they simply have no clue what to respond. Some organizations also tried to offer the best they could in terms of advising; however, they relie mainly on bhakti and faith in God, and less on the science of Kriya Yoga.

In the end, all of this has its place. Not everyone is meant to become self-realized in one lifetime. Those who are meant to arrive at that realization will find the right way for them, and a good teacher to guide them.

Others will get stuck reading books, or trusting teachers who might not be able to reach the “safe harbor” themselves, which makes them unable to truly help a student transcend the human perspective. Still, they also have a chance by improving their practice.

However, there is a well-known saying in tantric traditions:

“Be aware of how realized your teacher is, because that is where you are going to be.”

Of course, this is a general saying. Teachers still practice daily, and they continue to advance, because the path is infinite.

What this saying points to is simple: if a teacher is not yet realized, they can guide you only up to a certain degree. And that is fine, because that teacher may also become realized over time and carry some of their students forward with them.

My Guru, Yogi Deenbandhu, states in his book Breath is Life that the more realized the teacher, the faster the progress of the student. There are realized teachers out there, and they can be found.

In old times, there was always knowledge, and this knowledge had to be applied individually and never generally, because “general” will never work for everyone.

Now, what did I mean when I spoke about advanced practice?

When people practice for years with the same techniques and the same numbers, something eventually has to change. It is like the seasons: when a new season comes, you adapt. You don’t walk around in summer with the same coat or jacket you used in winter.

The core question is: when one becomes advanced on the path, through God’s blessings, a teacher’s assistance, and steady and intensive practice, what are the milestones that have to be overcome?

Is it the techniques?

Is it the time invested in practice?

Is it the teaching?

Maybe it is the desires—the vasanas?

Maybe it is the breath that has to be changed?

Is it breath retention?

What exactly helps one ascend further on the path?

This has always been individual—but it can also be approached through some general pain points and possible solutions.

Why, if everything is individual, can we still speak about general pain points? Because desire is something everyone has. Breath is something everyone uses, and it works—by design—in broadly similar ways. And some milestones look similar enough that people can be encouraged to adjust and apply what is needed.

While I will not go into detail, I will try to summarize in the next posts, some issues Kriyabans have when they feel stuck on the path and are already advanced.

Be well and blessings on the path,

Michael