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Sacred Science : Meditation, Transformation, Illumination

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Paulsen lays out the technique of kriya yoga as taught to him by Paramahansa Yogananda. The method is made plain sans correspondence courses and elaborate barriers to initiation. And the method is the most fulfilling and potent system of meditation I've found, after twenty years of experimenting with other techniques. If you read Autobiography of A Yogi and wanted to learn kriya but never got around to it, this is the book for you.

I've been doing meditation on and off for a while now, with various techniques and durations, with no unusual results (yes, yes, I understand that the meditation is a gradual process and it's misguided to expect instant, especially physical, results, but...) The very day I got I got this book I read it, and tried the technique it mentions and much to my surprise, it elicited a pretty powerful vibrational state that I had only once experienced before. I tried the technique again the next day and found that it worked again. This technique also gave me the ability to focus (no other method I've used before did that)! It's only been a couple days since I've had the book, so it's hard to say how far this technique will take me, but it definitely seems to be a good start. Surely, there are more Kriya Yoga techniques out there-- I'm joining SRF to learn them-- this book has a simple technique that got me started on something good.

Norman Paulsen, ordained in Kriya Yoga by his teacher Paramahansa Yogananda, writes about his direct experiences of cosmic consciousness. Through his profound experiences and the unfolding of their mysteries, Paulsen shares so humbly in this book and the accompanying video, Sacred Science of Meditation his realizations of the cosmology of the creation and the existence of the sacred cosmic forces of I Am That I Am.
I have found that the path of right living described in this book has helped me find that place of stillness within me, that seat of intuition, that place that Jesus said, "Be still and know that I Am God." But most of all, with diligent practice and great desire, I have experienced that pearl of great price about which Norman speaks, that briliance of God entering into me and changing my life forever. If this is what you are looking for, this book and video can be a valuable tool to you in whaterver religious practice you pursue.
Norman's life demonstrates that the realizations and teachings of Kriya are not limited to just one group. Nor can God be institutionalized.
Paulsen's fearlessness and courage are a contribution to all humanity, and toward religious tolerance and God realization, subjects his beloved teacher Yogananda strongly pursued..

I consider the teachings and meditation technique taught in this book to be my most precious possessions, because these practices have allowed me to open my inner doors to union with the Divine. I prayed for peace of mind, and I prayed to know who "I AM" really is, and this technique was my answer. It allows me to quiet my mind enough to experience the endless expanse and utter freedom of God's pure consciousness. In quieting my mind, I find to my delight, that JOY is the essence of who we all really are. You can discover this! This essence of JOY will gives you guidance and answers on life's difficult journey. It will help you live your life in love and service, helping to transform our suffering world from the inside out.

I am a diciple of Paramahansa Yogananda (member of SRF). I am also initiated into Kriya Yoga which Normal Paulsen claims to be giving out in this book. This is a great book no doubt.. While I would probably recommand this book to only few people.. he is not giving you the complete set. Mr. Paulsen only gives out a small portion (he also changed some stuff and not included the others) of what is Kriya Yoga. Not only that, but there are additional levels or initiations of Kriya Yoga which you will not be getting. Your not even getting the first initiation. There are very important parts to the the first initiation of the kriya yoga technique which are not given in this book. Kriya Yoga is a very powerful technique. It is like sending 1000 watts into a 50 watt light bulb. With SRF, you are given very powerful techniques to start you off, enabling you to be able to handle the power of the Kriya Yoga technique*S* that you get later on. Through these start off techniques, you learn how to enter the breathless state.. how to see the spiritual eye... and how to hear the cosmic OM vibration. Not only that, but you get such extrodinary additional lessons. Even Kriya Yoga has very important lessons that come with the techniques. There is so much you need to learn.. that is just not covered in this book.

I would suggest people to buy this book and read it.. If you feel drawn to the path that is talked about in here.. then I would suggest you goto the original source (Self-Realization Fellowship) and get the whole package.

I have a lot of experience w/ Kriya Yoga. I've read nearly all the print information and practiced the various Kriya Yoga methods. I hope what I have learned will help others.

I read nearly all of Yogananda's books, experienced a retreat at SRF, and then began the Yogananda SRF Lessons but quit after 3 months because of the lack of technique and excessive praise of God and Guru.

I've read Norman Paulsen's Kriya Yoga book and very much enjoyed it. I loved the illustrations, stories, and that the Kriya techniques were given. However, Paulsen had modified the Yogananda Kriya - adding Kechari Mudra (a plus), color visualization (neutral), and removing the OM-ing (a minus). Paulsen's Kriya Yoga is good, but not authentic. Granted, Babaji did visit Paulsen and give him the modified format, saying it was better for modern Westerners. I think this is because the color visulation helps focus our active minds and the OM holds little meaning in our culture. However, the OM's vibrational signature is very powerful. Again, like Yogananda, Paulsen emphasized lots of "pray to God with all your heart to reveal himself to you".

I've also taken a workshop with Shibendu Lahiri, the grandson of Lahiri Mahasaya, Yogananda's Guru's Guru, and founder of Kriya Yoga. Shibendu Lahiri teaches the original method that Babaji gave to his grandfather. Shibendu emphatically emphasizes technique and proper attitude and beliefs. Missing 100% is the Yogananda-esque "God save me" attitude that Paulsen and Yogananda share (an atitdue that Yogananda adopted to appeal to the early 1900's American Christain culture).

So why don't I like Yogananda's "pray to God to reveal Thyself" attitude?

There are a few reasons. The core reason being that this attitude is based on the belief that God is separate and outside oneself. This attitude is the only thing that needs to be cleared up. Remove the belief that God is separate and you will begin to experience God and Self and World as One 'thing' or 'experience'. Basing one's actions on this belief of separateness, without addressing the false belief first, will only add more layers of false knowledge on top of the illusion, ultimately making the Yoga or 'union' more difficult.

Like Ramana Maharshi said "You impose limitations of yourself and then make a vain struggle to transcend them."

"You speak as if you are here and the Self is somewhere else and you had to go and reach it. But in fact, the Self is here and now, and you are always It."

Shibendu held an atitude more similiar to Ramana Maharshi than Yogananda. Shibendu said do the Kriyas daily, let the Kriyas work in their own way, and forget about the goal. Allow the Kriyas to clean the mind and body so that the ever-present truth will be revealed.

Kriya yoga is a great method to remove the clouds (false thoughts, feelings, and beliefs) from within our sky (awareness). These Kriya techniques will burn up karma (blockages) within our physical, mental, and emotional bodies, so that we realize what we have always been. There is not something outside of ourselves to attain, nor some "God" to save us. Everything is God - period. We may just need to clean up ourselves to realize it.

For more information about why and how these Kriyas (and Yogic techniques) in general work, read Yogani's AYP manual (the big book). Yogani's explaination of spinal breathing, mantra, and meditation is the best I've found yet.

Adding the AYP understanding to your Kriya practice is of paramount importance.

Sacred Science is an important book, making advanced knowledge of Kriya Pranayama (yogic breath control) available to the public for the first time. Not only that, it provides one of the clearest discussions you will find anywhere on our spiritual origins, and what is necessary to complete the journey home.

As a long time practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, I have found this knowledge to be valuable, not because TM is inadequate in any way, but because Kriya Pranayama enhances the power of the TM and TM/Sidhis program many-fold. Thank you Mr. Paulsen!

Suffering is the golden cross upon which the rose of the Soul unfoldeth.(Tibetan Archives)
Norman Paulsen, is the articulate expression of the Christ essence (consciousness) within the core of my being, that I have felt only through hints and hunches over many years. He has shown me in a small (yet infinite in the heights of wisdom) book, how when the mind is practicing sincerely, the Eightfold Path and the Twelve Virtues, our seemingly unconquerable circumstances can be used as an opportunity for Growth; how we can use our stumbling blocks as the stepping stones by which we can grow into the mind of I Am That I Am. This method is great, for all too often I observe how we allow our difficulties and adversities to distract and impede our growth into Christ consciousness. When understanding fully the hidden blessings that I Am That I Am places in every adversity, I truly think we can view what some see as a burden (or curse or bad luck) as nourishing water to the rose of our soul; as the resistance needed to build the strength of our will, just as weight-lifters use resistence to build muscle mass!"
I once felt as if my circumstances were a curse or some unfortunate bad luck, that I should accept and succumb to, but that was before I was told, and then experienced, the rapture of being in the presence of the pure self-soul-consciousness within, which is beyond imperfections and mistakes made by the will. I now feel that nothing can take away from the purity of my soul; that no pain, adversity or difficulty can touch the pure self within, for it is immune to all pain! It is our selfish ego which experiences the pain that we think, in our limited knowledge of self, the pure self shares. This may be the furthest from the truth.
Reading, studying and applying the profound wisdom in Sacred Science, by Norman Paulsen, has caused the seed of perfection within to gradually unfold into 100% Christ Consciousness, the true goal in life. Now I feel that any sentient being can apply and eventually experience that rapture of being at one with the Universal Intelligence: I Am That I Am.
K L Williams

Sacred Science gives a clear step by step approach to the ancient meditation technique called Kriya Yoga, as it was received by the author from his guru, Paramahansa Yogananda. By combining the twelve virtues and the eightfold path of right living (also known from Christianity and Buddhism), this book becomes very useful for people living in the modern world and in a western lifestyle.

With great illustrations, uncomplicated language, and structured layout, this book is great both for the beginner and the more advanced meditator. I highly recommend this book and hope you will find the joy of making meditation a part of your daily life.

I have practiced meditation for over 20 years, and this book gives a complete explanation of the Kriya yoga meditation technique, as well as lessons on living a life of virtue and the "Rainbow Path" of right living. There are several reviews stating that this is not the Kriya technique of Self Realization Fellowship, which is true. In his book "Christ Consciousness", Mr. Paulsen writes about his time living with Yogananda. Mr Paulsen's Kriya technique has been fine-tuned through his own Divine experiences. This book is transformational and has been a great help to me personally and furthered my own spiritual growth and fulfillment.