The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga [Paperback]

Goswami Kriyananda (Author), Eric Klein (Illustrator), Lynn Wallace-Mills (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2002

This fully illustrated book is the most complete text available on the theory and practice of Kriya Yoga. The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga takes the student step-by-step through the eight stages of Patanjali's Kriya Yoga system and contains extensive chapters on hatha yoga pranayama, mantra, meditation and samadhi. Goswami Kriyananda explicitly teaches how specific asanas can be used to balance each of the seven charkas. If you could only have one book on yoga, this would be it!

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

It is my sincere hope that you find this book meaningful in balancing your life and developing greater discipline, wisdom, and spiritual maturity. For over 40 years, the essence of my teaching has been the simple truth that the earth life and the spiritual life are one -- your life. I offer these teachings that you might find the bridge of wisdom that unites your inner and outer worlds.

You are the creative principle. Only you, for yourself, can take those teachings and make them your own, bringing you to the realization of your fullest potential. It is my continual meditation that your life be filled with ever greater wisdom, love, light, and laughter.

Goswami Kriyananda

From the Inside Flap

This text has been written to give you a deeper understanding of the basic why's and wherefore's of the philosophy and disciplines of yoga.

The Vishnu Purana, one of the ancient spiritual texts of India, points out that each and every person will know when mankind has entered the Dark Age (kali yuga): 'When society reaches the stage that property confers rank, where wealth becomes the only source of virtue, where passion is the sole bond between man and woman, and where falsehood is the source of success.'

The purpose of this text is to assist you in searching out the inner way. The inner way is the release from externalized values that have only mechanized and brutalized man's mind, causing him to destroy that which is beautiful and meaningful. This text is a spiritual map for the conquest of the inner life and the exploration of the cosmic universe that dwells within. Some of the more closely guarded secrets or techniques that will help you to walk the pathway are given. This, therefore, is a manual for mystics.

The purpose of this manual for mystics is to move you from the realms of secondary and tertiary thought back to the mainstream of primary cosmic consciousness. You can establish in a given lifetime perfect health, perfect happiness, or perfect knowledge. You can improve the karma of this lifetime!

This idea was eloquently expressed by a holy man in India. We were sitting in a railroad station. I asked him if the train was on time. He answered, adding,

Few souls are as noble as the locomotive, having the capacity to move in and of itself, and having the power to move others.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 365 pages
• Publisher: Temple of Kriya Yoga; 2 edition (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0961309911
• ISBN-13: 978-0961309916
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #376,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Don't Judge A Book By Its Title", October 13, 2002

By 

louienapoli "louieb" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga (Paperback)

Kriya Yoga refers to a specific meditation technique popularized in American by Paramahansa Yogananda in "Autbiography of A Yogi." Maddeningly, that book never reveals the technique, leaving the interested reader to send away to Yogananda's ashram for months of preliminary lessons before he is eligible for "initiation" into the core technique. I bought this book, "The Spiritual Science..." hoping the technique would be explained. It isn't. He explains pretty much everything else in Yoga, and does so quite well; the book is a good compendium of techniques. But the actual Kriya technique is only taught if you go visit his ashram in Chicago, according to a wispy-voiced woman I spoke to there. If you want to learn a straight version of the actual Kriya technique, buy The Sacred Science by Norman Paulsen. He's thrown in a lot of Christian theory and jargon, but the technique itself is what he learned from Yogananda, and he gives it to you in a clear and practical form. However, keep in mind that there is some controversy about whether the version of the Kriya technique that SRF teaches, as taught by Yogananda, was simplified for a western audience. Having learned another version of the technique from followers of Swami Hariharananda, and having read the SRF version, I can say only that the version I was taught seems more complete. The key difference being that, in the SRF version, in the core exercise the energy and breath are moved up and down the spine, as if the spine were a straw. In the version I learned, the breath is moved up the spine, around the top of the head where it passes through the crown chakra, and then down the front of the body, chakra by chakra, and up and around again and again, with other steps following the basic pranayama, and preceding it. Now, I cannot say whether one is more effective in inducing meditation, stilling the mind, raising the kundalini, fostering spiritual growth, and I suspect that it might be an individual thing. But the reader should understand that when one says "kriya yoga," the techniques differ considerably, with the guru who claims to be teaching Babaji's kriya yoga teaching still another variation that is quite dissimilar from what I have described. This of course leads to controversy: which is authentic? My advice: read as much as you can, then find a teacher with a solid lineage and learn that version of the technique first hand. While I have had an excellent experience with the Hariharananda group, I'm sure there are other teachers, including the SRF and those who studied there and started their own schools, as well as the author of this book. Meanwhile, practice what you read and see if it helps your meditation.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars comprehensive discussion of the eight limbs of yoga, June 14, 2006

By 

Nicholas Van Borst (new york) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga (Paperback)

this remarkable book remarkable is the only one I have found in English that presents and discusses the Eight Limbs as an interconnected system. it shows how the goal of each limb is to mobilize and transform energy inside the body in order to create the necessary conditions -- sattva -- for the attainment of cosmic consciousness. for this reason, I think this book ought to be read by all students of hatha yoga. I think it is the most comprehensive modern book on the esoteric (spiritual and energetic) side of hatha yoga practices that are becoming increasingly common in the West.

many other reviewers complain that this book does not teach kriya yoga. if by kriya yoga they mean the initiated teachings of paramhansa yogananda, they are correct. since kriyananda would be breaking his vows to include such teachings in a book he can hardly be blaimed; furthermore, kriya yoga lineages contend that initiation is an absolute necessity for the correct practice of those techniques.

if you want to learn the inner medititative teachings of yogananda's lineage, this is not the place to do it. unfortunately, since the publication of yogananda's autobiography a huge market has sprung up of people attempting to make a profit by claiming to offer a short-cut around the SRF's laborious route to yogananda's "secret" teaching. this is not such a book.

however, the contention that this book is not about kriya yoga, or that kriyananda fails to properly emphasize devotion, shows a lack of understanding about the philosophy and practice of kriya yoga in India. the word "kriya" means "activity" or "movement." it refers to the inner meditations of kriya yoga, but also to a number of cleansing techniques considered a part of hatha yoga. techniques in Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini Yoga are also called "kriyas" -- meaning a series of movements.

this book teaches a system of yoga that is in a kriya lineage. it is kriya yoga insofar as the teachings are presented as contributions to the evolution of a whole. it is the whole system that is "kriya," not the individual components. kriya yoga is not a mystical tradition distinct from other yogic teachings; they are part of the same complex mosaic.

as far as devotion, "Bhakti," in India it is viewed as technique among techniques. each student is expected to follow the predelictions of his or her own karma. Yogananda was devotional by nature, and so emphasized Bhakti. he is a Bhakti teacher and so he attracts students who are themselves Bhakti, hence his success among Christians. kriyananda seems to be more of a "Jnana" ("learning") teacher, so his writing will appeal to people with logical, scientific or musical temperaments. this is why there are many teachings. no one teaching is appropriate for all individuals.

these days, the inner "kriya" techniques of the Babaji/Yogananda lineage have the reputation of being some kind of spiritual magic bullet. whether or not that is true I do not know; I have not received them. this book does not claim to offer a magic bullet. instead it presents simple, direct steps to point you in the right direction. if you enjoy hatha yoga and have committed yourself to its study, you will be grateful for the insght contained in this book.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellant text on kriya yoga, March 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga (Paperback)

This text offers a very readable explanation of the practice and methodology of kriya yoga. It is a practical book yet contains the mystical wisdom of the ancient texts on kriya yoga. I recommend it for the beginner and the advanced student. It will change your life.