My initiation into Kriya Yoga

After I was asked to leave Parmath Niketan Ashram, I decided to move over to the big white dome-shaped ashram on the top of the hill, called the Kriya Yoga Ashram. I had dropped in the day before, attracted to its prominent stature in town and my pre-existing interest in Kriya Yoga. It had that sort of feeling to it, not necessarily a welcoming one, but one of a serious nature that you don't just drop into. Unlike Parmath, that has open gates during the daytime and is somewhat of a tourist attraction, I immediately sensed that the Kriya Yoga Ashram was not an attraction, but a serious place of practice.

One thing that gives off that vibe is that Kriya Yoga is protected. It is not offered freely to anyone who comes by. Ever since I read Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda, about a year ago, I became fascinated with the practice that the book really explains almost nothing about. Rather, it tells of the many stories of Yogananda, how he came to start practicing Kriya, and what kind of supernatural powers his masters were known for having. I would say most of the foreigners who end up at this ashram also come because they have read Autobiography of a Yogi, and want to know more.

I'm not really interested in developing supernatural powers, but my curiousity has been leading me to explore various paths and techniques for as long as I have been interested in spirituality. It's a good thing, really, to have this sort of curiosity, but it can be potentially dangerous unless you have a sort of  "spiritual sales resistance." Mine is strong, as I am quite skeptical of things of this matter in general and hesitant to buy-into anything. Also, I already have a practice, so I'm not shopping around for a new car, I'm just test driving them for the hell of it. I remember the first couple years of practicing Buddhist meditation, I'd always ask any teacher I came across about mixing different practices and traditions. Most told me don't do it, just find one and stick to it. But how do you know if you have found the right one?

Surely it is my skepticism and doubt in the beliefs of my homeland that has led me to be looking at eastern traditions in the first place, so does it really make sense to drop one thing and then just pick up the next, just like that? I don't think so, but those teachers did make a good point. If you just do a little of this and a little of that, you are only skimming off the top and you never allow yourself to go deep by fully committing yourself to one practice.  Now, some years later, I don't ask that question anymore, because I've already found my answer. I have my practice, which most of you know is vipassana meditation, and it comes from the Therevada Buddhist tradition of SE Asia. Additionally, I enjoy various forms of yoga, including Bhakti (devotional), Asana (physical postures), and Pranayama (breathing exercises). Not only that, but I'm open to try just about anything.

It is with this attitude that I came to be initiated into Kriya Yoga, which I have been practicing for the past few days now. When I first showed up with my bag, the guy look at me and reluctantly agreed to let me stay. "How long do you want to stay?" he asked. "I'm not sure, maybe 4 or 5 days," I said. "You can stay for no more than 2 nights," he replied. That ended up being a confirmation of that feeling I got, that this isn't just a place for anyone to come to. So I stayed for a couple days and liked the energy of the place quite a bit, even though I wasn't really participating in the morning and evening ceremonies that I later learned were compulsory. I wasn't quite ready to leave Rishikesh yet, and didn't want to relocate a third time, so I asked him if I could extend my stay a bit. "You want to stay longer?" he asked. "Yeah, it's very nice here, I don't want to leave yet." He sort of contemplated for a second, asked me what room I was in, and then said, "Okay, you can stay, but if we need your room, I'll let you know at least 2 days in advance."

The guy has ended up being probably the nicest Indian I've met on my entire trip so far, and I really wouldn't have ended up staying here if it wasn't for his kindness. It's interesting how I went from only having permission to stay for 2 days to being given an open-ended extension with the idea that I'd be given a 2-day notice to vacate. I tend to believe I was in a probation period those first two days, to see if they wanted to keep me around.

When I asked them if I could learn about Kriya here, he pointed me to a small flyer on the front door about the upcoming retreat with Per Wibe, a western teacher. I skimmed the details, but immediately dismissed it as a possibility. I wanted to stay focused with preparing for my upcoming yoga teacher training program and besides, it was a bit too expensive. But then something happened. While I was meditating in the main hall, during one of the evening ceremonies that I finally decided to join, I felt the energy of the place in a different way, and got a real sense of respect and admiration for the secretive and protected tradition, as well as all the masters that have handed it down throughout history. When I thought about it, I realized how many things had to go right for me to end up in the position I was in. I had to get kicked out of Parmath, I had to stumble into this ashram and then be reluctantly allowed to stay. Then, instead of leaving as instructed, I had to ask for permission to stay longer, the permission had to be granted, and then on top of all of that, there just happened to be an 8-day retreat starting during my stay.

I was already signed up for a 3-day retreat at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery at the end of the month, so I wouldn't be able to do the full 8 days, but the Kriya retreat happened to allow the option to participate in only the first 4 days. Out of all the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have read and been intrigued by Autobiography of a Yogi, how many of them have the opportunity to be initiated just fall into their lap? At that moment, while meditating, I realized I had to do it, and that it was crazy to think that I was almost about to let it slip through my fingers.

Today, being day 4, I'm just kind of finishing up and getting ready to head north to the Tibetan monastery, and looking back on this experience, I feel I made the right decision. But again, it was actually the main guy who works here that proved to be the deciding factor, because when I failed to find flowers in time for the initiation ceremony, I had given up, and resorted to looking at exit travel plans online in the lobby. When he walked by, he stopped, and asked why I wasn't getting initiated. "I don't know, I got lost in town and couldn't find the flower shop, and then just got stressed out about it and came back." He could obviously sense my disappointment. His eyes got big, and he eagerly insisted I follow him outside, where he proceeded to run around barefoot, plucking the 5 different types of flowers needed for the ceremony from the garden, and handed them to me. Actually, he had plucked 6. Then, he escorted me into the meditation hall and collected some cushions for me to sit on. I was pretty embarrassed, basically arriving 30 minutes late at this point, and would have never had the nerve to do it if it hadn't been for him. "It's okay, it's okay, you should initiate, it's good luck for you," he insisted with a genuine smile.

And just like that, I came to learn the technique as taught by Mahavatar Babaji, who taught it to Lahiri Mahasaya, who then taught it to Sri Yukteswar Giri, who in turn taught it to Paramahansa Yogananda and Swami Narayana Giri, who in turn taught it to Swami Shankarananda Giri, who in turn taught it to Per H. Wibe, who in turn taught it to me.

I must say, I've never quite felt anything quite like the power and energetic forces of this technique. I can't tell you what the technique is, but I can say it deals with using the breath to move energy through the body with the powers of attention and observation, breath retention, compression, stretching, and the chakras. Although I'd say it takes me to a plane of consciousness I've never been to before, it doesn't compare, for me, to the step-by-step progression that is paved with wisdom in the Buddha's path to liberation. In Kriya, I get a really good "high" from it, but after 10 or 15 minutes, it wears off, and to get it back, I need to do Kriya again. I'm sure there are some wonderful things at work here, with this technique, such as cleansing of the body and purification of the mind, but it's all a bit of a mystery. You don't quite understand how you get to that plane of consciousness, so in that way, you don't know how to get back there when it goes away. On the contrary, with the Buddhist practice of insight meditation, you are fully aware of each step of the way, and at any point, you can easily turn around and understand how you got to where you are. Not only that, but you can also share that insight with others, both because of the clarity of the wisdom and the lack of secrecy in the tradition.

So I've test driven another car, had a wild ride, and am looking forward to getting back to the basics of Buddhism (although Tibetan Buddhism isn't so basic). All this esoteric type stuff sure is interesting, and exciting, but it's just not quite right for me. I think the more I experience, the more open-minded I become, and the more I can accept the validity of different paths, even without completely buying into them. Instead of seeing my path as being the only path, I can see that it might just be the right path for me, but not for someone else. Although we are all, in-essence, one, it's important to understand and celebrate our diversity. If everyone in the world was a Buddhist, it would be boring, and it just wouldn't make sense. Ancient traditions need to be preserved, and thereby by accessible to future generations, that might just find them as being the perfect path for them. Maybe someday, my kids will read Autobiography of a Yogi, be initiated in Kriya, and become full-fledged Kriyabans. If that day comes, I won't be disappointed.

May all beings be open and receptive to signs that might lead them to new opportunities.

May all beings be willing to accept and celebrate the diversity of humanity.

May all beings come to know themselves through their own efforts.


To learn more about Kriya Yoga, Per Wibe, and the beautiful ashram here in Rishikesh, please visit:

http://www.kriyabanservice.com

To learn more about Paramahansa Yogananda, the author of Autobiography of a Yogi, who brought Kriya Yoga to the United States in the early 1900's and started the Self-Realization Fellowship, which has its international headquarters in Los Angeles and over 500 centers worldwide, visit:

http://www.yogananda-srf.org