ahead on the Kriya path utilizing only the techniques that can be obtained by the organizations that spread P.Y.'s teachings. 14
Apart from the technique of Kechari Mudra, often quoted in P.Y.'s writings and surely practiced by him, they don't feel the necessity of mixing P.Y.'s techniques with other spiritual procedures. They feel they are P.Y.'s disciples and believe that by adopting other teachings is equivalent to betray him. When I followed P.Y.'s teachings, our meditation counselor explained that the worst evil was disloyalty toward Guru and his organization. With the term ''disloyal'' she meant even just reading what other persons who abandoned the organization had written about Kriya Yoga.
Now, if this is the situation, what is the point adding here a document for them? Once my book appeared on the Web, an intense email exchanges with various researchers faithful to P.Y. happened. Receiving email from them was a pleasant surprise. After having said in a clear way that they did not approve my decision to write in such explicit way the Kriya techniques as some disciples of Lahiri Mahasaya were spreading, they asked precise questions about Kriya simplifications as given by their Guru to vast audiences. They would like to have at least an idea of what P.Y. taught to his closest disciples.
Often I personally met these students. They always struck me with their extraordinary commitment to the regular practice of Kriya. They studied all Kriya material written or dictated by P.Y. and often remembered verbatim key quotations from that material. Although unsatisfied with their understanding of the subtle mechanism underlying the Kriya procedures and tormented by many doubts, they never dismissed the practice. I had no doubts they were following the Kriya path not for esoteric curiosities but for one reason only: to surpass the boundaries of their mind and merge with the Ineffable. I was surprise when one of the, discussing about the role of Kriya organizations, assured me that he wanted God, and not someone
14 P.Y.'s techniques are not described here in detail. We assume the reader of this appendix knows them. The symbols K1, K2, K3 e K4 refer to the four Kriyas in the way P.Y. taught them. Therefore, when you read "K2", remember that we are referring to the particular technique of the Second Kriya as it was given by P.Y. and not to the Second Kriya given by other lineages!
there blocking the light of the sun pretending they're God.
They gave the impression of being honest researchers and always guaranteed that no nonsense would ever slip out of their mouths. I learned to listen to them respectfully and silently whenever they corrected some of my fancy interpretations of Kriya Yoga. Many, without being exhibitionist, were able to quote by heart many passages from the works of P.Y.. They had read and re-read through those texts several times trying to decode them.
My relationship with those researchers was based on real affection and it never came to disagreement, bitterness or formality They were always generous toward me and respectful of my personality. While passionately sharing everything they had learned, no matter if it cost them a great deal of time, effort and money, they never did they try to force something on me.
Our meetings were stimulating events that afforded me plenty of food for thought. They always came out with something new that spurred me on to create my personal vision of the Kriya path. Meeting such ardent devotees meant for me finding again, reflected in their eyes, the ''gold'' that once lighted my life when for the first time I skimmed through the pages of the famous P.Y.'s autobiography.
Main discussion
First of all there was the old question: ''Which is better, mouth or nose Pranayama''? Some knew that a few direct disciples of P.Y. practiced with mouth closed.
As for Kechari Mudra I was glad to see that a good numer of kriyabans had achieved it – some having applied the classic exercise of Talabya Kriya from my book, others by following the tips found in a Yoga web site. 15 One of them had a strange opinion: he stated that Pranayama with Kechari was too ''weak'', being deprived of the strong sensations in the spine that you feel with mouth Pranayama. It was clear that my fried had tormented himself for a long time before taking his decision to give up Kechari Mudra.
My firm points are the following:
[1] In my opinion, the hypothesis that only mouth-Pranayama causes the energy to flow through the Sushumna channel – implying that the lateral 15 P.Y. in his writings and in his talks gave the definition of Kechari Mudra without introducing any practical exercises to be performed over a certain period of time in order to achieve it.
currents of Ida and Pingala have no role – is baseless. During the first Kriya breaths (unless you have mastered the Samadhi state) Ida and Pingala do have a role.
The cold sensation during inhalation and the warm sensation during exhalation are the effect of these two lateral currents. Sushumna current manifest later when our breathing rate and pattern change; breath becomes increasingly ethereal, subtle and internal, mirroring the state in the womb. At that time the real Om sound is perceived. Perhaps students of P.Y.'s teachings have never heard of the possibility of listening to the Om sound during Kriya Pranayama, without closing their ears. It happens indeed, and it fills your heart with inexpressible joy.
[2] Mouth-Pranayama has the remarkable power of granting a clear cold current sensation during inhalation and a warm current sensation during exhalation. These sensations happen almost immediately in the throat and, after some breaths, start to happen in the spine. Those sensation attract the totality of your awareness to the spine. This is indubitable. Therefore it is reasonable to start Kriya Pranayama in this way, for a moderate number of breaths , even after achieving Kechari Mudra.
[3] Mouth-Pranayama, when large numbers are involved (more than 48) may induce a state of tension. This event becomes marked when one approaches a hundred of repetitions. Surely in that state the energy does not flow through Sushumna. During the practice of Kriya Pranayama in great numbers, one should let the intensity of the two sensation decrease. At the same time, a kriyaban should increase the awareness of the Chakras and enjoy the sweetness emanating from them. The sound of the breath will not disappear: it is destined to become clean as that of a flute. This sound cannot be learned during initiation but it is experienced after years of committed practice. It has been explained that: ''The flute-like sound appears only when the spine is clean like the empty tube we visualize during Kriya Pranayama.''
[4] Those who are not satisfied with their perception of the movement of Prana along the spine, should add to Maha Mudra some moderate exercises for the spine: especially lateral bending and torsion. Nadi Sodhana Pranayama can be practiced with great benefit before Maha Mudra: it helps to remove the obstacles that block the door of the Sushumna.
[5] Some kriyabans have not understood what to do after the practice of Kriya proper or after Jyoti Mudra. One should not simply remain immovable waiting for the time go by ... like one who is awaiting that the
shot of medicine given into a muscle by an injection spreads pacifically and is possible to stand up and walk without compromising the action of such treatment.
A famous disciple of P.Y. said that after Kriya Pranayama, it is good to move your awareness up and down along the spine pausing in each Chakra.
Only after having clarified these points we discussed about the basic technique Hong so and Om. They appreciate the following remarks.
Hong So
This is not a technique that gives you as by magic the ability of concentration if you do not already possess it! Whoever decides to practice it seriously must be endowed with the ability to maintain a high level of concentration during all the practice.
As you know, the procedure starts with two breathing exercises. Literature explains that they oxygenate the blood and calm the system. This is true, however it is not difficult to acknowledge that they put into motion the essential mechanism of Kriya Pranayama – mixing and balancing Prana and Apana. Because of that you could have very intense spiritual experiences. Paradoxically they could diminish when you start the practice of Kriya proper. 16
As for the Hong-sau Mantra it should not be taken as a "magical formula" which when repeated many times produces invariably a precise effect. 17
This Mantra should be blended with your breath, of which you must be constantly aware. If you relax your keen awareness of it and remain there as if hypnotized by the pleasing sound of the two syllables Hong and Sau, you shall be disappointed. Your mind will not be prone to being internalized and then won't surrender to the meditative state. Now let me dwell upon two technical details.
The first technical detail (which sounds very strange to many students) is to never establish a rhythm in the mental chanting of Hong Sau. The mental chant of this Mantra, repeated over and over, can easily and naturally conform to a hard-to-change rhythm. Well, in that case, the rhythm of your
16 This will surely happen, if you choose to follow a routine which, instead of cooperating with the process of calming the Prana in the body, produce the contrary effect.
17 This techniques is also taught with Sau during inhalation and Hong during exhalation. You discover that the effect is same.
breath will never settle down! Once the rhythm has stabilized itself, even if the body "could" physiologically stay off-breath for some instants, the breathing process will continue implacably.
There are students who don't realize they are in the condition of living the emancipating experience of the breathless state. It suffice never establish that rhythm.
Don't permit that the implacable rhythm of the litany: ''Hong So, Hong So, Hong So, Hong So...'' marches onward like the clackerty clack of the wheels of a train. After inhalation or after exhalation, always wait for the impulse to breathe to appear. Do not let that the following exhalation or inhalation be started by the tendency to follow a rhythm. When there are the physiological conditions that a pause can naturally appear, allow it to appear and exist. Enjoy the beauty of this pause, no matter if it lasts just an instant! Students who abide by this principle will soon verify, in a very impressive way, how this small detail is sufficient to ease the breath off. Go ahead patiently with this procedure and you will enter such a beautiful state that the idea of losing it to practice another technique will be seen as a violence.
The second technical detail concerns the pause after inhalation. It takes into account an important factor: in normal, not controlled, breathing there is the tendency to exhale immediately just after inhalation. [Inhaling, the rib cage expands and gets into an elastic tension. If there is no control, this elastic force, even if it is minimal, is released immediately after inhalation.] If you want to practice the Hong Sau technique in the best of the ways, you should control the natural reflex to exhale as soon as the inhalation is completed. This is possible only in one way: after inhalation wait calmly and without any forcing the stimulus to exhale. Accept that the rib cage remains expanded and therefore in slight tension for some instants. When, after this pause, the stimulus to exhale appears, you exhale.
Putting the above two details into practice, a "virtuous circle" between this growing calmness and the reduced necessity of oxygen might start. This leads to an extraordinarily result even for those who deem they are only clumsy beginners.
Remark
The principles learned in Hong So can be applied after Kriya Pranayama, while you move your awareness up and down along the dorsal spine.
You can visualize the breath (always short, calm, spontaneous breath) going up and down with Hoooong and Soooo. This breath is a natural, short
breath, not the strong one of Kriya Pranayama. Being aware of the spine calms the breath enormously. When the breath subsides and becomes so short that the procedure is on the verge of evaporating into nothing, try to feel this short breath happening in each Chakra. You can ''devote'' each breathing act to a different Chakra. One short, almost invisible breath happens in Muladhara and it is blended with the soothing chant of Hong So -- a peaceful vibration in a silent mind. Then place your concentration on the second Chakra: another breath happens there, then another breath happens in the third Chakra ... and so on... up and down along the spine... until there is no more breath, only Hong So like a micro movement, in each Chakra.
Om technique
Contrarily to what some students think, this technique works. And it works only if you practice it as it is taught: in the recommended position, with arm rest, closing as it is written, no ear plugs while mental chanting of Om infinite times, with total commitment to internal listening.
When your hands become paralyzed and you won't sense them anymore, that is the moment to keep on undeterred. Then you will have the experience. Usually you do not notice the exact instant when you start listening to the internal sounds. Whatever sound you perceive, no matter if indefinable and evanescent, be confidently calm and attune devoutly to it.
Many are unsuccessful because they are always on the alert and don't reach the right degree of relaxation. What you need is the ability to switch easily between phases of sleep and wakefulness. This is perhaps the most important ability one has to develop. Useless to say that this is developed in time and is valuable in all phases of Kriya.
Great internal experiences come from this meditation technique. Your efforts will create something of amazing beauty.
Higher Kriyas
For many kriyabans the crisis with their Kriya organization began when their request to have a seminar on the Higher Kriyas received an incomprehensible, anachronistic ''NO''. They would have greatly appreciated a seminar on the Higher Kriyas where not only the technical details were demonstrated but also a theoretical scheme had been given, providing devotees with resources to conceive – and subsequently improve – their routine in the best of the ways.
The meetings organized to review the basic teachings, no matter how many times they were repeated along the years, were always a source of inspiration and encouragement. They offered different resources to boost our intuition to take our practice to a level of success we never even dreamed possible. The disappointment of not getting this opportunity also
in the field of the Higher Kriyas was unbearably bitter. 18
Let us consider the teaching that in the original Kriya is called Thokar. In the writings of P.Y., this teaching is described in clear way and does not lend itself to wrong interpretations. What a student misses is a guide that shows the actual practice and gives some guideline about how to include it within one's Kriya routine. Kriyabans should know that K3 is not destined to be one day dropped forever for the K4. K3 gives results different from K4. Insofar those who decide to move immediately to K4 lose the effect of K3 forever. Unfortunately, when kriyabans receive K3 and K4, they are not able to resist the temptation of trying K4 on the spot – "if it leads to Samadhi, why not try it now"? After about 15 - 20 rotations, Kumbhaka becomes stressful. Instead of giving up, they repeat the same attempt a couple of times, while discomfort increases and a feeling of nausea or dizziness goes on launching its alarm signals. Eventually they stop, defeated. The gain is zero, less than zero! Not only they have not obtained the slightest trace of Samadhi, but they have lost the initial tranquil state. The written teachings provided by the school were indeed ambiguous; for example, the Mantra was presented in an unusual way; a pronunciation especially created for English speakers (Om naw maw bhaw….) was the substitute for its actual syllables. This explanation was not integrated by a note reporting the true and commonly adopted spelling of the Mantra.
Apart from that, the Mantra was written with 12 separated syllables, as if it was not 1 Mantra but 12 different Mantras. The average reader would not recognize ''Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya'' at all, thus trying in vain to imagine the origin and the meaning of each syllable, as if each one was a strange bija Mantra.
Besides, hinting at that technique, the term ''rotation of the head'' was utilized, while the movement, as it was described, was not a real rotation but a ''triangular'' movement.
Now, having clarified this, what can I add here? I will share a particular approach to draw the maximum from K3 instructions. This approach is divided in two parts.
First part
What I suggest is to devout some months to the practice of K3 without the head movements, focusing solely upon the movement of the energy piercing each Chakra and Kutastha. This leads to gain mastery in the art of 18 We know that recently a couple of the organizations based upon P.Y.'s legacy proved to have understood that it doesn't pay to behave in such a way and give regular initiation into Higher Kriyas.
astral diving through the spinal tunnel.
Practice the K3 instructions in immobility – without moving your head. Inhale placing the syllables where prescribed; intensify the awareness at the point between the eyebrows and apply continuously the mental pressure at the base of the spinal column and at the abdominal region. Exhalation begins immediately after the concentration at the point between the eyebrows. The current is guided into the prescribed centers: Medulla, cervical, heart, lumbar, sacral and coccyx. While vibrating the syllables in