THE FIRST STAGE OF KRIYA YOGA AND FIRST LEVEL OF SAMADHI By Paramahamsa Hariharananda Kriya Yoga technique is the essence of the karma yoga, raja yoga, and bhakti yoga methods propounded by Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad the Bhagavad Gita. Kriya Yoga Yoga is the applied part of the yoga scripture; that is why we call it the scientific method of cultivating od!reali"ation# $ccording to Lord Sri Krishna, he taught this immortal yoga to %ivasvan &Sun od', who conveyed it to (anu, his son, and (anu imparted it to his son, )kshvaku# *hus, handed down from father to son, this yoga come to the knowledge of the rajarshis &+oyal rajarshis &+oyal Sages'# ut, through the long lapse of time, it more or less disappeared# Subsequently, the Lord taught this sacred yoga to $rjuna and other -andavas# *his yoga was fundamentally meant for householders for their Self!reali"ation# *he famous sages like %yasa, %asishtha, %asishtha, .anaka, %almiki %almiki and -arashara practiced this Kriya Yoga Yoga in the midst of their family life and reached the divine goal# *his yoga occupied an important place in the Bhagavad the Bhagavad Gita and in the earlier philosophical yoga treatise of -ata/jali# ut in the course of time, the yoga taught by Lord Krishna was neglected again and almost disappeared due to chaotic conditions con ditions in the social life of )ndia# $ new era was ushered in during the mid!01th century when the immortal abaji (aharaj gave a scientific orientation to this yoga# *hrough h is householder disciple, Lahiri (ahasaya, he offered this Kriya Yoga Yoga for the spiritual betterment of the human race# 2is disciple Shriyukteshwar transmitted the Kriya Yoga teachings to his student, -aramahamsa Yogananda, who was destined to spread the teachings widely in the 3est after he moved to 4alifornia in the 0156s# )n the ne7t 86 years, Yogananda Yogananda initiated over one hundred thousand 3e 3esterners sterners in the first Kriya technique# *his powerful spiritual transmission laid the foundation in $merica for the popularity of the yoga movement, which is still blossoming# blossoming# 3ith 3ith the goal of deepening this process of Soul cultivation, here is a brief description of all si7 si7 Kriyas as they were taught by abaji to Lahiri (ahasaya# )t is impossible to practice them without personal instruction from another evolved soul or a qualified Kriya Yoga Yoga (aster# ut the knowledge of o f this path may act as a beacon that guides you in your spiritual journey, and will assist you in understanding the practical yoga of od reali"ation taught in the Bhagavad the Bhagavad Gita. )n the first Kriya, by activating the od!reali"ation process in the spine, you can convert your ordinary mind into higher consciousness and e7p erience the triple divine qualities of inner light, sound and blissful vibration# y touching your head to the ground, you magneti"e the spine and the frontal lobe of the brain and begin to feel the divine light there#
You watch the power of od travelling up and down the seven!story elevator &the seven major chakras of the body', giving power to our brain and Soul# *he first five floors are the 9devil:s kingdom9, where human ignorance and evil wander about# loors si7 and seven are the kingdom of heaven, where od is directly activating everything# *he first Kriya draws the kundalini shakti, which is the dormant, unevolved, divine or atom power, from the coccygeal centre to the pituitary and above# *he meditator can feel that some divine current and light are moving up and down in the spine# Mahamudra &some physical postures' cultivates the body, thereby charging your vital organs, cardiac, gastrointestinal and other biological functions# *his enables you to g ather the spiritual harvest of the entire body and Soul# 3hen your mind, intellect, thought and ego are calmed, then you can hear the divine sound, the invisible talk of od# *hrough practice, you hear this sound continually# *his is called anahata dhwani, or non!stopping divine sound# )n first Kriya the meditator can get subhechha samadhi or deep desire for od!reali"ation# *hat arises when you get super!sensation in the body and great calmness#
