Higher Kriya Techniques

Introduction

It is said that Kriya Yoga meditation has existed from the beginning of creation- that it is the real meditation, the essence of life. There have been long periods when this knowledge was nearly lost. When we are born on the earth we start to breathe, and when our body dies the breath leaves the body. The breath is a connection to the Creator, to God, to the Great Silence in Life. Kriya means breath, life-force and life itself.

The practice of Kriya Yoga, using the breath and the attention, dissolves difficulties or hindrances in specific energy centres in the spine. It is said that each centre or chakra carries different general human problems. The purpose with the practice is to dissolve knots and hindrances so that the life-force can freely move upwards and downwards in the spine. The consciousness is lifted to higher levels as it simultaneously descends and enriches all parts of our lives. In this way silence and dynamic activity are integrated into oneness and duality in a state of total unity consciousness, realization of the true reality.

If we imagine a water pipe that is blocked, the stream of water is hindered. Then we need to remove the blockage with a stick or something similar. The stick is the breath and the attention, the water pipe is the spine and the hindrances are the stone or the lump of soil. The energy that moves up and down the spine is being hindered.

The higher Kriya Yoga techniques are available to those who make sincere efforts on the spiritual path. Only personal meditation experience gives meaning to higher Kriya Yoga practices. To be initiated into the third Kriya, stable and long-term practice of the first and second Kriya is required. It is not beneficial to receive the third Kriya too early as it may lead to a cessation of practice. In reality, the way of thinking is reversed in the third Kriya. If understanding is not latent through long practice, it is not possible to benefit from the technique. The experience of the third Kriya entails more subtle levels of silence in the higher chakras (energy centres).

The fourth Kriya is the main entrance to the real Kriya and usually requires years of meditation. Stable practice of the first, second and third Kriyas leads the breath to “jump” to the fourth Kriya almost by itself. When this occurs, we are sometimes ready without even knowing it ourselves. In any case, if you have practiced for a long time, you may feel that something new is happening. A student who had meditated for several decades called me and told about his recent intense experience of silence. He said that he now understood what Kriya really was and what it meant for him. Strangely enough, I had just been thinking about him and had already decided to initiate him into the fourth Kriya the next time we were to meet.

The fifth, sixth and seventh Kriyas are fundamentally different from the other techniques. The chakras melt together into a single field at the same time as they move and become integrated into concrete, physical reality. Insight into subtle connections emerges. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” and Babaji said, “You understand and your master will confirm”. It is difficult to elaborate on these techniques. I will only add that the seventh Kriya is the end of Yoga. After this, Kriya is the sole focus.