A Beginner's Meditation

1) Prayer:

As taught by Paramahansa Yogananda

After you are established in the meditation posture, begin by offering God a prayer from your heart, expressing your devotion and asking His blessings on your meditation.
2) Tense and Relax to Remove All Stress Inhale, tensing the whole body and clenching the Relax all the body parts at once and, as you do

fists. so, expel the breath through the mouth in a double exhalation,huh, huh. Repeat this practise three to six times.Then forget the breath. Let it flow in and out naturally, of its own accord, as in ordinary breathing.
3) Focus Attention at the Spiritual Eye

With the eyelids half closed (or completely closed, if this is more comfortable to you), look upward, focusing the gaze and the attention as though looking out through a point between the eyebrows. (A person deep in concentration often knits his brows at this spot.) Do not cross the eyes or strain them; the upward gaze comes naturally when one is relaxed and calmly concentrated. What is important is fixing the whole attention at the point between the eyebrows. This is the Kutastha or Christ Consciousness centre, the seat of the single eye spoken of by Jesus: The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light (Matthew 6:22). When the purpose of meditation is fulfilled, the devotee finds his consciousness automatically concentrated at the spiritual eye, and he experiences, according to his inner spiritual capacity, a state of joyous divine union with Spirit. It takes deep concentration and calmness to behold the spiritual eye: a golden halo surrounding a circle of blue, in the centre of which palpitates a five-pointed white star. Those who do see the spiritual eye should strive to penetrate it by deeper concentration and by devoted prayer to God. The depth of calmness and concentration necessary for this are naturally developed through steady practice of the scientific Yogoda Satsanga techniques of concentration and meditation [which are taught in the Yogoda Satsanga Lessons].
4) Pray Deeply to God in the Language of Your Own Heart

Whether you see the light of the spiritual eye or not, however, you should continue to concentrate at the Kutastha centre between the eyebrows, praying deeply to God and His great saints. In the language of your heart invoke their presence and their blessings. A good practise is to take an affirmation or a prayer from the Yogoda Satsanga Lessons, or from Paramahansa Yoganandas Whispers from Eternity or Metaphysical Meditations, and spiritualise it with your own devotional yearning. Silently chant and pray to God, keeping the attention at the point between the eyebrows, until you feel God's response as calm, deep peace and inner joy. Prayers from Paramahansa Yogananda Practice an affirmation
5) Daily Practise as Preparation for the Deeper Techniques

The meditation period should last at least thirty minutes in the morning and thirty minutes at night. The longer you sit, enjoying the state of meditative calm, the faster you will progress spiritually. Carry into your daily activities the calmness you feel in meditation; that calmness will help you to bring harmony and happiness into every department of your life. Through daily practise of the foregoing instructions, you can prepare yourself for the practice of the deeper techniques of concentration and meditation that are given in the Yogoda Satsanga Lessons. These scientific techniques will enable you to dive ever more deeply in the great ocean of God's presence. We all exist at this very moment in that ocean of Spirit; but only by steadfast, devoted, scientific meditation may we consciously perceive that we are individualised soul waves on the vast ocean of Gods bliss. More resources for going deep in meditation.
From the writings of Paramahansa Yogananda:

"As a first step toward entering the kingdom of God, the devotee should sit still in the correct meditation posture, with erect spine, and tense and relax the body for by relaxation the consciousness is released from the muscles. "The yogi begins with proper deep breathing, inhaling and

tensing the whole body, exhaling and relaxing, several times. With each exhalation all muscular tension and motion should be cast away, until a state of bodily stillness is attained. "Then, by concentration techniques, restless motion is removed from the mind. In perfect stillness of body and mind, the yogi enjoys the ineffable peace of the presence of the soul. "In the body, life is templed; in the mind, light is templed; in the soul, peace is templed. The deeper one goes into the soul the more that peace is felt; that is superconsciousness. "When by deeper meditation the devotee expands that awareness of peace and feels his consciousness spreading with it over the universe, that all beings and all creation are swallowed up in that peace, then he is entering into Cosmic Consciousness. He feels that peace everywhere in the flowers, in every human being, in the atmosphere. He beholds the earth and all worlds floating like bubbles in that ocean of peace." Paramahansa Yogananda
Home > Meditation & Kriya Yoga > The Kriya Yoga Path of Meditation

The Kriya Yoga Path of Meditation: "By the definite science of meditation known
for millenniums to the yogis and sages of India, and to Jesus, any seeker of God can enlarge the calibre of his consciousness to omniscience to receive within himself the Universal Intelligence of God." Paramahansa Yogananda Wisdom, creativity, security, happiness, unconditional love is it really possible to find that which will bring us real and lasting joy? Experiencing the divinity within our own souls, claiming divine joy as our own joy this is what the Kriya Yoga teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda offer to each of us. The sacred science of Kriya Yoga consists of advanced techniques of meditation whose devoted practice leads to realization of God and liberation of the soul from all forms of bondage. It is the royal or supreme technique of yoga, divine union. (Read What Is Yoga, Really?) Kriya Yogas History The illumined sages of India discovered the spiritual science of Kriya Yoga in the long forgotten past. Lord Krishna extols it in the Bhagavad Gita. The sage Patanjali speaks of it in his Yoga Sutras. Paramahansa Yogananda has stated that this ancient meditation method was also known to Jesus Christ, as well as to disciples such as St. John, St. Paul, and others. Kriya Yoga was lost for centuries in the dark ages, and reintroduced in modern times by Mahavatar Babaji, whose disciple Lahiri Mahasaya (18281895) was the first to teach it openly in our era. Later, Babaji asked Lahiri Mahasayas disciple, Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri (18551936), to train Paramahansa Yogananda and send him to the West to give this soul-revealing technique to the world. Paramahansa Yogananda was chosen by his venerable line of gurus to make the ancient science of Kriya Yoga available to seekers around the world, and it was for this purpose that he established Yogoda Satsanga Society of India in 1917 and Self-Realization Fellowship in 1920. Formerly available only to a faithful few who renounced the world and lived solitary lives as ascetics, the great ones of India have now made the ancient Kriya science available to all sincere seekers worldwide through the instrumentality of Paramahansa Yogananda and the spiritual organization he established (YSS/SRF).

Yogananda wrote: In bestowing his blessings on me before I came to America in 1920, Mahavatar Babaji told me that I had been chosen for this sacred missio n: You are the one I have chosen to spread the message of Kriya Yoga in the West. Long ago I met your guru Yukteswar at a Kumbha Mela; I told him then I would send you to him for training. Babaji then predicted: Kriya Yoga, the scientific technique of God-realization, will ultimately spread in all lands, and aid in harmonizing the nations through mans personal, transcendental perception of the Infinite Father.

Bhagavan Krishna & Kriya Yoga One of the essential goals of Paramahansa Yoganandas mission was to reveal the complete harmony and basic oneness of original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna and original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ; and to show that these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all true religions. Other devotees offer as sacrifice the incoming breath of prana in the outgoing breath of apana, and the outgoing breath of apana in the incoming breath of prana, thus arresting the cause of inhalation and exhalation (tendering breath unnecessary) by intent practice of pranayama (the life-control technique of Kriya Yoga). God Talks With Arjuna The Bhagavad Gita, IV : 29
The Science of Kriya Yoga

The quickest and most effective approach to the goal of Yoga employs those methods of meditation that deal directly with energy and consciousness. It is this direct approach that characterises the particular system of meditation taught by Paramahansa Yogananda. Specifically, Kriya is an advanced Raja Yoga technique that reinforces and revitalises subtle currents of life energy in the body, enabling the normal activities of heart and lungs to slow down naturally. As a result, the consciousness is drawn to higher levels of perception, gradually bringing about an inner awakening more blissful and more deeply satisfying than any of the experiences that the mind or the senses or the ordinary human emotions can give. All scriptures declare man to be not a corruptible body, but a living soul. The ancient science of Kriya Yoga reveals a way to prove this scriptural truth. Referring to the sure and methodical efficacy of devoted practise of the Kriya science, Paramahansa Yogananda declared: "It works like mathematics; it cannot fail."
Meditation Techniques of the Kriya Yoga Path

God seeks willing hearts that He may give His bounties to them.... That is most beautiful, and that is what I believe. God seeks willing hearts for the bestowal of His gifts. He is willing to give us everything, but we are not willing to make the effort to be receptive. Paramahansa Yogananda provides a description of Kriya Yoga in his Autobiography of a Yogi. The actual technique is given to students of the Yogoda Satsanga Lessons after a preliminary period of study and practise of the three preparatory techniques taught by Paramahansa Yogananda. Taken together as a comprehensive system, these meditation techniques enable the practitioner to achieve the highest benefits and divine goal of the ancient yoga science.
1. Energization Exercises

A series of psychophysical exercises developed by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1916 to prepare the body for meditation. Regular practise promotes mental and physical relaxation and develops dynamic will power. Making use of the breath, life force, and concentrated attention, the technique enables one to draw abundant energy consciously into the body, purifying and strengthening all the body parts systematically in turn. The Energization Exercises, which take about 15 minutes to perform, are one of the most effective means of eliminating stress and nervous tension. Practising them prior to meditation is a great help in entering a calm, interiorised state of awareness.

2. Hong-Sau Technique of Concentration

Hong-Sau technique of concentration helps to develop one's latent powers of concentration. Through practise of this technique one learns to withdraw thought and energy from outward distractions so that they may be focused on any goal to be achieved or problem to be solved. Or one may direct that concentrated attention toward realising the Divine Consciousness within.
3. Aum Technique

Aum Technique of Meditation shows one how to use the power of concentration in the highest way to discover and develop the divine qualities of one's own true Self. This ancient method teaches how to experience the all-pervading Divine Presence as Aum, the Word or Holy Ghost that underlies and sustains all creation. The technique expands the awareness beyond limitations of body and mind to the joyous realization of one's infinite potential.
4. Kriya Yoga Technique

Kriya is an advanced Raja Yoga technique of pranayama (life-energy control). Kriya reinforces and revitalises subtle currents of life energy (prana) in the spine and brain. The ancient seers of India (rishis) perceived the brain and spine as the tree of life. Out of the subtle cerebrospinal centres of life and consciousness (chakras) flow the energies that enliven all the nerves and every organ and tissue of the body. The yogis discovered that by revolving the life current continuously up and down the spine by the special technique of Kriya Yoga, it is possible to greatly accelerate one's spiritual evolution and awareness.

Correct practice of Kriya Yoga enables the normal activities of the heart and lungs and nervous system to slow down naturally, producing deep inner stillness of body and mind and freeing the attention from the usual turbulence of thoughts, emotions, and sensory perceptions. In the clarity of that inner stillness, one comes to experience a deepening interior peace and attunement with one's soul and with God.
How to Learn Kriya Yoga

The first step is to apply for the Yogoda Satsanga Lessons. In the first year of Lesson study at home, students learn three basic techniques of meditation (described above) and Paramahansajis principles of balanced spiritual living. This gradual introduction has a purpose. A mountain climber seeking to scale the Himalayas must first acclimatise and condition himself before ascending the peaks. So the seeker needs this initial period to acclimatise his or her habits and thoughts, condition the mind with concentration and devotion, and practise directing the bodys life energy. Then the yogi is prepared to ascend the spinal highway of realization. After one year of preparation and practise, students are eligible to apply for initiation in the technique of Kriya Yoga, and formally establish the time-honoured guru-disciple relationship with Paramahansa Yogananda and his lineage of enlightened masters. If you have not yet enrolled for the Yogoda Satsanga Lessons, you will find on these pages some initial instructions on how to meditate, which you can use right away to begin experiencing the benefits that meditation brings.

The Eightfold Path of Yoga The Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Yoga, the timeless science behind all true religions, consists of systematic and definite steps to realization of the soul's oneness with Spirit. The Bhagavad Gita, which is a sacred dialogue between the divine teacher Krishna and his disciple Arjuna, is India's most beloved scripture of yoga, as explained in Paramahansa Yogananda's definitive two-volume translation and commentary: God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita Royal Science of God-Realization. The essence of the yoga path was set forth in systematic form by the ancient sage Patanjali in his short but masterly work, the Yoga Sutras. Paramahansa Yogananda has written: "Patanjali's date is unknown, though many scholars assign him to the second century B.C. His renowned Yoga Sutras presents, in a series of brief aphorisms, the condensed essence of the exceedingly vast and intricate science of God-union setting forth the method of uniting the soul with the undifferentiated Spirit in such a beautiful, clear, and concise way that generations of scholars have acknowledged the Yoga Sutras as the foremost ancient work on yoga." The yoga system of Patanjali is known as the Eightfold Path, which leads to the final goal of God-realization. Patanjali's Eightfold Path of Yoga: Yama: noninjury to others, truthfulness, nonstealing, continence, and noncovetousness Niyama (religious observances): purity of body and mind, contentment in all circumstances, self-discipline, self-study (contemplation), and devotion to God and guru Asana: right posture Pranayama: control of prana, the subtle life currents in the body Pratyahara: interiorization through withdrawal of the senses from external objects Dharana: focused concentration; holding the mind to one thought or object Dhyana: meditation, absorption in the vast perception of God in one of His infinite aspects Bliss, Peace, Cosmic Light, Cosmic Sound, Love, Wisdom, etc. all-pervading throughout the whole universe Samadhi: superconscious experience of the oneness of the individualized soul with Cosmic Spirit