Kriya Yoga: synthesis of a personal experience

[An introduction to Lahiri Mahasay's mystical path]

Author: Ennio Nimis

1

2

FIRST PART: STORY OF MY SPIRITUAL SEARCH 5 Chapter I/1…SELF-TEACHER 6 Mental void exercise 9 «To die to myself» 11 Chapter I/2…PRANAYAMA 12 Basic routine 17 Chapter I/3…KRIYA TECHNIQUES IN ESOTERIC BOOKS 19 Search for Kriya Yoga 21 Two techniques similar to Kriya Pranayama 22 Experience in the spine 29 Chapter I/4…KRIYA YOGA LEARNED FROM A SCHOOL 32 The myth of the Guru 33 The group 37 Two important preliminary techniques 43 Chapter I/5…CRISIS 44 Problems with the routine 46 My meditation counsellor 51 Japa 53 Chapter I/6… TRAVELING GURUS 62 My first teacher of Lahiri Mahasay’s original Kriya 66 My second teacher 71 Chapter I/7… ABANDONING ANY SECRETNESS IN KRIYA 72 Important readings 76 The difficult decision of writing a book about Kriya 81 Chapter I/8… THE FUNDAMENTALS OF KRIYA YOGA 85 Lahiri Mahasay’s four stages

3

SECOND PART: THE ACTUAL TECHNIQUES OF KRIYA YOGA 91 Chapter II/1…ELEMENTARY EXPLANATION OF FIRST KRIYA 99 Chapter II/2… IMPROVED FIRST KRIYA ROUTINE 106 Introduction to the vertical routines 109 Chapter II/3…DEFINITION OF HIGHER KRIYAS THIRD PART: LAHIRI MAHASAY’S KRIYA YOGA IN PRACTICE 127 CH.III/1 THE FIRST STAGE 132 Didactic remarks 137 CH.III/2 THE SECOND STAGE 139 About the role of the emotions in our life 141 Didactic remarks 145 CH.III/3 THE THIRD STAGE 149 About the Breathless state 154 About the "Internal Breath" state 158 About Mère’s teaching of Japa in the body 161 Didactic remarks 165 CH.III/4 THE FOURTH STAGE 171 Didactic remarks

4

CH.I/1 SELF-TEACHER My spiritual search began when, spellbound in inexplicable way when seeing people sitting in the "lotus position", I bought an introductory book to classical Yoga. The ability to do something significant without moving from my place and without the risks and dangers of sports, attracted me like the most perfect art, with no intrinsic limits. A great expectation toward «certain oriental practices» rose when a schoolmate told me to possess a detailed text about breathing exercises - Pranayama - adding that «these exercises can change a person inside... ». What did he mean? He could not be merely hinting to the attainment of particular conditions of relaxation and concentration; he definitely did not refer to sticking to some philosophy but to something more involving. Intuition suggested me the attractive possibility of waking up some latent faculties. My friend would not make up his mind about lending me the book and after some days I was no longer thinking about it. Then, a simple text diverted my sight, Yoga in 20 lessons, which I bought at a news-stand in a rail station. I found in it the description of some positions - Asana - which I practiced more or less correctly during the lessons of Physical Education. Thus I gave up, with the teacher’s permission, the fruitless attempt to venture myself into the common sports, which were to me the result of a brainless creativity. Objectively talking, it was no mean text; together with each position there was the explanation of the name that designated it, a brief note on the best mental attitude for the practice and several considerations on how each exercise stimulates particular physiological functions (important endocrine glands etc). It was clear to me that these positions were not to be seen as a simple "stretching work-out"; they were means to provide global stimulus to all the physical organs, in order to increase their vitality. The comfort perceived at the end of a session spoke in favor of the real utility of this practice. 5

MENTAL VOID EXERCISE A whole chapter was devoted to the "Corpse Position" - Savasana - the last to be practiced. Concerning the instructions, I think the author put in something that he had learned in other contexts. The teaching, structured with great care, actually constituted an exercise of deep concentration. He also explained, definitely exaggerating, that in a twenty-minute interval it would provide the «mental rest of three hours of sleep». The text did not lose its focus [as did the majority of books on similar topics that I had read, drawing complicated discourses on different forms of energy within the body - Prana] but, through a typically western style, it simply introduced an interesting possibility, that of «stopping all mental functions maintaining a full awareness, without falling into a state of sleepiness». In other words, it provided the chance to put to rest the faculties of thought, in order to «recharge the whole psychophysical system with fresh energy». I will briefly describe the exercise since it was essential to me for many reasons; thanks to it, which, then, became a daily habit, I could understand once and for all the fundamental difference between "mind" and "awareness", still crucial for my understanding of Kriya Yoga. It recommended to lie down in the supine position keeping the arms extended alongside the body; the eyes are covered with a bandage to keep the light out. After having stayed still for two or three minutes, the exercise begins with the mental statement: «I am relaxed, I am calm, I am not thinking of anything»; after this, to enter what the author called «mental void» it is necessary to carry out the following unique action: that of giving the thoughts a visual form pushing them away one by one, as if «an internal hand moved them gently from the mental-screen center toward its outskirts». All the thoughts, without exceptions, must be moved aside, even the thought itself of being practicing a technique. To correctly perform this delicate process it is first essential "to see" each thought, even if its characteristics are abstract. At least in what was my way of doing the job, one should never refuse, do away with or censor the thoughts; what’s important is to set the mental activity to a pause. Then,

6

visualizing them as objects, shift them aside putting them in stand-by; in this way, the developing of an ulterior chain of thoughts is prevented. After a few minutes, the following situation occurs; while a part of the being gathers in the area between the eyebrows - called Kutastha in Yoga - and enjoys a pleasant feeling of rest, another part is there, unnoticed, hiding in the outskirts of the former one. Here, a minimal mental activity, like the creation of indefinite images (all of them extremely "mild"), rises. A few minutes later, the awareness is all gathered in the eyebrows region, as if inside a "little, peaceful pond", and it remains there some more minutes. Despite the absence of thoughts, the awareness is always awake and it rejoices at an inimitable feeling of rest. This state lasts no more then 10 or 15 minutes. The exercise is never carried on for more than 25-30 minutes altogether, from the beginning to the end. The technique inevitably ends in a "curious" way; the state of deep calm is interrupted by the feeling that the exercise has not been done yet, to which the body reacts with a wince whereas the heart beats faster. Then, the awareness that the exercise has been perfectly carried off appears. As a student, I used such a practice to rest in the afternoon, between a study session and the following one; I started to love it. What I had been experiencing during it did not leave me cold; it was interesting to observe how the mental process could be momentarily arrested and how its apparent consistence could fade away while the pure awareness, independent from the contents, would reveal its self. The Cartesian «I think, therefore I am» gradually became «Thinking restlessly caused the risk for me of living without even realizing that I existed; instead of that, this consciousness rose as soon as I learned to think in a calm and orderly way». Some observations were born on the common way of living, which led me toward the fundamental decision to begin the practice of Pranayama; a decision that changed the course of my life. Crucial was the moment when I experienced how to extend this technique’s essential dynamics to practical life, applying the same discipline to the thoughts during the idle moments. The purpose was not actually to rest but to merge myself into that particular state above the mind, which was revealing itself as my truest essence. While proceeding with it, I realized the negative effect that an undisciplined mind is able to exert upon the experiences of life. In my

7

observations I was not conditioned by the belonging to such or such philosophical system. I tried to comprehend the causes of so many human failures, particularly of those that did not seem inevitable at all. The most important realization was that the mind, almost always hyperactive and chaotic, used up every source of vitality weaving a net of useless thoughts, a suffocating coat around the awareness and around life itself. Such a danger made it difficult to get an authentic and healthy relationship with all the beautiful experiences in life, along with those that can create an inner growth. I was determined in creating a mental discipline to put this situation to an end; I wanted to avoid getting lost among different emotive forces, which alternately showed up in the awareness like different personalities. Extending that exercise to life and practicing it during my time off, or even while I was studying, a peculiar and challenging mood was produced. My state of mind would frequently turn up an almost unbearable anxiety, even anguish at times. This rather simple action of ceasing temporarily every thought was conceived as an act of total renouncement; the usual way of living was turned down, as if entering a sort of "internal death", a devastating "void". My purpose was to renew the internal strength, leaving behind the wrong habits of thinking disorderly. I was trying to be born anew inside, but while approaching that state I realized how upsetting was the experienced "void"! Now I understand that all that I had to do was to cross a layer of negative emotions to finally get rid of it; by that time, though, that one seemed to me an unchangeable, hopeless reality. My life itself appeared to be emerging like an island from an ocean of sorrow. I realized I was deliberately cultivating small and useless, newer thoughts to flee from that sorrowful abyss that I indistinctly perceived underneath my psyche. The instinct was to keep feeding myself with countless, evanescent and small emotions; I hung onto them as if they were the only warmth able to spark my existence with meaning and to really protect it from any unpleasant revelation. It was clear that the continuous nurturing of thoughts and consequent emotions was eating away at the possibility of experiencing authentic feelings. I could not carry on estranging me from myself because - now I am fully aware of it - I would not have succeeded in stabilizing any

8

wholesome reality; on the contrary, I would have just caused the total exhaustion of my energies and, eventually, I would have been completely trapped in a real pathological emptiness, something that I wanted to keep away from. «TO DIE TO MYSELF» In this difficult moment, something came to my aid, infusing me with courage and determination not to give up; it was something that I found in my own culture, something that was not oriental but typically western. In that part of my life, Mahler’s Symphony No.2 "Resurrection" almost instinctively attracted me. In the quietude of my room I would listen to it and try to penetrate its meaning by reading everything that I could find about it. The concepts of Reincarnation, Karma, Dharma, Maya and the like, never helped me in the great turning points of my life. It was not actually possible to solve any deep problem by sticking ipso facto to the oriental ways of thinking, simply grasped by reading some related books. A continuous listening to Mahler’s Symphony, over and over, made it sound in my memory all day long while I was studying or doing other things. It would grow, it would amplify during the moments of quietude, expanding some elated states of my mind to turn them into a bliss that, despite the dismay of reason, gave me a temporary solace. The words «Sterben werd ich, um zu leben!» - I will die so that I can live! - written by Mahler himself and sung by a choir in the last symphonic movement, were a clear echo to my project; that music and those words became a thread around which my thought crystallized, while the charm of the whole work sharply restored a vision of childish beauty. Mahler caressed with his sensitivity - to my perception without definitely believing in it - a "religious" solution. In the final words «Was du geschlagen, zu Gott wird es dich tragen!» - what you have earned yourself, will lead you to God! - it seemed to me that he had meant: «a final immersion in the Light will be your final prize for the battle you incessantly kept on fighting». While dealing with the unreasonable darkness that seemed to lie at the foundation of my existence, the inability of accepting the relief of religion led me to repeating inside « I will die so that I can live! ».

9

According to my sensitivity, this attainment could not be achieved in any other way but keeping firm in my will of mental discipline. I found the strength to refuse the "comfort" of thoughts, the "dim lights" of a mind flickering in the night of insecurity; I wanted to bring to an end everything that was not true, I wanted to live in the void, cross with wide-open eyes a vast land of woe and meet the unmistakeable truth, no matter what it was. At this crucial moment of brooding, a sudden blaze put silence and stillness into my being; the first hints about Pranayama I had been given by that friend of mine stirred the shining intuition that through this discipline I could learn the secret of «dying to myself». A short time before I read in a book that «if this Pranayama is practiced in an exaggerated way, it will quake the bases of a normal way of living». This warning, instead of smothering my enthusiasm brought it to exasperation, since all I was trying to achieve was that the things within me set in to change. I needed some "explosive mixture" to win the internal resistances; an authentic inner earthquake was to be preferred to the current stagnation. Now I will carefully delineate how I practiced Pranayama, introducing the topic with some theoretic explanations. May the reader forgive me if this implies a change in the nature of my narration.

10

CH.I/2 PRANAYAMA It is not difficult a task to understand that the breathing exercises are not aimed to train the chest muscles, to strengthen the diaphragm or to create some peculiar conditions of blood oxygenation; they are to act on the energy – Prana – present in our psychophysical system. During such practice, one should try to perceive the flows of energy through some subtle channels called Nadi. The principal Nadis are Ida, which flows vertically along the left side of the spinal column and is said to be of female nature, and Pingala – of masculine nature – which flows parallel to the former one; Sushumna flows in the middle, beyond the duality inherent to the two preceding Nadis. It is not difficult to imagine that the Nadis, just like the water-conducting pipes in the houses, might be "rusty", "dirty", "obstructed", and that this fact is linked with the decrease of vitality in our body. The amount of "dirtiness" in the Nadis can be related to disharmony and conflicts inside of our disposition; thus, cleaning these channels through Pranayama techniques brings on a transformation in our personality. There are moments of the day in which we feel more exteriorized, others in which we are more interiorized; in a healthy person this alternation is characterized by a balance between a life of positive relationships and a serene contact with his own depths. Unfortunately, a lot of people lack such a harmony. The too introvert person starts to actually lose contact with the external reality, to the point that this will exert, as a reaction, an excessive influence that will inevitably destroy his internal peace; the too extrovert person will soon provoke the coming up of all those symptoms commonly regarded as the beginning of a neurotic state. Through the practice of Pranayama, specifically the alternate-nostrils variety, these two opposite tendencies are, at least temporarily, balanced. A greater communication between the right hemisphere, which concerns the emotions, and the left hemisphere, which presides to the rationality, makes the brain more efficient. When the connection between the two

11

hemispheres - pons Varoli - works properly, the emotional sphere and the rational one co-operate with each other. As a result, a practitioner develops a greater emotional awareness, a more precise evaluating criteria and a wider range of abilities to elaborate information, i.e. greater operative intelligence. A more calibrated, intense, precise and clearer logical process will rise from a more efficient synergy between thoughts and emotions. In this way, intuition can flow freely in order to face the moments of life for which important decisions are expected to be made. Of course, common sense suggests that Pranayama is not a trick to solve automatically people’s psychological and existential problems. When the practice is set in, all the possible inner strength must be employed to achieve a better way of "living". Therefore, all the necessary measures should be considered, in order to challenge the internal barriers; only in this way will Pranayama support a stable inner renovation. When the first good effects begin to be felt, the practitioner is encouraged to keep on practicing and goes deeper and deeper into it, looking for "something more." This “something” is the Sushumna current, which begins to flow, creating an experience of joy, happiness, and elation. Here, the "mystical" venture begins; the practitioner might have no idea of what this experience means, and yet it would happen to him. As far as I am concerned, I decided to verify all these hypotheses - nothing of what I mentioned is scientifically verifiable; through a serious practice, I wanted to see by myself if Pranayama was really endowed with such a strong potentiality. BASIC ROUTINE Pranayama a…Nadi Sodhana It is important for a yogi to clean his nostrils before beginning the exercise, so that the breath can flow smoothly. This can be commonly done using water, inhaling eucalyptus essence and blowing the nose. In some cases, there are complaints that one of the nostrils is permanently obstructed; that is a problem of medical solution. If the obstruction is caused by a cold, going on with the exercise can improve that condition.

12

To begin this exercise, the mouth must be closed, the right nostril must be kept closed by the right thumb and air is slowly, uniformly and deeply inhaled through the left nostril. A yogi begins with inhalations of about six seconds, then, in some days, from eight to ten seconds. It is important not to overdo it to the point of uneasiness. After having inhaled through the left nostril, a yogi closes the left nostril with the right little finger and the ring finger; then he exhales through the right nostril with the same slow, uniform and deep rhythm. At this point, the nostrils exchange their role; keeping the left nostril closed, air is slowly, uniformly and deeply inhaled through the right nostril. Then, closing the right nostril with the thumb the exhalation is made through the left nostril, once again slowly, uniformly and deeply. This corresponds to a cycle: in the beginning, six cycles can be mad; later, twelve of them. A yogi can use a clock to make sure the time is the same for both the inhalation and the exhalation, until a mental count becomes spontaneous. A short pause, amounting to a mental count of three, is possible after each inhalation. The nostrils can be closed with the fingers in different ways; the choice depends on the practitioner only. b…Ujjayi The Ujjayi breathing consists in deeply breathing in and out through both the nostrils, producing a sound in the throat. During the exhalation the noise is not as loud as during the inhalation. After a few days’ practice, the respiratory action is lengthened without effort. This exercise is normally practiced twelve times. Completion of Pranayama The neck and the throat are slightly contracted, while the chin tilts down toward the breast (Jalandhara Bandha). The abdominal muscles are slightly contracted to intensify the perception of energy inside the spinal column (Uddiyana Bandha). The perineal muscles - between the anus and the genital organs - are contracted in an attempt to lift the abdominals in vertical way, while pressing back the inferior part of the abdomen (Mula Bandha). The three Bandhas are applied simultaneously and held out for about four seconds to produce a vibration of the body; this is repeated 3 times.

13

Final state to be enjoyed With a deep relaxation attitude, the attention is intensely focused on the point between the eyebrows, called "third eye" (or "spiritual eye", in India), for at least five minutes. Little chronicle I practiced this routine in the morning and in the evening with an empty stomach. It was usually preceded by some stretching exercises; also by some simple Asana when I had more time. I practiced the Pranayama session from the half-lotus position, sitting on the edge of a pillow and keeping my back straight. I often practiced in the open air, in the first sunny days after the winter, when the skies were crystalline and as blue as they had never been. I would contemplate what was around; if in a bushy and ivy-covered ditch the sun shed its light upon some flowers, which a month before were blooming during the cold winter days and in that moment they were still lingering on, regardless of the mildest days, that spell-binding glory would be my "religion". In that beautiful countryside, I concentrated on applying the instructions correctly; later on, the beauty of the alternate feelings of coolness and warmth, produced by the air on the hand I used to open and close the nostrils, captured me; then the pressure, the smooth flowing of the breath... Getting aware of each peculiarity of the exercise helped me maintain a vigil attention without getting stressed out. In this way the practice turned to be very pleasant. [A tradition suggests that the exhalation should last twice the time necessary for the inhalation in the first alternate-nostril breathing exercise, and the pause after the inhalation should be four times as long; I have never applied such advice, finding it unnatural.] In the second exercise, where a sound is produced in the throat, I sometimes used a mental count; that is how I made sure that the inhalation and the exhalation had the same duration. I focused not only on the process itself, but on the comfort and the induced calmness as well; in this way my concentration became deeper. As for the Bandhas, the particular "contractions" that, in conjunction with the Mudras, act to bring the energy into the spinal column, I could successfully increase the effect of Mula Bandha pressing the heel down on

14

the perineum – or sitting suitably on a folded towel. All this created the sensation of an energetic current sliding up along the spinal column; an almost ecstatic internal shiver. [This should not be confused with the experience of the "awakening of Kundalini", which will be discussed later.] I began to practice this routine in an "absolute" way, with a steadfast concentration, nearly as if it had been my only reason of life. I remember with nostalgia this intensity, especially when, for some reasons, I lack the initial spontaneity. At the end of the practice, moving my sight around, a landscape might appear among the leaves: a group of distant houses surrounding a bell- tower. I would close my eyes and rely on an inner radiance. I was merged in ecstasy! Through this "light" I could easily cross the wall of my psychological life. I recall how, during one quiet afternoon amid some trees, just before sunset, the words of a book, a philosophical comment to some Upanishads, came up my mind and I started to repeat them: «Thou are that». I do not know if my intuition grasped the incommensurable implication of that statement, but yes… I was that light filtering through the leaves, which were of an unbelievably delicate green because spring had spread them all out. Back home, I did not even try to put down the numerous "moments of grace" I experienced on the paper - I would not have been able to do it. My only wish was to go further and further into this new inner experience. I realized that our misery lies entirely in one thing: the tyranny of thought. There is a screen stopping the immense spiritual experience of boundless joy which is really just behind the anguish and agony of our existence. It is the screen of our useless thoughts and continuously restless emotions. Pranayama undoubtedly has the power to jump over this obstacle and make the experience of joy blossom out. I made the mistake to try to pass onto others my discovery and I spoke so much as to generate a violent reaction. Only one friend, a "Hippie" [we were in the ’70s], showed me some empathy; the only inappropriate thing to him was my zeal in the discipline. All the other people kept harassing me rather bitterly. The conflict burst out because of my persistence. By that time, it seemed to me so easy to wise them up, to set them free from the mental and emotional prison cell in which they lived. To them not only

15

was I the victim of an illusion, but I was also unable to love, to respect and to show human sympathy toward others. There came a period of my life in which I felt so disoriented, wondering what was the meaning of the word "friendship" to me. I began suspecting that I was actually taking advantage of a friendship to just confront and discuss my theories. I had to give up and admit that the ability of expressing true love belonged to others, not to me. But their way of acting and expressing themselves appeared to me accompanied by a kind of hysteria, which seemed to embody a mental deception; they wanted to create a totally false image of themselves. So often, after distressing arguments, fragile expressions of self-torture, they gave the impression of "imploding"; they "disappeared" for some time, going around the same people they had loved so much up to that time; they could no longer bear up with them. Perhaps sometimes they could understand my points, but they could not stop for a moment so to have a real dialog with me. Our ways of thinking were very divergent. That transparency of mind I spoke about was a meaningless void, something unnatural to them; it smacked of «death», of a painful and cold grasp and of a threat to the joys of their life. Imperturbable, I kept following my way, determined to improve the art of breathing - unconcerned about any limit. I planted the practice of Pranayama like a seed in the desolation of my soul and it grew into a limitless joy and an internal freedom. A quotation from the Bhagavad Gita says: «Yoga is liberation from the contact with pain and misfortune. [He that practices] knows the eternal joy, that which is beyond the edge of our senses and cannot be held by the reason.» Recalling the my friend’s words, who once had stirred my interest in Pranayama, I can say that this discipline implied much more than a vague internal change; it grasped my hope and brought it forward.

16

CH.I/3 KRIYA TECHNIQUES IN ESOTERIC BOOKS After having bought the works of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda and a beautiful book with comments to Patanjali’s Yogasutra – the ancient work, fundamental to understand the foundations of Yoga, especially Pranayama – I finally decided to buy the autobiography of an Indian saint, a book I had already seen some years before and I had not bought. I was fond only of practical manuals but then I thought I might find out useful information, such as the addresses of some good schools of Yoga. The author whom I will indicate by P.Y. [see the note at the end of the chapter] was an expert of that kind of Pranayama, which was first taught by Lahiri Mahasaya and called Kriya Yoga. He wrote that this technique could be mastered by gradually practicing fours stages of it: this sparked my curiosity; I loved Pranayama, and just the idea of improving it sounded amazingly wondrous. If the techniques I had already practiced gave me such incomparable results, it was obvious that that four-stage system would make them greater and greater; Lahiri Mahasaya was described as the incarnation of Yoga: this led me to think that there must have been something unique in his "way"! On one side, I went on reading all the books I could find written by this Master [a few of them were in Italian, some in English]; on the other side I began to explore as much literature as I could find about Yoga. Reading P.Y., I was amazed by a personality with unequalled will and an unexpected practical spirit. Studying his writings would not excite me when he spoke out of a purely devotional tone, but it did whenever he assumed a more technical tone, making it possible for me to get at some aspects of the subtle art of Kriya - I considered it an art in continuous refinement, instead of a religious engagement. I was impressed by the strength with which the author highlighted the evolutionary value of Pranayama, not just including a man’s spiritual side but his physical and mental sides too.

17

He explained that if we compare the human spinal column to a ferromagnetic substance constituted, as taught by Physics, of elementary magnets that turn toward the same direction when they are overlapped by a magnetic field, then, the action of Pranayama is akin to this process of magnetization. It was implicit, during this practice, to concentrate on the inner energy and make it rotate, somehow, around the Chakras. By uniformly redirecting all the "subtle" parts of our spinal cord’s physical and astral essence, Pranayama would burn the so-called "bad seeds" of Karma. [It is good to remember that the concepts of Reincarnation and Karma are the bases of the Indian thought and of Lahiri Mahasaya himself; that is why it is worth speaking freely of it, even if Kriya is a practice that can be experimented without necessarily having to accept any creeds. It is important to underline this last fact whenever we stick to the common belief that a person inherits a baggage of latent tendencies from his previous lives and that, sooner or later, this tendencies are to come out in actual life. According to this belief, Pranayama burns out the effects of the "bad seeds" just before they become manifest in our lives. It is further explained that those people who are instinctively attracted by methods of spiritual development such as Kriya, have already practiced something similar in a "precedent incarnation". This is because such an action is never in vain and in the actual life they get back to it exactly where, in a remote past, they quit it.]

18

SEARCH FOR KRIYA YOGA Now, my compelling problem was whether I had to leave or not for India and look for a Teacher who would give me all the clarifications about Kriya. At that time, planning to get through very soon with my university studies, I excluded a journey in the near future. I rather chose to remain here and to try to improve my Pranayama, using all the books I could find about Yoga, no matter what language they would be written in. The question was, how could I transform my practice so that it could have the power to move and rotate the inner energy around the Chakras? If this had to be – as stated by P.Y. – a universal process, there was no doubt that I would find traces of it through other sources and perhaps I would be able to discern the whole system of Kriya in its subtle four phases. There was something locked in a corner of my memory which became alive again before my eyes. When I was a child, I used to read everything I came on to, especially books censored by the Church or considered strongly unsuited with my age anyway; I was proud to practice a total freedom of choice and I did not mind any advice. I wasted a lot of time on poor readings. In that great heap of books it was impossible to distinguish in advance between the valuable ones and the many others which, through tantalizing titles, contained but tall stories, impossible chimeras aimed at stunning people. In the end I felt I had traveled through an indistinct chaos. I had the bitter feeling that the most precious secrets were still hidden in some other esoteric books, which I was not lucky enough to find. Now, I vaguely remembered seeing some drawings, somewhere, sketching out the profile of a person and the different circuits of energetic movement through his body. The idea came to seek the needed information in the esoteric books rather than in the classic books on Yoga. I started going to a re-sale of used books; it was very well furnished, probably because it had once been the Theosophical Society’s reference bookstore. I turned down the texts dealing only with philosophical topics,

19

while, in ecstasy and not concerned by the time, I kept on skimming through the books which clearly illustrated practical exercises. Before purchasing a book I made sure it hinted at the possibility of driving the energy along certain internal channels, of creating a distinct action on the Kundalini energy and of arousing it. Since my first visit, I had been very lucky; while reading the index of a text in three volumes, introducing the esoteric thought of a famous Brotherhood, I was attracted by the title Breathing exercise for the awakening of Kundalini. Of the more than one thousand pages I browsed through in a few, hasty days, only two or three of them were worth reading. They contained a variation of Nadi Sodhana; this was, according to the authors, the secret to wake the mysterious energy! I’ll try to reconstruct the technique by sheer memory, being no longer practicing it. During the inhalation through the left nostril, an energetic current is imagined coming in through the nose and down to the base of the spinal column. The sacred syllable Om is to be pronounced three times, thereby visualizing and striking the Muladhar Chakra. Then, exhaling, a current starting from the Muladhar and going up into the body, and particularly into the spine, is to be felt. Some notes warned not to exaggerate with the exercise, because of the risk of a premature Kundalini’s awakening. This was to be avoided by all means. Definitely, this was not P.Y.’s Kriya because, according to several clues, Kriya was not to be done through the alternate-nostril breathing. So, I went on haunting the bookstore; the owner was very nice with me and I felt almost obliged, also considering the cheap price and the perfect conditions of those second-hand books, to buy at least a book per each visit. But sometimes I got very disappointed; a lot of space was usually reserved to theories alien from concrete life, which tried to describe what cannot be seen and what cannot be experienced, the astral worlds, the subtle coverings of energy wrapping our body, whereas precise practical instructions were put in an appendix. Among these theories, some had hypnotic names but they were only visualization exercises; through them, practitioners hoped to materialize their desires and projects.

20

TWO TECHNIQUES SIMILAR TO KRIYA PRANAYAMA One day, after a tiresome selection, I went to the storekeeper holding a book in my hand; he must have realized that I had no idea of its value; so, while deciding the price, he remembered something that might interest me. He led me to the rear, inviting me to rummage in a messy heap of notes within a carton box. Among a consistent quantity of miscellaneous material (complete series of the theosophical magazine issues, scattered notes from an old course of hypnosis, etc.) I came on a booklet, written in German by a certain K. Spiesberger, which illustrated some Mantras and some esoteric techniques. In the beginning I ran onto the “Kundalini-breathing”. I did not have much familiarity with the German language, but I immediately realized the extraordinary importance of that technique; I would undoubtedly decipher all of it at home, with the help of a good dictionary. [I cannot help smiling when some half-hearted people insist that they are fond of Kriya, yet they will not study some crucial texts in English because they are afraid to misinterpret them. I am convinced that their interest is superficial and rather emotive. Such was my enthusiasm, that I would have studied Sanskrit or Chinese or any other language, if that had given me the chance to understand an essential text on Pranayama]. In another book in English there was an exhaustive description of the “Magic breath”; more or less the same exercise. I forgot about the other material. The smirk of satisfaction I wore before the storekeeper, as if I had found a treasure of unfathomable value, definitely influenced the increase of their price. Walking home, I could not help skimming through the pages; I was curious about some rough drawings illustrating techniques which were based on the movement of energy. Something that I had read, on the value of the “Magic breath”, filled me with much higher enthusiasm; that was one of the most hidden secrets in the esoteric schools of all times. If practiced constantly, accompanied by

21

the strength of visualization, it would produce a sort of internal substance allowing for the spiritual eye’s vision. Studying closely these two techniques at home, I convinced myself that the “Magic breath” technique must have surely been Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya, while the “Kundalini breathing” was a variation of it. [The description of the “Kundalini breathing” still amazes me; the author, in fact, was not as close to Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya as to the version that P.Y. brought west. During a deep inhalation, the air was to be imagined flowing up the spinal column, abandoning its habitual course; the visualization of this as an empty tube was therefore prescribed and, inhaling, the air was to be imagined streaming along it from its base all the way up to the area between the eyebrows; then, exhaling, the air had to go down back to the base, along the same route. In the “Magic breath”, the difference was in feeling the energy "around" the backbone, not inside of it, following an elliptic path. Through the inhalation, the energy had to go up behind the spinal column, to the center of the head; exhaling, it had to go down along the front part of the body, just as in the "Microcosmic Orbit" technique which is described in the Internal Alchemy texts – the mystical tradition of ancient China.] Convinced that the “Magic breath” technique was the real Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya Pranayama, I just practiced it. I was in seventh heaven, because the practice began to give me some extremely beautiful moments; I felt as if my perception of things had changed. Looking around, at the leaves and at some flowers, I tried to enjoy the warmth of the most intense colors, as if they had reflected my inner radiance. EXPERIENCE IN THE SPINE One night, something new and radically different from what I had experienced before came about. This is a kind of "intimate" event. Nonetheless, to share the experience of Kriya through a book, I need to talk accurately about things that cannot be considered a vague spiritual phenomenon but a well-defined outcome, reached through the practice of Pranayama.

22

There is no doubt to me that the routine, in the way it was conceived - with a deep Ujjayi, an intense practice of the Bandhas and an almost ardent concentration on the Kutastha - produced it. Many readers will recognize their own experience in the following description. One night, absorbed by the reading, I had a shiver similar to an electric current that spread itself in my whole body. The experience was not particularly special, however a thought flashed upon my mind announcing the coming of a deeper experience. Minutes passed by, but I was not able to go on with the reading; I perceived that my restlessness turned into anxiety, and then it became fear, an intense fear of something unknown to me, threatening my existence. I definitely never experienced such a terror. Normally, in moments of danger, I would remain paralyzed, unable to think. But now the anxiety was of a different quality; it was a scare of something alien to the common experience, something absolutely unpredictable. While my mind could not help envisioning the worst hypotheses about what was going to happen, I felt the urgency to do something, even though I did not know what. I set myself in the position of meditation and waited. I was sure I was close to madness – or to death. A part of me, maybe the totality of that entity I call "myself", seemed at the point of melting away; the worst thoughts hung over me without a clear reason. In those days I had finished Gopi Krishna’s Kundalini: Path to Higher Consciousness (New Delhi: Orient Paperbacks). Here the author described the splendid awakening experience he had had following an intense practice of concentration on the seventh Chakra, whereas – because his body was probably unprepared – he later met serious physical and, as a reflex, psychic problems as well. According to his description, inside of his body, energy was put in constant motion from the base of the backbone toward the brain. So strong was that energy to force him in bed and to prevent the accomplishment of the normal bodily functions. He literally felt as if he was burned by an inner fire which he could not put out. Weeks later, he intuitively discovered the way to check out the phenomenon, which became a stout experience of internal realization. As far as I am concerned, I was afraid to have come to the threshold of the same experience but since I did not live in India I was scared the people

23

surrounding me might not understand; the experience would have been terrible! Nobody could make sure that, as it happened to Gopi Krishna, my experience would be channeled toward a positive upshot. During those moments, the spiritual world appeared to me as a sorrowful and horrible nightmare, able to annihilate and destroy him that had imprudently approached it. Ordinary life, on the contrary, seemed to me the dearest, healthier reality. I was afraid I might not be able to get back to that condition anymore. I was absolutely convinced that a mental illness was tearing to pieces my inner being and the reason was that I had opened a door looking out on the infinity, being this far more immense than I had ever foreseen. I decided to take a break and to put off the fatal moment as long as possible. I was not in the mood to remain in the meditation position. I felt I had to set myself up and get out of the room to the open air. It was night and there was nobody to share a word with! At the center of the yard I was burdened, choked, almost crushed by a feeling of desperation, envying all those people who had never practiced Yoga, feeling guilty and ashamed for hurting through harsh words a friend who had been involved in a part of my search. He, like so many others, gave up his practice and only bothered about working and enjoying life. Equipped with a juvenile boldness, I had addressed him no affectionate words at all, which then started to thunder inside of my head; I felt sorry I had thrown unjustified cruelty at him without really knowing what was in his mind and soul. At that time, I would have done anything to tell him how sorry I was, because I felt I had brutally violated his right to live the way it was best to him; he simply wanted to pursue mental health rather than become unstable or insane through those practices. Because of my great passion for classical music, I thought that listening to it might imply a positive effect, maybe a protection from anguish, maybe a help to get back. Why not try, then? It has been Beethoven’s music – his Concert for Violin and Orchestra – that calmed me and, after half an hour, eased my sleep. The following morning I woke up with the same fear in my mind. Nevertheless, I had a whole day before me and the sunlight was shining through the window. I would amuse myself hanging out with other people.

24

I went out and met some friends. I did not let out the things I was experiencing; I spent the afternoon cracking all sort of jokes and behaving like the people I had always considered lazy and dull; I was trying to hide my anguish away. The first day went by – my mind was very worn out; after two days, nevertheless, the fear diminished and I finally felt safe. Something had changed anyway, and I actually did not succeed – and I did not even want to – in thinking about the spiritual path. I went around that idea! The exercises of Yoga caused me to feel both sick and scared. The notion itself of "Divine" gave me a feeling of horror! A week later, I began, calmly and detachedly, to ponder on the meaning of what had happened; I understood the nature of my reaction to that episode. I had cowardly ignored the experience I had pursued for so long a time! The dignity in the depth of my soul was leading me to start my search over, exactly from the point where I had quitted. I was ready to accept all that was to happen and to let things follow their course, even if this process implied the loss of my wholesomeness. I began to practice Pranayama again, pursuing what I had not been able to accept previously; but this time I had the determination not to flee from it. A few days went by without detecting any form of fear. Then, I experienced something awfully beautiful: I took part in a phenomenon which, from that time on, would re-happen several times. It was night. I was relaxed in Savasana when I had a pleasant sensation, as if an electric wind was blowing in the external part of my body propagating itself, quickly and with a wavy motion, from my feet up to my head. My body was so tired that I could not move, even though my mind had imparted this order. The tranquility in my mind was so deep that I did not have any fear. I was absolutely able to maintain the totality of my being composed and serene. Consequently, the electric wind was replaced by another feeling, comparable to an enormous strength filling into the backbone and quickly climbing up to the brain. That experience was characterized by an indescribable and up-to-then unknown sense of bliss; the perception of an intense brightness accompanied everything. My memory is condensed in one expression, «a

25

clear and euphoric certainty of existing, like an unlimited ocean of awareness and beatitude ». In the work God Exists. I have met Him (London 1970) by A. Frossard, the author tries to give an idea of his spiritual experience. For that purpose he creates the concept of "inverse avalanche". The avalanche is something collapsing, running downhill, first slowly, then faster and violently at the same time. Frossard suggests that we imagine an "upside-down avalanche" which begins strengthening at the foot of the mountain and climbs up pushed by an increasing power; then, suddenly, it leaps up toward the sky. I do not know how long this experience lasted; its peak definitely held out only a few seconds, after which I left everything behind to just fall into a calm and uninterrupted sleep. Strangely, the following day, when I woke up, I did not think of it; it only came up some hours later, when I was in the open air. I was caught by the beauty of that experience and, leaning against the trunk of a tree, for many minutes I was literally enthralled by its memory and by its reverberation in my soul. The thought moved freely and gained confidence – although reluctantly – in an experience which was going beyond it. All the things I had thought about Yoga until then did not have any importance at all. To me the experience was like being stricken by a lightning. I did not even have the chance to find out which parts of me were still there and which ones had disappeared forever; I was not able to really understand what had happened to me, rather I was not sure that "something" had really happened. Beautiful days went by. Then, gradually, a certainty of eternity, a condition stretching out way over the limits of my awareness – a sort of memory hiding in the recesses of my awareness – began to appear before my eyes, as if a new area of my brain was stirred to a full awakening. Such event did not simply happen; I had discovered something which belonged to me, and sooner or later I would master it and bring it up beyond any borders!

26

Later on, I could witness it again a lot of times. Devoting myself to study up late, only granting myself short resting breaks every now and then, in the moment I lay down exhausted, this would invariably take place in a few minutes and the rush of the energy would occur many times. In the following years I had a lot of opportunities to verify that there were some things in common among those people who had the same experience; first, a practice of some form of meditation characterized by a deep concentration in the Kutastha; secondly, the presence of a painstaking determination toward what is considered a spiritual destination; finally, a very intense mental job, which would not give up to the natural tendency to fall asleep. This event guaranteed both the correctness of my practice and a strong yearning for the spiritual goal. It was necessary that the practice ended with a very intense concentration on the Kutastha, almost desperately craving for the experience of the Spirit, as if my life depended on this event. It was to be desired like – using an expression I had found in some oriental texts – «one who is drowning desires to breathe». I noticed that the awakening would only happen when this great tension was off. The awareness had to be placed first in the most favorable condition, an intermediary dimension between a state of sleep and a state of vigilance. Sometimes, a few instants before emerging, a wondrous, unreal landscape appeared to my inner vision. In those years, as I previously explained, I was working very intensely as a university student. The practice of Yoga was gradually coming into my life as an integration. More and more often I had the chance to notice a change in my mind’s global functioning – memory, concentration, etc. I could especially see this during my exams. A few minutes before an examination, a little bit of Pranayama would endow me with a sudden calm and self-possession, no matter what the questions and the examiner’s attitude were. I would not feel nervous at all. I was able to maintain the necessary self-control to master my speech, often succeeding in expressing clearly not only what I knew, but also something more, which just then seemed to become evident for the first time. With this experience, a new era began.

27

Note The reader will understand that I did not mention the full name of P.Y., on whose works I had studied. It is not difficult, however, to figure out his identity! There are many schools of Yoga spreading his teachings according to a specific legitimation. One of these, through its representatives, made me realize that not only won’t they tolerate the least Copyright violation, but they won’t even appreciate their beloved Teacher’s name to be mixed into discussions on Kriya on the Internet. The reason is that, in the past, some people used His name to mislead the search of a high number of practitioners who were trying to receive His original teachings. Moreover, I mean to underline that in the following pages I will only summarily linger upon my understanding of His legacy, without any pretension to give an objective account of it. An interested reader should not renounce the privilege of turning to the original texts!

28

CH.I/4 KRIYA YOGA LEARNED FROM A SCHOOL I came to know that there was a group of people not far from my place, linked with the school founded by P.Y., and even though he had been dead for many years, they considered him “their Guru”. As a habit, they would meet twice a week to practice the Kriya techniques together; I had the first contact with them through a young kriyaban [a person who practices Kriya] who used to organize their meetings. With a great enthusiasm and a sort of euphoria fostered by my experiences, I approached him hoping to share some opinions about our practice. I remember our meeting with excitement; that was a key event indeed. He was of about my age, he knew and practiced Kriya, having being taught by a direct disciple of P.Y.. I would have never thought that the following words by Aurobindo could be applied to the consequences of our meeting: «Too bright were our heavens, too far away, too frail their ethereal stuff». With a sort of sour irony, I would dare to say that the current phase of my existence was too happy to last long. Life is made of short moments of calm and balance, in an alternation of vicissitudes; in them, people experience problems, limitations and deformations caused by the human mind through their own skin. Approaching this man with a total and alarming sincerity, I could not realize what kind of hard shock I was to receive. He welcomed me with visible enthusiasm, sincerely eager to meet a person with whom he could share his "passion". Since the very first moment of our meeting, standing on his house’s doorstep, I told him how fascinated I was by the practice of Kriya. He asked me right away, without much beating around the bush, when I had been initiated in the practice of Kriya, taking for granted that I had received the teaching from the same organization he was a member of. When he figured the way I had learned the technique, he got petrified, showing a bitter smile of disappointment.

29

It was as if I had declared to be the executor of the greatest of all crimes. Setting himself back from the disappointment, he emphasized how Kriya cannot be learned through books. There is only one way to receive it: being initiated by a "Minister" of his own organization! Staring right into my eyes, with an enormous emotive impact, he went on saying that a practice learned from any other source «is worth nothing, it will not be effective in matters of spiritual purpose», and a possible effect «might be a dangerous illusion in which the ego remains trapped for a long time». According to his words, nobody on earth was allowed to teach that technique, except the few people who were purposely authorized by the direction of the school. This rule was strictly respected by the components of the group; this was actually the way they had taken in the technique, submitting a precise and solemn promise of secrecy. «Secrecy»! How odd this word sounded to me, at its first impact with my attention; what a strange effect it brought to my emotion! Until then, I had always believed that it did not matter at all how a certain teaching was learned, or what book had been read or studied for it; the only important thing was to practice it correctly, always accompanied by the desire to go deeper and deeper into it. I felt it was not an awkward idea to protect a precious lore from indiscrete eyes. But the hard experience of an innumerable series of absurdities, witnessed during an arc of many years, was necessary to make out the miserable repercussions that this, apparently logic and almost necessary, decision was to bring into the life of thousands of people. Before any verbal description, he would ask me to practice the technique in front of him. He was naturally pushed by human curiosity and, I suppose, also by the hope that I had gone very far astray from the real Kriya in my guessing the technique. He felt relieved, intimately "reassured" when he saw me breathing through the nose instead of through the mouth, as he was told to; therefore my practice was evidently wrong to him. He asked me to explain more deeply what I was visualizing during my breathing and, while I was telling him, I saw an inner satisfaction spreading all over his face.

30

He judged my technique incorrect, thereby verifying a well-rooted prejudice that the technique, learned through illegitimate channels, could not – because of a particular spiritual law – but be corrupted. The secret he was bound to had not been broken by any of the authors of my esoteric books. The reader might remember that, according to the given instructions, the way of transporting the energy while breathing could be done through a route around the Chakras or inside of the backbone. I tried both ways but, since P.Y. wrote that it was correct to move the energy «around» the Chakras, I mainly settled on the first one; therefore, this was the version I explained. Besides, having read in another book that during Kriya Pranayama the practitioner was supposed to sing Om mentally in the Chakras, I added this detail as well. I could not imagine that P.Y. taught the variation of the breath moving inside of the spine, with the breathing done through the mouth and no mental singing of the Om. So, we were in a strange situation – I was telling him exactly what I would discover in the future to be the original Kriya taught by Lahiri Mahasaya, and he had a sarcastic simper on, a hundred per cent sure that I was talking nonsense! Pretending to feel sorry for my consequent disappointment, he informed me in an official tone that my technique «has nothing to do with Kriya Pranayama»! Questioned with dismay about my mistake, at least in general terms, he did not accept to report any detail; he was «not authorized to give out any explanations». Of course, I felt a strong interest in the correct procedure and subsequently, in some occasions, I "courted" him with the hope of receiving some crumbs of information; but he was a good weasel.

31

THE MYTH OF THE GURU On that occasion, enflamed by an absolute confidence, he launched himself in a wide digression upon the value of the "Guru" [affirming that P.Y. was his Guru], or “spiritual Teacher”, a puzzling concept to me because it was attributed to a person that he had not known directly. In his opinion, his Guru was real and present in his life, having been initiated to Kriya through the legitimated channels. The people who belonged to that group were convinced that their Guru – they had not personally known him either – was a special aid sent by God Himself; he had gotten hold of a part of their Karma in order to "burn" it in his body. Such an event [the creation of such kind of relationship with the Guru] was, thus, «the greatest luck a human being can ever have». The logical consequence – underlined with overflowing emphasis – was that, abandoning such form of aid or looking for a different spiritual path, amounted to «a hateful rejection of the Divine’s hand, stretched out to offer His benediction». As my position was totally inconsistent, he recommended me to send a written account to the direction of the school, describing the details of my vicissitudes, hoping that they would accept me as a disciple. Only then would I start the practice under their guidance. I saw a strange metamorphosis in him, as if all of a sudden he had been invested of a sacred role; he promised that he would « pray for me »! I was somewhat stunned by the tones our dialog was turning in to. In order to re-establish the initial agreeability of our meeting, I tried to reassure him about the positive effects that I had gained from my practice. My statement had the effect of worsening the whole matter, giving him the chance of a second scolding which was not totally unfair but, undoubtedly, out of place. He made clear that I should never look for any tangible effects in the practice of Kriya; much less should I display them, because in this way I would «lose them». That "poor, naïve guy", had gotten straight into an obvious contradiction without even realizing it; he was saying that the results were too important to risk losing them by telling others, and a few seconds before he had underlined that they were of no value whatsoever, rather, «they might be negative and dangerous»!

32

He began the tale – which, later on, I had the opportunity to hear plenty of times – of the Tibetan yogi Milarepa who, getting no positive results from the painstaking practice of his self-learned techniques, received the same instructions kneeling at the feet of and with the benediction of his Guru – so that this time the results came out easily. We all know how the human mind is more conditioned by an anecdote than by a logical inference! An anecdote – even if it is a total fancy with novelistic purposes – is endowed with a sort of internal "brightness" that conditions a person’s common sense; stimulating the emotions and feelings, it is able to make people accept conclusions that are absurd to the faculties of reason. This story made me speechless; I just did not know how to reply. For that day, at least, I lost the "fight". I told my friend that I would follow his advice. THE GROUP The room where the group met was essential but pleasant. Each member paid part of the rental, so that its fruition would not depend on the owner’s whims; in this way we also had the privilege of consecrating it to an exclusively spiritual use. My attendance started in a period that I remember nostalgically; listening to Indian songs translated and harmonized for westerners and, above all, meditating together was a true joy! Everything seemed paradisiacal to me, even though little time was given to the practice – no more than 20 minutes; often, scantly 15 minutes. Since I had not received Kriya "officially" yet, they asked me to limit my practice to simply centering the awareness onto the point between the eyebrows. A particularly beautiful session of collective practice took place on Christmas Eve; it was enriched by devotional songs and it lasted a lot of hours. Once a month we had the "social" lunch. On that occasion I began to know my new kriyaban friends more closely. It was a beautiful chance to spend some time talking together and enjoying each other. Unfortunately, a distinct embarrassment in our behavior spoiled

33

the pleasantry of our meeting; this was inevitable since our conversations were strictly kept on well-defined tracks. Its cause was the prohibition, by those who directed the school from a distance, to talk about other spiritual paths and deal with specific details about Kriya. Authorized people only could cover such a role; no one in our group could. These prohibitions distorted and mortified our behavior. Since many of us could not enjoy their family approval and – much less – support to the practice of Yoga, the only occasion we had to spend time among people with the same ideas and interests had to be an experience of great serenity and relaxation. During our gatherings we were not able to find a topic for our conversations which would respect the given rules and be, at the same time, interesting. It was not the right place for worldly gossips, unsuitable for a spiritual group. So, an only topic was left: the beauty of our spiritual path and our great fortune in having discovered it. Many of them were convinced that our school was the embodiment of a Divine plan to save the humankind from disaster. No wonder that, after some meetings of mutual "exaltation", an almost frightening boredom started to reign in the group. As a last resort, some risked entering the realm of jokes; they were no mean jokes, but such a light and innocent sense of humor had to live up to the devotional attitude kept by many of the members. Instead of that it eventually gave in to the cold attitude of the big part of them, who would not show a single inch of true joviality. If someone had tried to uphold the atmosphere of our get-together, he would have been left frozen for the rest of the day. As a matter of course, the group underwent a great recycling process; many members, who had joined in with enthusiasm, decided to quit after a few months, scraping the whole experience off their consciousness. Among the people I had met there in those days, I did not manage to find a true spiritual seeker. Even believing that I was among individuals akin to me – which means enthusiastic of Kriya – I had to admit that the reality was different. Some of them reacted to my enthusiasm with annoyance; they could not believe that I had no doubts or uncertainties at all. They considered my euphoria being typical of an immature beginner.

34

They seemed to censor my excessive interest in the Kriya techniques, saying that devotion was much more important and – introducing a concept which I could hardly link to the practice of Yoga – loyalty was much more important too. Looking back to those times, I wonder what those people’s opinion about me and my reckless attitude might have been. Definitely, a real threat to their dull existence. They made a moderate effort in the practice of Kriya and strived to extract any outer shell of devotion from the depths of their psyche; on the contrary, I made use of the totality of my energy for the improvement of the techniques, in order to have a natural flow of devotion springing from my inner realization. Each of us had two different approaches to the spiritual aim, without any hope of reaching a point of contact. [Let me say this; I have often seen how a devotional display mostly hides people’s own insincerity and negligence. Sometimes, though, it might also disguise the presence of mental troubles. I do not mean to lack respect to people’s sufferings, being also unable to put myself in their shoes; but I am fully aware that a true mystical aspiration can make miracles. Playing the part of the perfect devotee cannot.] Since P.Y. wrote that the Second Kriya enables the Yogi to leave his body consciously at will, I looked for someone who knew the technique, hoping that he could give me a general idea of it at least. A lady, who had been practicing Kriya for years and had once lived near our school’s general offices, seemed not to understand my question. So, I summed up the concept with astonishment, recalling the episode of Lahiri Mahasaya’s disciple Swami Pranabananda who accompanied the moment of his death with the practice of the Second Kriya. She got visibly nervous, saying that the quotation clearly referred to the technique of Pranayama, one breath, then another, and this last one to be (!) the "Second Kriya". I know that, up to today, she has remained fixed in her conviction. I had the impression that the idea itself that a similar technique might exist upset her; it was as if she had made so great an effort in setting the habit of a daily practice of the First Kriya, that she felt as if she had «already given

35

out everything she had»; in other words, she could not accept any other technique to bring forth a more engaging dedication. Anyway, another nonsense I later heard went far beyond her "willing" ignorance. An aged lady, perhaps trying to impart me an important lesson of humbleness, called me aside to reveal me that a long time before she had received the initiation in the so-called Higher Kriyas, but she had come to the final decision not to practice them for a matter of (!) «humbleness». She said she had felt so unworthy that she had put them aside and, after some years, she had almost forgotten them. There had been other people eligible to receive these teachings; they just refused them. When I asked the reason for that apparent exhibition of indifference toward the higher teachings taught by their Guru, they looked at me in bewilderment as if my question had violated an implicit law; never criticize or insinuate doubts about a person’s intimate choices on the spiritual field. They replied saying that what they had was enough; then, they briskly got off that topic. This fact, together with others I had experienced in that school, was a cause of real suffering. It seemed to me I was the only one who loved Kriya in a visceral way. I was disappointed in seeing such a high level of ignorance in those people or, even worse, indifference toward the art of Kriya.

36

TWO IMPORTANT PRELIMINARY TECHNIQUES Shortly after my admission to the group, I was introduced to an elderly lady who had corresponded with P.Y. himself. Thanks to her earnestness, sincerity and long-time loyal discipleship, she had been authorized to teach the Kriya preliminary techniques. Her temperament was very sweet and more inclined to the understanding rather than to the censorship. From what I could read in her face, when she referred to my Kriya technique – which had been guessed through my non-orthodox readings – I had the assurance that it was correct and effective. Nonetheless, she thought that learning the technique from official channels, maybe in the future, I would begin a more beautiful and satisfactory practice. That is why she taught me two preliminary techniques to Kriya, categorically inviting me to limit my practice to them only. The first one eases off the breath and the whole psychophysical system; it is called Hong-So because of the employed Mantra. The second one concerns the listening to internal [astral] sounds melting into the Om sound. She did not give me these instructions all at one time, but in two intervals of time, the second one four months after the first one. In this way I had the unique and splendid possibility to concentrate on the first technique for a long time; only then would the combination of the two techniques come, the first one in the morning and a total immersion in the second one in the night. Therefore, I could experiment the meaning and the beauty of each one. I) Hong-so technique The technique is simple. It consists – after some deep breaths to oxygenate the blood and calm the system – in letting the breath free, repeating mentally the Mantra "Hong-so", the syllable Hong during the inhalation and So during the exhalation. The essential recommendation is not to influence the breath; it has to go on in a natural and spontaneous way. These were the technique’s practical details but, foreseeing the thought rising in my mind, she went on adding that the procedure was not easy at

37

all, in spite of its apparent simplicity. She said that if the results had been disappointing, the cause would be some subtle mistakes in the practice. She remained rather vague but, encouraging me with a smile, she concluded: «it is true that the technique calls for a great commitment, but it contains every tool to come into contact with the Divine essence». I will be honest; my superficial beginner’s attitude led me to think of the Mantra as a "magical formula", which would produce amazing results. The school’s theoretic teachings introduced the rather strange thesis that this technique had to be approached as the only "scientific" way to obtain a real effective concentration. This is how I was induced to think that in some days, simply following these instructions, I would be able to develop a superhuman concentration. As it is obvious, I came into a big disappointment; that was the most boring technique in the world. Its practice seemed useless and dull. I carried on this Mantra for weeks, but most of the time I could not remain fully conscious of my breathing. It was at that very moment that, supported by the same goodwill characterizing my way of learning, I started to observe attentively a couple of details which, in my opinion, were responsible of my failures. The Mantra Hong-so, broadly quoted in the Indian spirituality classical texts, is really excellent to ease off the breathing rhythm gradually, without forcing it. By repeating it mentally over and over, it can easily and naturally conform to a hard-to-change rhythm. Once breathing follows this rhythm, as a consequence it never settles down. Once the rhythm has stabilized itself, inhalations and exhalations are made, even if the body "would like" to stay off-breath for some moments. At this point, short inhalations or exhalations are made without the body having a physiological need to breathe. Anybody can avoid this situation by keeping off from any established rhythm during the mental chanting of the Mantra. The pauses between a breath and another should be "allowed to exist"; therefore, they should be perceived and enjoyed, no matter if for just a few instants. This simple fact is sufficient to ease the breath off, while a condition of total and almost perfect immobility stabilizes within the body. Another detail is based upon the fact that during the inhalation the chest swells out and gets into elastic tension. When the lungs are distended, there is a force trying to bring them back into the previous shape. The pause

38

between the inhalation and the exhalation is contrasted not only by the rhythm but by the chest elasticity as well. Maintaining the concentration on the chest and on its elastic strength is sufficient to make a more comfortable and freer pause after the inhalation; the exercise will then result more harmonious. Little chronicle Putting all this into practice, my breathing became subtler and subtler and a "virtuous circle" between this growing calmness and a reduced necessity of oxygen brought me to a condition of breathing annihilation, while the movement of the air, outside and inside my lungs, was reduced to a throb. Trying to discuss my observations with those who were supposed to practice these techniques, I realized how hard it was for them to talk about such things. Sometimes I noticed an enormous and unreasonable resistance. People belonging to the group could be divided into two groups, those who were not satisfied with the practice but planned to try it again in the future with more attention (at that time they would not listen to my reasoning); those who, on the contrary, could not understand what I was saying. They sustained, without any conviction or wish to make the least experiment whatsoever, to be sure that what I had proposed was an alteration and a twisting of the original technique. I remember that when I tried to explain carefully these things to a lady, she pretended to listen attentively to me; in the end, she came out with a dogmatism amounting to the direst violence, saying that she already had a Guru and did not feel the need for another one and for further teachings. I was shocked and wounded, since I was perfectly aware that my teachings were not "another teaching" at all. My attempt was not to control or guide the breathing. On the contrary, I used a particular care in order to preserve its spontaneity. To pass by such episodes one after the other confirmed the idea that the apparent assiduousness of these people to their daily practice was the result of their superstition. Lacking the sufficient attention to and the concern for the results, they went on performing mechanically what had become an empty ritual, a way to appease their conscience.

39

II) Om technique Before beginning this technique, a yogi leans his elbows on a comfortable support that can be made on purpose. The support can be a simple horizontal table of any material, covered with foam-rubber and settled on a vertical stake of adjustable height. Practicing in the evening or at night is best; it is preferable to lock oneself up in a room, so that nobody will disturb. The practice consists in closing the ears with the thumbs and in listening to every internal sound, while chanting the Om mentally. The attention, according to the instructions, is directed to the inner part of the right ear, since the subtle sounds can be realized more easily and more persistently there. The yogi’s intuition begins a long journey into his deepest memory, that of his Divine origin. The Om can be heard in a lot of variations; it can be easily perceived after the ears have been closed, as soon as the least internal calm is created. The right attitude is to focus upon the loudest of these variations. This is the secret to succeed in tuning with the real Om sound, like the roaring of the ocean. Each mental repetition of the Om, keeping the attention alive, is essential; the awareness patiently follows any feeble inner sound like an "Ariadne’s thread" out of the labyrinth of mind. Then, it approaches a vast region, the Omkar reality, which is the vibration of the primeval Energy. That lady explained that her teacher, P.Y. (the same who had decided that this technique, among so many possible ones, should be a necessary rather than optional preparation to Kriya), had tried to explain the teaching of the Trinity in a new way. Om is the "Amen" of the Bible; at the same time it is the Holy Ghost, the "witness", a sound; a proof of the vibration of energy sustaining the universe. This technique, discovered by the mystics long ago, makes it possible to detect this vibration. Thanks to it, it is also possible to be guided toward such a deep state, which cannot be reached in other ways. Through this experience, a kriyaban can have that of the "Son", interpreted as the Divine awareness that is present inside the above-mentioned energetic vibration. At the end of his spiritual journey, he can reach the

40

highest reality, the "Father", the Divine awareness beyond every existing thing in the universe. While the previous technique leads to the development of concentration (also characterized by peace and spontaneous joy), the latter allows for a direct contact with the dimension of the Spirit. The lady’s explanation was characterized by such a sacred flavor that it accompanied me for the following weeks, helping me overcome the beginning of the practice, where it seems impossible that the sounds will manifest. I remember nostalgically my time in that slightly illuminated room, where I confined myself like a hermit during his hermitage. One day, after a three-week practice, having just begun the exercises ten minutes before, so that my awareness was in a state of deep relaxation, I realized I could hear an inner sound. It did not happen abruptly, but I felt as if I had been hearing it for some minutes. It reminded me of the humming of a mosquito, then it became a bell, heard from a distance; finally, my concentration detected the noise of running waters. The bell sound was a sweet embrace; it was a really ecstatic experience and it occurred so strangely that it grabbed my awareness and drove me into a sweet dimension, where I felt at ease. I have personally never had the opportunity to hear sounds such as that of a flute or a harp, which are largely quoted in the classical literature. Listening to the Om meant touching beauty itself. I could not imagine something similar making a person feel so fine, since I felt I was surrounded by the wings of the ineffable. The experience I was living was far greater than my little self. It was the quintessence of bliss and it went beyond any human hope, beyond any human desire. All this happened in a very precise moment of my life, when for the first time I indirectly ran into the concept of "devotion". I remember that whenever that sense of bliss arose, I would say to myself: «This is what I have always desired. I do not want to lose it anymore».

41

Note The reader might be interested in knowing that this technique does not belong to those included in the original Kriya, whenever the internal sounds perception happens without closing the ears. This technique is not a secret invented by P.Y.; it had been plainly described in the books of classical Yoga, called Nada Yoga, or "the Yoga of the sound." But practicing this technique for months can be a good way to change into a better attitude toward the practice of Kriya. Thanks to this technique a person is able to put aside any anxiety and get to very strong results.

42

CH.I/5 CRISIS After waiting for months – beautiful months in the company of the two preliminary techniques – it was high time that I came «to an eternal agreement with the Guru, to be taught the Kriya techniques in the only legitimate way, together with his benediction». Those who, like me, were ready to be initiated were about a hundred. A beautiful room had been rented for the ceremony at a very high price and embellished for the occasion with lots of flowers, as I have never seen in my life. Something unique and odd happened; about thirty people from the local group, dressed as if they were the Ministers of a new religion, entered the room lining up with a solemn attitude and their hands joined in prayer. The two teachers, who had just arrived from abroad, walked meekly and inelegantly, behind them. Then the ceremony began. I accepted without objections their demand of swearing everlasting devotion not only to the Guru P.Y. but also to a six-master chain; of this chain, Lahiri Mahasaya was an intermediary ring, while P.Y. was the so-called Guru-preceptor, or the one who would partially bear the burden of our Karma [such was the consequence of a well-known spiritual law]. It would have been really strange if no one had doubts about this; I remember a friend of mine wondering if P.Y. – definitely unable to give any confirmation, being now long resident in the astral world – had really accepted her as a "disciple", to be consequently laden with her Karma. We had been told that Christ was part of this chain because He had once showed up to Babaji [Lahiri Mahasaya’s Guru] asking Him to send some emissaries in the West to spread the Kriya. This caused no perplexity at all; rather, perhaps this assurance helped those people whose conscience was a little thwarted (upset they might betray Jesus through this initiation-baptism) when considering the whole mission and teachings as originated from Christ himself.

43

To receive the initiation to Kriya meant being taught, in the context of that ceremony, three techniques, Kriya Pranayama, Maha Mudra and Yoti Mudra [they never used the proper term Yoni]. These techniques – they said – embodied God’s most effective blessing toward His privileged creature, the humans, which exclusively possessed an inner body with seven Chakras. The secret and mystical seven-step ladder, revealed through the practice of Kriya, is the real speedway to salvation; it is not the only way though, since religions offer many other valid tools. But it is definitely the fastest and safest way. My mind was in great expectation for something I had so strongly desired and for which I had seriously been preparing myself for months. It was not what might be called a "sacrament" that I was submitting to, in order to safeguard a family tradition; it was the crowning of a definitive choice. My heart was immensely happy at the thought of the inner joy that I would gain through the practice of Kriya. Finally, being taught the Kriya Pranayama, I found out that I already knew it: it was the «Kundalini-breathing» technique, which I had found time ago in my esoteric readings and which prescribes that the energetic current flows all the way inside the spinal column. I have already explained that I had not taken in serious consideration that procedure owing to the fact that in P.Y.’s writings, which were my basis for my first glimpsing of the mechanism of Kriya Pranayama, it was written that the energy had to be rotated «around the Chakras, along an elliptic circuit». PROBLEMS WITH THE ROUTINE The school taught each technique’s detail in such a way that it would not allow for the least variation and, in addition, it prescribed a routine from which one could not derogate. Subsequently, if during the practice any least doubt had risen on the correctness of a certain detail, nobody was – even vaguely – encouraged to conduct an experiment and to come to a conclusion by himself. The thing to do was to contact the direction of the school, tell the problem and receive some guidelines, to be accepted as "The Word".

44

I learned to interact with the "authorized" individuals only, in order to receive some guidance. I would instinctively look for their advice as if it were given by perfect beings who could never be wrong. I trusted their suggestions. I believed they were "channels" through which flowed the blessings of the Guru and I inevitably thought that – even if they would not admit it out of humility – they had already reached the spiritual realization. [My desire to deal, in this chapter, with the reasons of my inexorable crisis is not moved by a groundless acridity toward the school. My aim is, instead, that of discussing a general problem, which will be fundamental in building a good routine inside Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya Yoga]. The recommended routine caused me rather big problems. The first exercise to be practiced was the observation of the breath [the Hongso technique] and this had to last ten to twenty minutes. The breathing was supposed to become more relaxed and to create a good state of concentration in order to facilitate the listening to the internal sounds. After putting the forearms on a support, the listening to the internal sounds – which would require about the same time – began. There would follow an interruption in the meditation because of the Maha Mudra. Eventually, setting back in a still and stiff position to restore the feeling of sacredness, the Kriya Pranayama began in the rigorous respect of all the instructions. The Yoti Mudra would be concluded with a full ten-minute concentration on the Kutastha, to absorb the results of the whole job. Now, the two preliminary techniques were deeply sacrificed. While the first one was carried off, the practitioner felt he should soon interrupt it to start the second one. This brought to a disturbing feeling, a sort of internal constraint resulting in the following technique. The unhappiest decision was to suspend the technique of listening to the inner sounds to get up and practice the Maha Mudra. [I know that some people, to avoid, partially at least, this feeling of discomfort, used to begin with the Maha Mudra, but the break had to be done anyway to be able to practice Pranayama.]

45

The technique of listening was a complete "universe" in itself and it led to the mystical experience; that is why its interruption was of great disturbance. It was a paradox; just as if, recognizing a friend with joyous surprise among a crowd, I began talking with him. Then, I went suddenly away, lost among the people, hoping to meet that friend again, unexpectedly, so that I could get back to where our conversation had been quitted. This stupid and absurd thing is exactly what I used to do in this routine; the sound Om was the mystical experience itself, the only goal I sought. Why should have I interrupted the listening to the inner sound to regain the mystical contact through another technique? I forced myself into such absurdity for an extremely long period. I am embarrassed to confess that it lasted no less than three years. Such was the power of that folly that in our group was called "loyalty". Through all this conditioning I had become like one of those animals that, fed by the men, tend to forget how to be self-sufficient; I carried on for a really long time the tendency to depend on the school’s judgment for everything, even for the matters of practical life. MY MEDITATION COUNSELLOR Allow me to stay a little more on this, not because I want to report a justification to my stupid attitude, but simply because I want to describe an almost unreal situation that, thought over with a hindsight, seems to me a matter of psychiatry rather than of spirituality. My interlocutor was that elderly lady who taught me the preliminary techniques and who was officially invested as a "Meditation Counsellor". After listening to my doubts and mulling-overs, she recommended an absolute obedience, saying that my logics is of no value since it is originated in the ego and it is not even worth listening. She said that intelligence is a double-edged weapon; it can be used to eliminate the swelling ignorance but also to cut off abruptly the lifeblood that sustains the spiritual path. Observing a particular photograph of P.Y. shot on the day of his death, I had the sensation that some tears were going to well up from his blissful eyes [it was not a bizarre feeling, other people told me they had the same impression]; I told her this, simply to have something to say; she became so serious and, with her eyes pointed far off toward an indefinite spot, she

46

soberly uttered: «you have to consider it a warning; the Guru is not content with you!». I kept silent, puzzled. Then she quoted an episode that proved that her Guru was in direct contact with God. She told me what happened when one of his disciples chose to continue his own spiritual search through other spiritual traditions, deciding to leave P.Y.’s Ashram. The Guru, noticing this, got in on the disciple’s way to stop him and warn him, when he heard an inner voice – "the voice of God", she called it – ordering him not to interfere with the disciple’s freedom. The Guru obeyed and in a flash of intuition he foresaw all the disciple’s future incarnations, those in which he would be lost, in which he would keep on seeking – amid innumerable sufferings, jumping from one error to another without finding anything – the path he was then relinquishing. Then, in the end, the disciple would return to the same path. The lady said that her Guru had been really accurate on the number of incarnations that the whole trip would have taken to be over – about thirty (!). The moral of this story was clear, something from which one could not escape – even if I had some doubts I just had to follow her and the school’s advice, «because that is God’s will». If I had not done it I would lose myself in a labyrinth of enormous sufferings and who knows when I would be able to get back to the correct path. The suggestions I had received about the meditation routine were therefore correct; they embodied God's will and the only thing I should have learned was how to wholly surrender to it. Although she admired the earnestness with which I was making progress – unlike so many other tepid and half-hearted people who would go to her only to be reloaded with the motivation they could not find in themselves - she was dismayed, for her devotion toward the Guru was totally extraneous to me. By telling me that or other episodes of P.Y.’s life, she tried to let me share her experiences. I am very thankful to her for all the sincere efforts and time spent with me, but how could she thwart my inner nature? She did only what was in her power; she could not relieve my immense thirst for knowledge on the art of Kriya. I had the impression that she was permanently expecting me to act in a somewhat "disloyal" way.

47

Months later she came to know that I had read a book which our school members were strongly dissuaded from reading. It was written by a man who had been formerly bound to the organization, and was now a "traitor" himself to her. I had no doubt that in the third millennium a person can read whatever he considers more convenient and so did I, finding that book so fascinating that I started distributing it to other friends. A friend of mine showed me a letter in which she had called me «a man who stabs his Guru’s back, handing out daggers to other people as well, so that they can do the same». Her reaction had been so emphatic that it did not hurt me at all; on the contrary, I felt a sort of tenderness toward her. I could sense that her actions were driven by waves of emotions and decades of steadfast conditioning. Seeing her own fears molding, I am sure that while typewriting that letter and pouring into it lots of other considerations to free all the tension she had accumulated, her countenance was serene, as if tasting a delicious, intimate satisfaction. Crisis Things went on this way until a profound crisis uprooted every apparent certainty. An event took place which put me in a state I was not able to flee from, unless with a decisive realization and a consequent inner change of convictions. The episode occurred in relation to a delicate human relationship. The ordinary common sense would have probably been enough to find a correct pattern of action, but I was a kriyaban [a practitioner of Kriya Yoga!], that is why I tried to apply integrally the teachings of P.Y., above all those that had a reference to concrete life. I had studied all his writings with the utmost sincerity and earnestness; this led me to start on the yogic way of eating [convinced that it was the best foundation for the practice of Kriya], I was sure I had found the methods to prevent a bad health, to find a job which would not contrast my spiritual path, to hold a proper demeanor with a possible employer, with friends, with a wife, etc.

48

Sometimes I considered a particular thought of P.Y. so beautiful and perfect that I would write it down on a sheet of paper to hold it in front of me while studying at my desk. The problem of the "rules of behavior" was further explored studying the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali, since I took for granted that they were the basis of both the classical Yoga and Kriya Yoga. In order to decide how to behave I chose, among all the writings, those which matched my mental plans, sentences that seemed to confirm my ideas and in this way I fed the belief that my way of acting was supported from above and that the benedictions and the strength of the Guru were with me. The failure came about. It was evident, but I could not accept it in a first moment. I refused to believe that I had acted wrongly; I liked to foster the thought that the other people were unable to live up to my decisions. It was as if I were "too spiritual" to carry on a life in this world; therefore, mine was a temporary condition that I had to bear up with patience for an indefinite – but certainly finite – time. One day everything would resolve in my favor. Like an unwholesome-minded person, I had lost every contact with the reality, until my illusory dream began to desegregate, slowly but inexorably. This happened when I tried to draft a synthesis of my experiences and I began to recall the events of my spiritual path, starting from the very beginning. I vividly remembered the first sessions of Pranayama and all what I had then experimented. In a state of rapture created by the beauty of my past, the thorny pain for the present situation mixed with the elation for a past that had not gone away and that might have been retrieved through a simple act of will. The real evil dominating those last years of my life became clearer and clearer. I saw how lethal was the pernicious idea of belonging to a privileged group and of practicing «the fastest technique in the field of spiritual evolution ». This thought had penetrated my awareness, awakened deep emotions in my mind – which prevented me from exerting watchfulness and discrimination toward the common things of life – creating, thus, a big devastation. Inner laziness and intellective paralysis resulted.

49

Now it was no longer possible to deny that the practice of Kriya was not deep. Apart from other foolish thoughts, I accepted the distorted idea that each Pranayama technique produced, almost automatically, «the equivalent of a solar year of spiritual evolution» and that through a million Kriya breathings I would infallibly reach the Cosmic consciousness. Every time I sat down to practice, I tried to perform the greatest possible number of Pranayama breathings in order to approach with more and more hurry and eagerness the moment in which I would complete the above-mentioned number. In the early years, when my spiritual adventure began, I nurtured no certainties and I faced with courage the feeling of desperation hidden in the depths of myself. Pranayama was the tool that would tear apart my internal obscurity. Now, even if my Pranayama was the authentic Kriya Pranayama received with all the blessings of a hypothetical Guru residing in the astral realms, I was not practicing it any longer with the primary intensity and with the full dignity of the soul, which can arouse only from an intimate necessity. It was evident that I had totally lost the initial motivation and the spirit of pursuit. I was practicing with an arrogant attitude of supremacy, confident in the automatism of my path. It was necessary to return to that stadium of work free from all this mental and passively accumulated junk; it was necessary to feel again the blessing of sufferings and doubts. The hypnotic atmosphere of the "Guru's Blessings" had been, in my case, the cradle through which my ego was fed and strengthened. The necessity of recreating a spirit of authentic search became imperative.

50

JAPA With a desperate need of peace and tranquility, I chose to stick to the simplest routine of Kriya and to live in a more introverted way. I stubbornly grabbed the well-known instruction to maintain resolutely, during the day, a smooth attitude toward both pleasant and unpleasant events, while sincerely feeling like a detached "witness". Sustained by the enthusiasm for this new "trick", described in such an alluring way in almost all the books dealing with oriental meditative practices, I succeeded in attaining an almost ideal state but, after some days, I felt under stress as if all was a pretence, an illusion. It was at this time that I came across a book about the life and experiences of Swami Ramdas, the Indian saint who moved far and wide all over India unceasingly repeating the Mantra Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram Om. This was indeed an important event; his photo – the almost childish simplicity of his smile – kindled my intuition and led me to try the same practice; from this decision something came that still remains in my heart as a peak experience. I started to practice it aloud during some walks, and then I tried to continue it mentally during my daily chores. The sound of the Mantra, which I had already listened to in a spiritual song-recording, gave me the idea of a strong and, at the same, time sweet vibration; the use of a 108-grain rosary made the practice very pleasant. Even if sometimes I felt a little bit dazed, I maintained the determination never to discard the practice. Since I observed, while doing it, an irresistible impulse to put everything in order, I thought that the Mantra could work in a similar way by cleaning my mental stuff and putting my "psychological furniture" in order. One evening, after Pranayama, while mentally climbing up and down the Chakras, I distinctly perceived a fresh energy sustaining my body from inside. I entered a perfect immobility and, at a certain moment, I discovered to be completely without breath. This condition lasted various minutes, without any feeling of uneasiness. There was neither the least quiver of surprise, or the thought: «Finally I have it».

51

It reminded me what Sri Aurobindo wrote about the moment he stepped on the Indian soil, after his long period of studies in England. With a poetical spirit, He told how a "vast calm" descended, surrounded and remained with him. It was a strange event indeed and it contained a fundamental lesson for me. Since I verified the perfect association between the practice of Japa during the day and the obtainment of this state, I was astonished that one of the simplest techniques in the world, such as the Japa is, had brought such a valuable result. Then, summer came. I practiced my Japa every day in the morning and Kriya at noon in the open countryside. Before starting with Pranayama I looked at the surrounding panorama wondering if I would experience the breathless state again; after 40-50 minutes I had already completed the active part – the last breaths of Pranayama – and then, after no more than two or three minutes, while I was moving up and down along the spine, the miracle happened. I took the decision that I would never drop this practice; it was really a heaven, and it seemed impossible to lose it. In the course of three months I lived in this celestial dimension, perfectly at ease, still, without any other desire of fulfillment. But the world of the "traveling Gurus" was getting closer to my life, and with it an unbelievable confusion too. This is where I would lose everything.

52

CH.I/6 TRAVELING GURUS By that time, under such particular circumstances, it would never occur to me to leave the school and start a path on my own. I was convinced that such a choice was impossible, being that school the best one existing. I felt as if it were my second family and P.Y. the best and sole authority in the field of Kriya Yoga. I was not aware yet of the simplification to which he reduced the original Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya, until some sad but providential episodes bailed me out of that delicate situation. Actually, the school had only provided a written form of the so-called "Higher teachings". Something was there which I just could not fully understand; I wanted to master to the full the technique of Thokar [the school called it Third and Fourth Kriya] based on the unification of the twelve-syllable Mantra Om Namo Bhagabate Vasudevaya with some movements of the head. All I was asking for was to be shown how the head movements had to be carried through, although some ulterior points of minor importance justified the need for a direct control of this technique. I wrote to the school direction to fix an appointment with one of its representatives, a Minister who would soon join us to hold classes for our group. I was asking for a favor which should be considered obvious by a rational mind, unaware that it was highly improbable; the school could hardly change its tradition to meet my desire. Probably, I had actually asked something which was a source of embarrassment either for the school or the Minister. There could be many possible explanations for that. The Minister might have had doubts himself on that technique, which P.Y. had written many years before – actually, P.Y. did not teach it to those living near the school’s headquarters either. By that time I could not understand all that and I was left in dismay when I figured out that he kept on postponing our meeting without valid reasons at

53

all. When we finally met, after I had insisted and insisted, I went through something truly unpleasing. I was convinced that hypocrisy, bureaucracy, formality, hidden falsity and subtle violence to one’s honesty were totally alien to each representative of that school. The feeling I had was akin to meeting an agent of one of the many institutions involved in our social life. Cruelty was that the Minister refused to show me precisely how the head had to be moved. He tried to convince me instead that I had to practice only what I had been taught in the past, that means the preliminary techniques and those of the First Kriya. I replied I would surely keep in consideration his advice; in spite of that I wanted to see how to move my head correctly, to practice them in a hypothetical future. My insistence turned him nervous, to the point that he rudely recommended me to enclose my questions in a letter to the school’s head. In vain I replied that the movements of the head could not be shown through a letter; that had been his last word. I had trusted and respected the school; I had studied the whole reference literature as if preparing for a university exam. I was now consternated to bear witness to the senseless whims of a man on power. This situation brought up a doubt – was the organization acting like that toward everybody? If that was so, that was really terrible. After the interview with the Minister, I was in a strange mental and emotive condition. A part of me was truly desperate and that cruelty was not the only reason. In all of us there are some child-like characteristics that might emerge in difficult moments. I was afraid that this gentleman, back to the school, might talk on my back saying something that in the future might reduce the opportunity to get that information. I knew that my relationship with the school had gone through a sound quake at its very roots. After that I could no longer rely on the heavenly relationship that for so many years had represented my horizon. In spite of that I had a feeling I would get over every hardship, clarifying all my doubts. Moreover, I knew I would be able to turn a destructive experience into something crucial both for my and other people’s spiritual improvement. The self-teaching part of me, which I could not suppress to adapt it to the group’s rules, was intimately enjoying the whole situation;

54

the school had somehow woke me up by means of a healthy "kick in the butt"; the old me was living again. Note Years later I was informed that a group of people living in an important European country, being fond of Kriya Yoga had tried in vain to be given some explanations on the same technique by the "authorized Ministers". For this purpose, they called an Indian master. The master came and, after skimming through the written material, he did not acknowledge what he had just read as the Kriya Yoga that he had been practicing for so many years. 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 words. [It is clear that I respect this choice, but only as long as it is integrated by a note reporting the true and commonly adopted spelling of the Mantra.] Apart from that, the absurd was its being always written with twelve separated syllables, as if it was not a Mantra but twelve different ones. The average reader would not recognize the Mantra at all, thus trying in vain to imagine the origin and the meaning of each of those syllables. [Other people that I had met in that period ran into the same problem. Discussions, even on the Internet, are still on concerning aspects of this technique.] But, being acquainted with Indians, I am quite sure that the master was familiar with those teachings and he was definitely able, anyway, to remove every doubt. He was just pretending. His performance was meant to give the impression that P.Y.’s teachings were totally wrong, deceitful, made-up. This is how his effort in advising them would appear essential. He had no longer come to clarify single details belonging to something beautiful. He appeared to have come to save those people from an abysmal mistake. He advocated the necessity to start all over again and to receive from him the initiation to the First Kriya. As a matter of course, he lost two thirds of the students on the spot. They, in fact, did not accept to be his formal "disciples", as required by the initiation ritual. Those who accepted his conditions were again initiated to the First Kriya and were given new techniques such as the Kechari Mudra and the Navi Kriya.

55

Incidentally, the absolute confidentiality was broken; in this way I have been able to get some precious information. Later, the group received the Higher Kriyas. Many of them disappeared, as if sucked into a black-hole, following the orbit of that Indian master; some others swung in and out of the school, bringing on, as a consequence, a practice characterized by a lot of dissatisfaction and changes of mind. For a while I relied on some books’ advice, to understand what the school could not or did not want to teach me: P.Y’s complete and unabridged teachings. I have already said that He was unique to me; as a matter of fact I was keen on taking in some tall stories introduced by my group mates: P.Y. allegedly met Babaji some years after Lahiri Mahasaya’s initiation. In simple words, He might have received some fresher and more effective teachings than the ones which had been given to Lahiri Mahasaya. I was confident that the things He wrote had in them the totality of information I would use during my life, and I used to get annoyed at all of those asserting to possess some interesting material which had belonged to Lahiri Mahasaya. The question was, how could I decipher his writings without the school’s help? It seemed to me that the school worked as a censorship aimed at keeping me from flying too high. In the written material that I had studied there was a lesson hinting to the Kechari Mudra, which was considered essential to the Kundalini’s awakening, but there were no indications on how it had to be carried out. I knew there had been some direct disciples of P.Y. hassling with the school’s direction and who, later on, parted from it. I cannot deny I hoped that, for revenge, they had let out the details I needed in some essay about Kriya Yoga or in some book of memoirs. My personal research took this direction. There were two or three names of such direct disciples. I purchased all their published material, taped lectures and all. What I found was a devastating banality; the secrets, if they had some, were well guarded. I continued the quest on books from India dealing with similar topics, no matter if they were not directly related with Kriya Yoga. I hoped I might get some correct intuitions through them. After all, all of them dealt with the Kechari Mudra, the spinal column, the Chakras and the Kundalini.

56

In the meantime, I came across some books written by Lahiri Mahasaya’s disciples, who did not have any connection with P.Y. This happened when some friends of mine, back from a trip to India, brought them to me. These books disappointed me and made me miss the clarity of P.Y.’s writing. They were but blank, meaningless words, with an endless number of repetitions in addition to continuous changes of topic, which I considered unbearable. The practical notes, presented as essential, were but scattered notes copied from classical books on Yoga. The lack of care in them made me suppose the author had not bothered about checking the original texts. He most probably took those quotations from books which were also quoting from other quoting books, continuing a chain where each author would add something to mark his personal contribution. Regarding my friends, I could glimpse their excitement for having seen such an extraordinary land. At the same time, their disappointment for all the things they had not been able to learn started to show out. Some of them happened to meet a boaster assuring them to know Kriya Yoga and to be able to initiate them. This could only happen as long as they had kept it a total secret without establishing any contact with other teachers. In this manner, the boaster made sure that they would not realize it was not Kriya Yoga what they were being taught. I could only realize this when, overcoming some people’s inner opposition, I had this technique explained to me as well; mostly, it was nothing more than the mere repetition of a Mantra! What made me feel sorrier about it was not the great advantage gained by those braggers (which for them meant a real fortune at my friends’ expense) as much as their missing the chance to learn Kriya Yoga from safer sources. Something different happened to a friend of mine who met a descendant of Lahiri Mahasaya. This was one of the master’s nephews, a man with a great academic background and of a deep knowledge of Kriya Yoga, but he was not able to learn anything by him. I was taken aback when he told me "something bizarre". He told me that in Benares, and probably in the whole rest of India, Kriya Yoga was not practiced any longer. Even the disciples of Lahiri Mahasaya did not know it. I kept enough control not to interrupt him, then I imagined what had happened; my friend most probably led the discussion toward very small

57

talks. He actually asked him some information on Indian habits, an Ashram’s address and, only at the end of the interview – he must have remembered he was in Lahiri Mahasaya’s house – he asked if any of the disciples of Lahiri were still practicing Kriya. His demeanor must have lacked the proper respect, because the master’s answer resulted in a sarcastically sour negative; in other words: «Definitely not, it is not practiced any longer in here. I dare say it is not in the whole Indian peninsula. Rather, you surely are the only one left on this planet practicing it!». My friend’s eyes were looking at me surprisingly. I am still not sure whether he was hoping to convince me or was just absorbed in bitter frustration. I did not pry into it. I am not sure – I do not think so anyway – that he realized how foolish he had been with that master. An answer came for him one month later; he came to know that a man from his same town had recently been initiated to Kriya Yoga from the very person he had met in Benares. He was so irritated by that news that he planned to get back to India to raise a protest to that man. [Unfortunately, this is something he did not have the chance to do; a serious illness got hold of his life. In spite of our huge character difference, I will always be grateful to this friend for all the things that he shared with me, concerning his spiritual path.] Returning to news and all kind of strange written material I had been receiving from India, one only is worth being quoted before getting off this topic. Another friend of mine remained for some days at an Ashram, in the hope he might receive Kriya Yoga. The monk running the Ashram was away, and my friend received the initiation to Kriya Yoga from one of his disciples. In the end, he was given some written material summarizing its techniques. At the end of his trip, visibly content, he showed me the written material; the techniques did not differ that much from those I already knew, but there were many more details. Nothing there was, though, that could do away with all my doubts; not a single hint to the twelve-syllable Mantra technique and the head movements, nothing on the Kechari Mudra either. On the contrary, I can remember a very complicated technique based on the visualization of the Chakras the way they are described on the Tantric texts.

58

Each technique was preceded by a theoretic introduction with quotations from ancient books and an illustration which eliminated any possible doubt. To conclude, a precise gradual routine was given. Of course, there was a note guaranteeing that all the mentioned techniques constituted Kriya Yoga taught by Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya’s mythical Guru. Since that material was very interesting, I would have liked to yield to the illusion that my quest had finally ended, since those notes contained what I was asking for. I simply had to convince myself that Babaji had but taken the classical Yoga and mixed it with Tantrism to obtain His Kriya Yoga. Moreover, that particular technique with the head movements might have been seen as the application of the three classical Bandha to the Pranayama; in other words, those movements were nothing but an easy-to-make variation of the… Jalandhara Bandha! If the instructions to the Kechari Mudra were not there, never mind, it probably just meant that it was not important. With a bit of good will and application I could have squared the circle. Chance made me listen to the recording of a conference, in which the author of those notes said he had found those techniques in some tantric texts which he had translated; he, then, made an accurate selection of them to form a coherent system which constituted his system of Kriya. How was it possible, then, to have a note saying that those teachings came directly from Babaji? Simple. As well as with the majority of Indian masters, their disciples would write the books; these people had the beautiful idea to make it more interesting by talking of a hypothetical derivation from the mythical Babaji. The teacher, then, reflecting a classic Indian habit, never checked that material – he was taken aback later on, coming to know about those "supplementary notes". He tried, anyway, to defend his disciples’ work stating that after all, Babaji’s Kriya Yoga had Tantric origins too. From then on, I went through a very particular period of my life because I finally decided to move, to travel in various parts of the world and know people, groups of people; my hope was not much that of finding other books, but a real teacher. I was very disappointed in books and I was starting to think that an actual comprehension of Kriya Yoga could only come about when it is

59

transmitted to us by a human being. I was diving headlong and defenseless into the terrible vice of dependence from a Guru. For someone it is like a no-way-out prison, for someone else it is the prelude to bitter disappointments and to the definitive giving up of Kriya Yoga and of the spiritual paths in general. Haunting seminars on Kriya Yoga, I met a lot of people and a lot of heterogeneous behaviors, whose interest ranged from esoteric philosophies to "New Age" tendencies, in which they floated in loss. In the first school of Kriya Yoga, I mostly met people whose enthusiasm toward Kriya Yoga was very mild, and it seemed they practiced the few techniques they knew as if making a sacrifice to tame a fickle mind and to expiate the wrong they had done: existing. My new friends, on the contrary, were even too passionate of Kriya Yoga, toward whose cathartic problem-solving potential they appeared to have too stout a faith. Bound to a very oriental lifestyle, they loved one which was especially characterized by particular sensations which they would cultivate through care and, above all, innocent frenzies. I learned to relate myself to each of them – for example to those who would host me, whenever the seminar was held in a distant city – the way an explorer deals with unknown animals, getting up for any eccentric revelation… alleged thaumaturgic powers, prophecies of imminent catastrophes and eventual tips on how to escape them. Some of them – no meanness intended here – seemed to be psychically unstable, sometimes with some emotional difficulties. At times, without realizing the way they felt, I would react to their oddness ironically; it was something I just could not help, it came out so spontaneously. At times, I even thought I might have embittered them; in spite of that they were always generous toward me and respectful of my personality. Never at all did they try to force something into my mind, sharing with passion everything they had learned, no matter if what they learned cost them a lot of time, effort and money. Our relationship was based on real affection and it never experienced disagreement, bitterness or formality. We often met in some city abroad, where we would attend some seminars by some "traveling" Guru. I spent with them one of the strangest and most beautiful periods of my life because in this way I also had the chance to travel around. I particularly remember these times of my life whenever I

60

listen to the tape recordings of some devotional chants I bought in those occasions. I was getting used to the "initiating" rituals. Bringing flowers was recommended, some teachers asked for one flower, some others three or six; some fruit was required too – someone might also expect a coconut, forcing the students to desperately look for it store after store; at last, a donation was required, sometimes a free donation, sometimes a compulsory minimum amount of money was set. I was immersed in something unfamiliar, which I accepted anyway as an inevitable inconvenience I had to go through with to get the information I was looking for. After so many rituals, the explanations were always too quick, too shallow; a destructive critic was often arisen against information coming from other sources. I would finish all those initiations repeating to myself how gratified I was, proposing to myself to abandon any other practice and to go down the line for the one I had just received. My heart would have surely advised me to listen to it, if only had I stopped to think for a moment; it would have told me that I was putting myself on, that the new initiation had only added something insignificant to what I already knew, that the teacher’s strict requests would soon become a "cage" from which I would sooner or later break loose. Those who organized the meetings always gave the impression of being trustworthy scholars and it always guaranteed that no nonsense would ever slip out of their mouth. I was surprised when one of them, beyond simple exhibitionism, quoted by heart some lines from a work of P.Y.; the same sibylline lines, source of so many uncertainties. He read and read through those texts several times trying to make them out; he really strained upon those texts. I felt that those researchers were my real family. Being with them was not just a pleasure, but also an important lesson. I learned to listen to them respectfully and silently whenever they would correct some of my fancy interpretations on Kriya Yoga. They provided good fuel for my brain. We agreed that our teachers were mostly mediocre persons with visible humane lacks; this might have been tolerable in common people, but strongly contrasting with the personality of people who called themselves "spiritual guides". We were not able to find at least one of them who would prove to possess that mastery of Kriya which was crucial in such a delicate

61

pedagogic work they were confident to do; besides, ulterior episodes confirmed our first impression of instability, improvisation and in one case even of mind instability. They knew little about Kriya Yoga and they taught it in an even more superficial way. In spite of that, those little bits of notions were enough to satisfy us. We were honest researchers hypnotized by the mythical Guru-disciple relationship, whose influence we had received from P.Y.’s school. It is strange to realize how the organization instilled us with the only thing that kept us stoutly devoted to people we actually depreciated. MY FIRST TEACHER OF LAHIRI MAHASAYA’S ORIGINAL KRIYA I found a text written by an Indian teacher of Kriya Yoga, containing some smart observations on the perception of the Om sound in the practice of Kriya Pranayama. It was written that the technique would not be correct if the practitioner did not feel this internal sound – without closing his ears obviously. The statement was worthy to be taken into consideration, because it was apparently relative to an extremely deep practice of Pranayama. Reading that book, I had the sensation that its author knew the processes of Kriya Yoga far better than many other teachers. I was excited like a child receiving the most beautiful of all gifts; I could almost touch the marvelous possibility of adding to my Pranayama that blissful experience I already had, while practicing the technique of listening to the internal sounds. Among other theoretic parts, the author said that the final part of the enlightening process would take place in a hollow cavity of the brain, called "the cave of Brahma". In its front part there is the hypophysis, behind it we have the pineal gland. [According to him, these two glands were the seats of the sixth and of the seventh Chakra respectively.] In such cavity, enlightenment can take place not simply metaphorically but in the very literal meaning of this word. An emission of light, similar to a voltaic arc, would happen between the two "poles" and shed light in that area. This process was described as a "mystical union". The whole explanation was accompanied by a helping sketch, which had the psychological effect to eliminate all uncertainties on the validity and universality of this experience.

62

This teacher, being about to undergo a surgery operation in the United States, was going to make a stop in Europe; I worked very hard to take part in one of his seminars. His classes were for me of great emotional impact; he had a majestic and noble aspect, he was "handsomely" wrapped in his ocher clothes, his oldness, his long hair and beard marked the features of the typical sage. I took glimpses of him while he spoke, hidden by the front rows; I heard him talk of Lahiri Mahasaya’s legacy according to his personal experience. I found no objection to his words, even if sometimes they fell into a devotional tone. The things he said were marvelous, absolutely new for me. The Om vibration had a very high importance in Kriya Yoga and it had to be perceived not only in the aspect of sound and light but also in the aspect of a "sensation of movement" (some other time he spoke about a feeling of pressure or heaviness). All the Kriya Yoga techniques should be practiced to get to that perception; the Maha Mudra, for instance, had to be preceded by a bend forward of the body. [I will discuss this in detail in the second part of this book.] The object of his explanations was not on what he called «long-breath Pranayama», but on the following part, where the breath is subtle and faint and sometimes it seems about to stop. He applied an enormous emphasis to this practice. He was leading me into a wondrous dimension that I had only slightly guessed, but never explored. To him, Kriya Yoga was not merely a set of techniques but a unique progressive process of tuning with the Omkar reality: like the thread uniting all the pearls, Omkar underlay all the different phases of Kriya. He tried his best to pass on this secret in any possible way, gestures and all, "touching" the students and making their bodies vibrate. A deep recommendation was never to lose our breathing awareness and, if possible, to raise each Chakra up into our head with each different breath. He said that if we wanted to improve our practice of Kriya Yoga we should engage in it everyday for 1728 single breaths, for a certain number of days, like 12 or 144 days. [I will discuss the details more ahead.]

63

During a separate session he taught us how to introduce the twelve-syllable Mantra (Om Namo Bhagabate Vasudevaya) into Pranayama, "touching the inner part" of each Chakra with each syllable. After a few weeks of painstaking practice of the techniques according to his indications, I entered a season of life in which I experienced a total contentment and ease, as if my Kriya path had come to its fulfillment. By day, everything seemed surrounded by a padded coat reducing all dissonances. Everything was like transfigured; I was like living in a perfect reality and the whole world was smiling ecstatically at me; every pain took flight, off my sight. Looking back to this experience, it has been for me a sort of vacation, away from life and all its problems and anxieties. It was winter. For about three weeks I have been able to stay away from reality. I chose to spend every morning wrapped in the warmth of my home, practicing for some days the 1728-breath technique. I had the chance to go to a party in a beautiful location equipped for winter sport. Here I could wander the snow-white countryside aimlessly. In the afternoon, while I was lazily getting about, the sun set its way down, painting the landscape with breathtaking colors; the little village, sunk in the snow, started to be all lights. When the vacation was over and I got back to my job, during my spare time I would think about the precious jewel I had found, visualizing the possibility of future completion for the binding processes of the Higher Kriyas. I realized that they could be actually completed only if I retired from my job. That is why, for the first time in my life, I planned out my retirement – no matter if my social security pension was of the lower type. One day I was in a room from which I could glimpse, through a pane, the far-off mountains and contemplate the purely celestial sky above them. I was in ecstasy! That distant sky symbolized my future years, which I would wholly dedicate to my Kriya Yoga. The soil my teacher was cultivating began to get sterile, since he chose to leave out some of the techniques Lahiri Mahasaya had passed on – not only those belonging to the Higher Kriyas, but also to the First Kriya – making his teachings incomplete.

64

Aware that the original Kriya spirit had been lost in other schools, he wanted to approach us to the real meaning of it. He had tried all the original Lahiri Mahasaya’s techniques, concluding that the majority of them were not essential; some of them were rather too delicate and difficult to be learned. Attempts to understand them would, then, result in a useless distraction for the students and a waste of time for him as a teacher. He thought that the request by some people to receive the Higher Kriyas revealed a sense of dissatisfaction, implying a lack of engagement in the basic techniques. He was afraid that this dangerous detour might lead to a fatal esotericism. All what he said made definitely sense, but it also contributed to his isolation. He did not keep into consideration how the human mind really works, through insatiable curiosity and the total rejection of any veto. I saw the sense of his solitude when, one day, on a Kriya reviewing lesson, he told his public that the real Pranayama could only take place in total absence of breath; the normal one, marked by long breaths, could only be good for «kindergarten children». He closed his nostrils with his fingers and kept that position for some time; he was simply illustrating a concept without keeping himself from breathing. In spite of that the students were staring at him in loss; he must have been bizarre and peculiar to them. I could not help thinking how many disappointments must have convinced him to make such a peculiar demonstration. Perhaps he had met people who, after years of long-breath Pranayama, did not gain any benefit; so, maybe, he simply wanted to share with us the discovery of a life. Yet, the beginners could only sense too big a distance to be bridged between them and the master. Those who already had a good mastering of Kriya had the final confirmation that the teacher would never reveal the secret procedures he was an expert of. It seemed to them that all what he had taught was a simple introduction to Kriya, but it had not provided the key to the experiential acme. So, literally devoured by the thirst for the complete teachings, they could not concentrate serenely on what they already knew. Some might contend that a lot of people obeyed him, and this is actually true; but that kind of people would never do something like organize a seminar for their teacher. Frankly talking, their faithfulness was not enough to avoid the worst end. The honest aim of his effort, all the marvelous

65

subtleties that he had applied to Kriya, making this practice livelier and by far more beautiful for a lot of practitioners, was not enough to prevent the shipwreck of his whole mission. The book he had written had been a smart strategic action which made him popular in the west, saving for him a place of crucial importance in the realm of Kriya. Moreover, his Indian-sage figure impressed the people. He really had all the necessary tools to attract the western world. Hundreds of scholars were enthusiastic about him, they were ready to back his mission and treat him like a divinity, being willing to show the same respect to a possible successor. Yet, after an overwhelming initial enthusiasm, his unhappy choice started an inexorable mechanism which pushed away the people who were most indispensable to him. Disappointed in their defection, the more he stubbornly focused on the essence of Kriya Yoga, the less he was able to catch the attention of new people. If someone had tried to get this absurdity across to him, he would have found himself facing a wall that would never breach. Using the same flyers and changing only the Master’s name, some people, who formerly organized his seminars, called another teacher who would substitute him. He was to become my second teacher. Although his spiritual achievements were almost inexistent, some kriyabans who had already met him in India said he was more willing to explain Kriya in its complete form. MY SECOND TEACHER The magical realm of Omkar, which I had partially experienced since I was a young student and which I had been introduced to by the passion of my former teacher, could be neither left aside nor forgotten. I did not even dream about changing my spiritual path’s foundations; this is why I approached my new teacher with the idea of rejecting him if, somehow, he appeared to be trying to guide me away from such a reality. I met him in Italy, in a Yoga center where he had been invited by some disciples; from an informal speech, followed by a question-and-answer section, I came to know that he knew my former teacher and was aware of his choice not to teach the whole body of the Kriya techniques. He got clearly across to us that the reason of his trip west was to re-establish the

66

original teachings into a complete form. This was enough to win my initial wariness and stir my enthusiasm. During the following initiation seminar, I indulgently observed some lacks in his behavior which, instead, shocked the other followers. He revealed a real temper. He exploded whenever he was addressed an innocent and legitimate question; he would always sense a hidden purpose or a veiled opposition in the student’s words, instead of an excess of curiosity or a maniacal passion for details. To him, they were challenging his authority. His explanation of the techniques was reasonably clear but in part unusually synthetic. For instance, his instructions on Pranayama, which were formally correct, could be understood only by those who had already been practicing Kriya Yoga for a long time. He would dedicate very little time to this technique, so that one day I decided to time him; he dedicated no more than two minutes to the relative explanation. He carried on that way for years, in spite of his close collaborators’ polite complaints. He demonstrated Pranayama by means of an exaggeratedly loud vibratory sound, made through his epiglottis. He knew that this sound was not correct, but he continued using it to be heard by the last rows of students too, sparing himself the annoyance of getting up and walking among them, as Kriya teachers usually do. In any case, he would not bother saying that the sound had to be smooth, instead of vibrating. I know that many of the students tried to produce the same sound for months, believing that that was the correct way to practice, the "great secret" that this teacher had brought from India. Some years later when he asked me to teach Kriya Yoga – since he was away – to those people who were interested in it, I rejoiced at this occasion because I could finally explain everything in a complete and exhaustive way. I wanted my students to forget the shame of being refused and of seeing a legitimate question unconsidered. I had the impression that everything was going on smoothly; all of a sudden the situation started to get complicated. This happened when I wrote a letter to him, some months before his return, to advise him to check the student’s comprehension, after the initiation classes, through a guided group practice. Incredibly, as a reply, he crossed me out of his list of disciples, communicating his official decision to one of his close partners. Probably, my experience with that teacher would have ended that way – and it would

67

have been better – if I had been informed about what was happening. Unaware of the situation, when I welcomed him back to Europe at his arrival, he hugged me as if nothing had happened. He probably interpreted my presence there as an attitude of repentance withdrawal. Later on, I got appalled when I realized everything. It was too late to react though. For the benefit of the group’s peace, I decided to go on without reacting but I deliberately began to control myself, without making any reasonable suggestion. In order to be able to tell the definitive crack of our relations, it is necessary to stop for a while on Lahiri Mahasaya’s Higher Kriyas. There is confusion on this topic since there are a lot of schools – each of them created by one of Lahiri Mahasaya’s disciples – teaching the techniques in different ways, with omissions of this or that. This teacher belonged to a particular school which had eliminated all the Kriyas presenting the delicate problem of holding one’s breath (or of calming it until it becomes almost inexistent). This is a very important detail in Lahiri Mahasaya’s Thokar technique: the Second and the Third Kriya. It is not actually easy to explain how these techniques work; a practitioner has to raise the energy to the lungs’ higher level and breathe in a particular way, his breath being so subtle to result imperceptible. Its didactic aspect becomes problematic when the teacher decides to initiate a whole public instead of a little number of disciples. This is the reason that my new teacher used to leave out a whole sequence of techniques which were connected to this delicate point. In spite of that, I knew them all; I had learned them from other sources and I kept them away for my future, having so many precious things to practice in the meanwhile that he was teaching us. I must say that the few things he taught us were not well explained at all. I tried to be tolerating when it came to some secondary details, but I could scarcely stand that the same technique changed from a year to another. One of them included some precise head movements – it was not Lahiri Mahasaya’s Thokar on the heart, but a different one. Actually, the last year he came to our group he changed the movements’ basic procedure; when some of the students asked him a reason for the changes, he pretended not to understand, arguing, later on, that he had not changed anything and that a problem of translation might have occurred.

68

I made the translation in question. I did not say anything since his lie was too evident. My friends remembered very well the head movements they had seen with their own eyes; they were actually different. Later on, when the changes began to be more substantial, I felt the impression I was cooperating with an archaeologist who was deliberately altering some findings in order to justify them to the public in the theoretic frame he was accustomed to. Absorbed in these preoccupations, I did not realize that I had almost completely lost contact with the Omkar reality. My subconscious mind was beginning to rebel. I can vividly remember a dream in which I was swimming in manure. While the diffusion of Kriya touched a lot of people in a superficial manner, attracted by a shallow publicity, behind my mask of fake delight hid a dry agony. There were moments in which, thinking of my meek beginning in the practice of Yoga, my heart distilled an indefinite nostalgia for that period, which was ready to rise again and blossom to the full now that I knew every part of Kriya Yoga. As an answer to some friends abroad, I went to their group to teach them Kriya Yoga, on behalf of my teacher who, the following year, would join them to review and integrate the teachings. In that group I met a very serious student who asked me a lot of questions. He proved to know from Kriya Yoga and we discussed the fact that my teacher had never taught a whole part of the Higher Kriyas. He could understand my embarrassment and he was surprised that I had never talked freely about it to my teacher, since he had chosen me as a Kriya teacher! It was absurd for me not to open my heart with him. Being aware of his temper, I knew that he would not accept this and that the whole situation might collapse, yet my duty was to face his reaction. I knew very well that everybody would suffer if our relation had come to a final break; just a few of them, in fact, were able to comprehend the delicacy of this matter and the reason for my actions. They felt comfortable with him, and his annual visit was a powerful stimulus; we got ourselves up for his visit with an intense practice of Kriya Yoga, as if we had to be tested. Everybody appreciated his philosophy, and I shared this appreciation too. This was to all of us the best remedy against New Age deformations; it was a solid understanding that Kriya Yoga is not meant as an increase of one’s mind and ego toward a hypothetically superior mind, but a trip

69

beyond the mind through an uncontaminated territory. In spite of this, I wrote a letter to him where I mentioned the problems in question, which we would discuss at his arrival. A not mild reply came days later. He wrote that my excessive attachment to the techniques would never let me out of the fences of my mind; I was like S. Thomas, too desirous to touch with my hand every detail of Kriya, whereas I should have tried to spend my time a little better, practicing the techniques I already had. I admit he was right, Lahiri Mahasaya himself used to say that you can obtain everything through the First Kriya. Nonetheless, I thought that an informal talk about this issue would not do harm to anybody. I replied to my teacher’s letter insisting with my request. Some weeks later I realized that my name and that of my group had been taken off from his Internet site; my letter brought about a definitive split. My friends reacted badly to this news, but some people from other groups lived it as a liberation. Like a domino effect, people belonging to some other groups in Europe, who had been hardly tolerating his bad manners, took advantage of that episode to break any contact with him. We never met that teacher anymore.

70

CH.I/7 ABANDONING ANY SECRETNESS IN KRIYA I really had no little idea of what our group was to become without a teacher joining us in the near future. Without him, in fact, it would remain close, sterile, doomed to die away because no newcomers would bring their enthusiasm in anymore. There would be no new students to be initiated to Kriya Yoga. After some months the wheel of good fortune seemed to be turning again; a new teacher would probably come to the group in one or two years. I accepted the proposal to invite him as he was a well-regarded person. An episode happened which in the past I would not give importance to, accepting it without complaints. Instead of that, it caused a violent reaction in me. A friend of mine, with whom I had shared everything of my spiritual path, accompanying me in my ventures with both the teachers and suffering the same woes on his own skin, went to India for a vacation, where he visited the new teacher we were going to invite here. He had his Pranayama reviewed. When he got back to Italy, I met him; he was very happy and asked me to practice Pranayama in front of him. After I had done so, he told me there was a mistake in my practice. When I asked him what it was, his reply literally froze me: he could not tell me, since he promised the teacher he would not reveal anything. My friend, knowing our group’s way of doing Pranayama and that we were going to invite him to Europe in the following years, had asked him for the permission to correct our mistake, but the answer had been negative. This teacher knew our past vicissitudes and said he felt sorry for us. Was he scared we would not invite him, after the mistake was revealed? Was he really so mean? I did not claim my friend to tell me everything he learned from his experience in India, of course. But how could he just leave me with my mistake? I considered this absurd. I reacted badly. My friend was taken aback when I cut our discussion and left; I felt a strong need to stay alone and think.

71

Some days later, contacted by the teacher’s secretary, she handled the financial side of the trip with such brutality and harshness that I decided to decline the offer. I was really sick and tired of the whole situation; I had enough of behaving like a compliant disciple who begs the crumbs of the "original Kriya". This farce was destroying my inner life. IMPORTANT READINGS At that time I was reading – first in a French and in an English translation then – the Puran Purush (Yogiraj Publication. Calcutta) based on Lahiri Mahasaya’s diaries and one of Kabir's biographies. Puran Purush came out in Bengali, thanks to one of Lahiri Mahasaya’s nephews, Satya Charan Lahiri (1902-1978), who had material access to those diaries. Helped by one of his disciples, a writer, he decided to make a selection of the main thoughts which might have been useful to those who practiced Kriya. Even though it seemed not to respect a logical order in the topics disposition and it contained an endless mixture of repetitions and rhetorical sentences, it was a source of great inspiration. During the summer, I used to bring it along with me to the countryside; I can remember how many times, after reading a part of it, I would raise my eyes to the distant mountaintops and repeat inside of myself «I finally have it… » as in a long-lasting state of trance. I looked at the photograph of Lahiri Mahasaya on the front cover; who knows what a state of bliss he was in while being shot! I saw some horizontal lines on his forehead, his eyebrows raised like in the Shambavi Mudra, where awareness is set upon the head; his chin seemed to maintain the Kechari Mudra position. During those days, his figure, with that blissful smile, was a sun in my heart; he was the symbol of the level of perfection, knowledge and love that I was trying to grasp. The characteristic trait of the book was the great importance given to Pranayama first, and to Thokar secondly. I needed to extract from my huge heaps of notes, collected during years and years with different teachers, the essentials of Kriya. Then, I would get down to a painstaking and earnest practice, experimenting again each part of Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya from the beginning.

72

Kabir’s [1398 Benares – 1448/1494 Maghar] biography was of great inspiration to me. Illiterate weaver, Moslem of origin, he was a great mystic, open to the vedantic and yogic influence, an extraordinary singer of the Divine, conceived beyond name and form. The poems and sentences ascribed to him are expressed in a particular effective language that remains permanently emblazoned in the reader's memory. In the last century, Rabindranath Tagore, the great mystical poet of Calcutta, rediscovered the reliability of his teachings and the power of his poetry and made a beautiful translation of his songs into English (New York, The Macmillan Company). Kabir had as a teacher a Brahmin [Ramananda] and was therefore instructed to conceive Islam and Hinduism as two roads convergent toward a unique goal: he was always convinced of the possibility to overcome the barriers that divide these two great religions. He did not seem to appreciate the holy writings, the religious rituals and dogmas. That God has to be recognized inside of one’s own soul – like a fire fed by continuous care, burning all the resistances, dogmas and ignorance down. This beautifully appears in Kabir’s saying: «One day my mind flew as a bird in the sky, and it entered the heavens. When I arrived, I saw that there was no God, since He resided in the Saints!» Hinduism gave Kabir the concept of reincarnation and the law of the Karma; Islam gave him the absolute monotheism – the strength to fight all the forms of idolatry and the caste system. I found the full meaning of the yogic practice in him; he says that there is a garden full of flowers in our body, the Chakras, and an endless beauty can be contemplated if the awareness is established into the ''thousand-petal Lotus''. As it regards his concept of Shabda, which can be translated as "Word" [the word of the Master], we can relate it to the Omkar teaching – the Om vibration. According to him this Shabda-Om dispels all doubts and difficulties, but it is vital to keep it constantly in our consciousness as a living presence. He taught not to renounce to life and become hermit, not to cultivate any extreme approach to the spiritual discipline, because it weakens the body and increases pride. He keenly planned to die in Maghar, near Benares – with a last sneer, since who died there, according to the current beliefs, would surely be reborn in the features of a donkey!

73

I think that studying Kabir’s thought may help, as few other subjects of research, to understand Lahiri Mahasaya’s personality; thus, the nucleus of Kriya may be reached as fast as an arrow. In Kabir’s sobriety and simplicity we can perceive, as a reflex, the full radiance of Lahiri Mahasaya’s light, nowadays veiled by the too-complicated literature related to him. A part of Lahiri Mahasaya’s writings – letters and diaries – reminds us of Kabir, even though another part diverges in a dramatic way. Lahiri Mahasaya commented verbally some sacred texts. His disciple P. Battacharya later printed these interpretations. These books were little known for a lot of time, as they were written in Bengali. They were later translated into English. A lot of people studied that material with enthusiasm, hoping to find there some useful information to the understanding of Kriya; yet, they were disappointed. By examining them we remain bewildered since we are not able to extract anything useful; we dare not say they are adulterated but we recognize that their value – from an exegetic point of view – is almost null. Two hypotheses come out quite spontaneously; people who have compiled such books have mixed their philosophy with that of Lahiri Mahasaya. Then, his thought only started from some sacred text, to be, later, developed on its own, abandoning completely the starting point – therefore, these notes cannot be considered in any way as a commentary. Luckily, in the Puran Purush I found his thought expressed in a very solid form. It strikes his skill in synthesizing concepts whenever he affirms that the whole course of Kriya is a great adventure beginning with the dynamic Prana and ending with the static Prana; I feel a thrill of delight when I meet some sentences, which have in themselves an unimaginable light; «Kutastha is God, he is the supreme Brahma» or «A yogi who has cut the three knots becomes Trivangamurari himself. He becomes Krishna». Kabir's essentiality comes to my mind, together with the idea of overlapping the teachings of them both, getting, thereby, a miracle of simplicity. Lahiri Mahasaya and Kabir's thought is that of a monotheistic religion where the Omkar reality has substituted the ''single God''.

74

All the various names given to the Divinity, also used by Lahiri Mahasaya in his diaries, disappear; they become entirely useless words, since it appears clear that the ultimate reality is Omkar! Now, I realize that a lot of people will turn up their nose by hearing the word “religion”. A lot of people begin the Kriya path with a wrong attitude, that pseudo-scientific attitude according to which, by doing certain techniques, a person automatically obtains certain results. I know that, unfortunately, many teachers have trumpeted this incomplete and diverting truth, while some attract people to Kriya by promising results that gratify the ego, saying that it grants the attainment of a state in which our mind’s latent powers manifest. These teachers would be fairer if they only stressed the Mystical nature of Kriya! It is now to the researcher to free himself from this whole heritage, because if he thinks that Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya is a path of "psychological growth", seeking results in the psychological field only, then, sooner or later, his original mainspring will exhaust. Kriya cannot become a substitute for psychotherapy, and even if it creates an inimitable internal cleaning, it will not clear up the problems which are to be resolved through a wise behavior in the practical matters of life. Moreover, we, as human beings, even being the most rational people of the world, need a path that has a "heart." In Kriya Yoga we should conceive our destination as the supreme goodness or beauty itself. Possessing the intelligence to do this, we could pick into an arid ground and find a fresh source of power: the spiritual instinct's driving power, the strongest power a man has. We could face the practice of Kriya without expecting to gain something back from it; rather, we would be cradled in relaxation by the waves of the most beautiful feeling we have ever had. Only in this way can we enter a passive but vigilant state, where the "door" begins to open up, letting us into the Omkar’s hold of ecstasy!

75

THE DIFFICULT DECISION OF WRITING A BOOK ABOUT KRIYA Equipped with a renewed enthusiasm for the austere but, at the same time, warm path of Kriya, I found myself taking advantage of a break, while I was skiing on a winter’s day, to look at the mountains marking out the boundaries of the distant horizon in all directions. In half an hour the sun would paint them pink, especially on their eastern side. I imagined India to be right behind them, being the Himalayas their continuation. My thought was addressed to all the practitioners who had the my same problems in the Kriya techniques. For the first time in my life, I dared linger on a thought; a book on Kriya explaining every technique. It would represent a light dissolving a nightmare. The book in question did not exist, but I could write it. How often have I imagined what would happen if Lahiri Mahasaya had written such a book. My imagination led me to visualize the color of its cover, to skim its pages, which were not so many, like in Patanjali’s Yogasutra. I was sure that some people would try to force their meaning into their own theories; maybe some pseudo-guru would say that the techniques described in it were for beginners only, while there were much more complicated techniques which could only be passed on by authorized people. I was also sure that many people would swallow the bait, contact the author and pay good money to be introduced to the techniques that he had made up. Now, since Lahiri Mahasaya never wrote down any technique, if a westerner writes a book on Kriya a century later, everybody will claim proof of its validity. We could open a parenthesis on those people making a dogma of the techniques oral transmission, as advocated by those masters coming west as custodians of the original Kriya. They would try to destroy its credibility by means of a pitiless censorship; «It contains but stories that have nothing to do with Babaji’s and Lahiri Mahasaya’s teachings». Their scornful face would skim its pages with a sigh. "New Age" people – lovers of texts which are enriched with illustrations based on the Indian folklore – would definitely be disappointed in its sobriety, tossing it aside because it «does not have good vibrations». I wanted my book to prove its validity through the illustration of a whole of techniques incarnating the practical translation of Lahiri Mahasaya’s thought in the simplest and most logical way. No more riddle-like

76

sentences, no more rhetorical claims of legitimacy. Those who love practicing Kriya would find in it something interesting. So, the book would continue to circulate, and who knows how many times it would get back to all the teachers who had decried it. At times they would have to pretend not to see that some students are reading it for the first time during their seminars, missing part of the conference. For some minutes I was lost in this kind of reveries; then, the whole sense of the current situation in which Kriya Yoga lay came brutally back to me. I closed my eyes. I felt as if I had just woken up from a dream; the world I knew was like a nightmare. Watching the blue sky above the gilded mountain brims turning pink, I realized what kind of conflict I was in. My soul was torn to pieces. I was ready to fight a reasonable, logical battle according to the standards of western society, but it was impossible to break the secrecy of Kriya without challenging the idea of the Guru-disciple relationship. Subdued by a sudden tiredness, I dragged myself back home. In the evening, I was surprisingly unexcited about my new project. I stayed down on my knees in front of the sofa for a while. My head was sinking in the pillows. Later, I set the record player on "repeat" on Beethoven’s Emperor Concert. This great composer life was nourishment for my soul. The tragedy of being deaf hit him at its creative peak. He reacted in a most honorable manner, carrying on his artistic as well as mystic inner path in a very hard condition. He molded an incomparable music from the depths of his self, for his brothers and for the whole humanity. The awful impact of his sorrowful decision can be found in the Heiligestadt Testament. Did anybody, taking the so-called Guru’s blessings for granted, ever practice Kriya Yoga with the same dignity and courage with which Beethoven challenged his fate? I turned down the light and watched the sun go down behind some trees on the top of a hill. The shape of a cypress covered a part of that great, blood-red circle; that was the eternal beauty! Sitting down from sleepiness, a strange image captured my attention, that of Vivekananda’s "investiture" by his Guru Ramakrishna. I read that one day, toward the end of his life, Ramakrishna entered the Samadhi while his disciple was near him. He started to feel a strong current before fainting. Back to consciousness, his Guru whispered crying: «O my Naren

77

[Vivekananda], everything I had I gave it to you, today. I have become a poor fakir, I do not have anything; with these powers you will do the world an immense good». Later, Ramakrishna added that the powers he passed to him could not be used for his own spiritual fulfillment – one has to get to it by itself; on the contrary, they would help him in his mission as a spiritual teacher. Now, if we say that Ramakrishna was Vivekananda’s Guru, we are saying something true and unquestionable. I think my subconscious came up with such a flash as a warning not to give up to the temptation of throwing something valid and precious away. To understand which truth characterizes the Guru-disciple relationship I had to use my brain. As the reader definitely knows, Jung talked of a deeper level than the subconscious, which does not have a similar origin but is «inherited with our cerebral structure» and consists of «the human systems of reacting» to the most intense events that can happen in one’s lifetime: rise, death, illness, family, war… We, as human beings, are linked through this Collective Unconscious. If to Freud the Unconscious was a part of the psyche similar to a depot full of old, removed things, refused by a nearly automatic act of the will – a heap of things that we cannot recall to consciousness – this Collective Unconscious binds all human beings by the deepest layers of their conscience. Each individual is a junction from which a lot of links fan out, as well as from our brain’s neurons. When a single individual makes an action – which must be significant of course, as for a man starting on a mystical path and making a good progress – he shakes the surrounding net as well. A serious practitioner never isolates himself; thus, he will feel other people’s positive response, but he will also be slowed down by their indolence and apathy. It is important to understand that if x drags y, it will also inevitably happen that y drags x. The Guru-disciple relationship finds its foundations in this concept. A person might carry another person on if and only if he has earned, through his own effort, a particular power; this power does not come out because someone else officially allowed him to teach (initiate). This can be understood only in a dimension of great love and humbleness. Lahiri Mahasaya himself refused his role of Guru – «I am not the Guru, I do not maintain a barrier between the Guru (the Divine) and the disciple», he said, adding that he wanted to be considered like «a mirror». When the

78

kriyaban had realized that Lahiri Mahasaya was the personification of what he himself was going to become, he would have to «throw the mirror away». Those who have been raised in a Kriya organization cannot fully understand the impact of these words; if they did, they would find a strong contradiction with all that has been taught to them in the course of a lifetime. What it needs is the courage to abandon one’s illusions, which are much more convenient; then, it needs some good brains too. Ramakrishna’s benedictions to Vivekananda were not an illusion, of course; they were not based on a blank ceremony but they were founded on a great friendship and a great love that bound these two great characters together. They definitely had different personalities, but they were one thing in relation to the Collective Unconscious. Those who have been lucky enough to create a true, deep, human relationship with a Guru [having known him personally] possess something that others cannot create out of fancy; something which cannot be substituted by any belief. Those who find themselves walking alone down the path of their life and have learned Kriya Yoga, no matter how and from whom, and have the interest, the enthusiasm, the will to stick to it, should put their own benedictions into their practice. They have no other choice than to accept to go on while learning through different sources and from their own mistakes. If I had written a book and put it into the Internet, that could have helped them and it should not have disturbed anyone. I had no intention of celebrating myself or of laying the foundations of a new school of Kriya. My wish was to keep others from getting lost in confusion the way I had during my years of research. I felt that the time had come to summarize the totality of my knowledge of Kriya into a book, welding together techniques and theories through a clean, rational vision. It was necessary to talk about my experiences too, with the only purpose of being clearer in the theoretic and technical explanations. The model I would follow was Theos Bernard’s Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personal Experience (1943. Rider & Company). This extraordinary handbook better than all the others clarifies the teachings contained in the three fundamental texts of Tantrism: Hatha

79

Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita and Shiva Samhita. [Many modern English translations of those three classic books are available. For example the translation by Brian Dana Akers for the first, by James Mallinson for the second, by Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vasu for the third one.] In spite of having being published many years ago and of the several texts of Hatha Yoga appearing recently, that book is still one of the best ones. That is why I thought that a similar book on Kriya would be a real blessing for scholars and researchers. Of course, a lot of teachers of Kriya – those who get by on donations received during rituals of initiation – would consider my book as a real threat. Maybe what was virtually eternal for them (living like a lord, surrounded by people who have to meet all their needs with the hope of getting the "crumbs" of their secrets) might change, and they were scared of that. Actually, a book like mine could not be a threat to their activity, especially if they had accepted to be honest and teach the whole Kriya – gradually, of course, with the required care – without keeping anything for themselves for simple convenience. But how could I guarantee this to them, without being at odds with the rooted conditioning of their "cerebral chemistry"? I feel so sorry that they might become disappointed. Because I would love everybody to be happy!

80

CH.I/8 THE FUNDAMENTALS OF KRIYA YOGA Regarding my project to experiment each part of Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya again from the beginning, the necessity of having a solid, theoretic basis became predominant. In order to know if everything was going on in the right way, I could not simply observe my own satisfaction at the end of the chosen practice; in that case, my ego would have been the compass needle of my spiritual adventure. With such a criterion, my effort as a researcher would turn to be a mere quest for pleasures, and this had nothing to do with what I believe to be an authentic spiritual path. Taking the trouble to put the notes and the printed material that I had collected in different occasions together, it was evident that my theoretic basis were to be redefined by picking out every solid arguments among both confusing rhetorical words and conflicting theories. At the time of my first school of Kriya, the suggested theoretic approach listed the action of Pranayama among the methods to obtain the spine magnetization, followed by the rise of the spiritual energy inside of it. I worked with Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra to find some help for a narrow understanding of the consecutive steps to get at this result. My effort produced something useful – the First Kriya techniques seemed to be intelligently conceived to carry out their function at the full. Although, I could only partly understand Lahiri Mahasaya’s purpose in teaching the Higher Kriyas. The so-called "vertical" processes [a peculiar feature of Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya, see p.105] would in no way fit into that context. Moreover, how they were giving more fulfillment and permanent psychophysical transformation than any other routine remained unexplained. To explain in detail what happened doing such processes, it was necessary to have a non-naïve vision of Kriya. For this reason I took Lahiri Mahasaya’s sentence that «Any religious path, [Kriya included], consists of four stages characterized by the untying of four internal knots: tongue, navel, heart and Muladhar», to study what the knots in question were.

81

I will soon be writing about this topic [it is indispensable to face the complicated geography of the Higher Kriyas], but I first want to give an example of my first basic overview, holding the belief that it remains substantially helpful in organizing a good Kriya routine. Patanjali’s approach to Yoga is well known. He was a pioneer in the art of handling rationally the mystical path, aiming to individualize a universal, physiological direction of the inner events. This explained why a certain phenomenon, inherent to the spiritual path, should be preceded and necessarily followed by other ones. His extreme synthesis may be criticized or, because of its temporal distance, may be hard to understand; however, it is of extraordinary importance. Patanjali pinpoints eight steps in the Yoga path: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Prathyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi. There are different ways of translating these Sanskrit terms. I use to interpret them as follows: Yama: self-control. [Non-violence, avoid lies, avoid stealing, avoid being lustful and seek non-attachment.] Niyama: religious observances. [Cleanliness, contentment, discipline, study of the Self and surrender to the Supreme God.] Asana: posture, or physical exercise. The Yogi’s posture must be steady and pleasant. Pranayama: breath regulation. The consequence of the breath regulation is the regulation of the Prana and, then, the natural inhibition of the breath. Pratyahara: withdrawal of the senses. Awareness is disconnected from the external reality. Dharana: concentration. Focusing the mind on a chosen object. Dhyana: meditation or contemplation. The persistence of a focusing action as a steady, uninterrupted flow of awareness, which fully explores all aspects of the chosen object. Samadhi: perfect spiritual absorption. Deep contemplation in which the object of meditation becomes inseparable from the meditator himself. The comparison between the Kriya path and Patanjali’s path requires to put every book aside and to rely only on one’s personal experience. It is of no use to waste time on commentaries’ interpretations, each of them conveying a different mystical or esoteric point of view; here, the original message appears to be distorted and the value of Patanjali’s approach drastically reduced.

82

What I saw at a first glance was that Patanjali’s first three steps could be taken for granted without being mentioned. The moral precepts, the what-is-correct and the what-is-not-correct or, simply, the ethical foundation of the spiritual path, is something that should rather not be taken on with strength as an absolute prerequisite to Kriya. To put it simply, it has been seen that people running a morally questionable life were successful in Kriya, coming spontaneously to the so called "virtuous" life, while a lot of conformists failed. A Kriya teacher is always inclined to let a student’s wrong behavior pass, pretending he does not realize it. He simply does not mind it, laying his confidence in the transforming Kriya effect. On the other side, it is obvious that if the eagerness to learn Kriya and to put into practice its technical instructions pushes a kriyaban to go to a teacher, being further proposed to swear on oath on Patanjali’s moral rules [Yama, Niyama] the student will almost surely do as required. [I remember how irritated I was because of one of my teachers’ behavior. He was obsessed by something that we knew he could not put into practice; before each initiation he used to make us promise that we would look at the opposite sex – except for our partner, of course – without being physically attracted. To this purpose, he recommended men to pretend that every woman was their "mother". With a sigh of ill-concealed nuisance we waited for him to get through with his delirium; then, wee went on with the explanation of the techniques.] Regarding the "stable and comfortable" meditating position, the teacher allows the student to choose between the half-lotus, Siddhasana or Padmasana; he does not even dream of wasting time on these details, since he knows that the earnest and resolute student will use his common sense to find an ideal and comfortable position, so that he can easily maintain his back straight during the Kriya practice. The Kriya’s first meaningful action is obviously Patanjali’s fourth step, Pranayama. Pranayama’s action on the breath and on the energy in the body creates a state of calmness and Equilibrium, which becomes the foundation of the following steps. Patanjali, however, is evasive while dealing with Pratyahara: in this state, the energy in the body turns toward the inside and there follows a state where the breath is perfectly absent.

83

Indeed, this event does not consist of a single but of two steps; first, some specific techniques [Maha Mudra, Navi Kriya and big part of the Higher Kriyas] requiring physical movement are prescribed; then, a perfect immobility is required and the concentration is directed on the spine [on the Chakras] and on the Omkar reality; it is not directed on an abstract or physical object, as it happens in Patanjali’s Dharana. Very peculiarly indeed, Patanjali wrote that, after the breath’s disappearance, a Yogi should look for a physical or abstract object on which he might turn his concentration and practice in a kind of contemplative meditation in a way as to lose himself in it. It is interesting, for those who practice Kriya, to realize that Patanjali’s definition of Dharana has nothing to do with Lahiri Mahasaya’s ideas and intents. A kriyaban encounters the manifestation of the Omkar reality – the vibration sustaining the universe, the internal sound that grabs his conscience and leads it to the depths, without any danger of getting lost. His conscience is filled with such a delight that he has no reason for discarding the Om perception and choosing another one, which cannot but belong to the kingdom of the mind. The distinction between Dharana and Dhyana – to turn the concentration to an object and to start exploring it through a contemplative meditation – is of little account for a kriyaban. Whereas it is clear that an ideal Kriya session should end with Patanjali’s eighth step: Samadhi. Summary 1…A Kriya routine begins with an action on the breath [Pranayama], which is guided, harnessed, checked and, although long and deep, essentially transformed in a movement of energy. The spine is magnetized; this creates a situation of deep calmness and tranquility, a sensation of expansion and of internal comfort. 2….Then Maha Mudra, Navi Kriya and Omkar Pranayama are introduced. These techniques create a deeper state, a psychophysical condition Lahiri Mahasaya called Equilibrium, where the breath and the heart slow their pace.

84

3… A keen perception of Om, in the aspect of inner sound and light, happens in perfect immobility. The awareness of the breath is momentarily put aside, to "transcend" it thanks to a purely mental process. The concentration on the Chakras, either inside or outside of the spine, given by an intuition-suggested rhythm, increasingly enriches the perception of the Omkar reality, so that when such a subtle action comes to its apex, the body gets into the state of breathlessness. The constant concern in rising the level of consciousness into the highest Chakras, in particular into the Kutastha, is necessary to the full accomplishment of this state, and it is also essential to prepare the next step. 4… The session ends by melting with the Om. In total immobility, when relaxation reaches a state of perfection, the energy moves spontaneously in the whole body and it gets into the spine; the awareness melts into the light, a light that is "as brighting as a million suns". LAHIRI MAHASAYA’S FOUR STAGES We have just seen a scheme that each Kriya routine has to conform to; it can help avoid common mistakes, as doing a technique calling for movement with the aim of reaching a deeper state, once the perfect immobility has been obtained; in this way, a kriyaban would inevitably be disappointed. Let us now consider a new point of view; the Kriya path is seen as a long walk consisting in crossing four different phases or stages, defined as the unfastening of the four internal psycho-physical "knots". These phases last years and they usually overlap; sometimes a kriyaban has to return to his own footsteps and work again on a knot he believed to have unfastened; the whole subject is very interesting and, according to Lahiri Mahasaya, it concerns every religious path [of course, without being limited to rituals and devotional stuff]. The central idea of bringing the energy into the spine remains valid, although we are going to see that something essential should first happen in the body.

85

FIRST STAGE [related with the unfastening of the knots of the tongue and of the navel] The real psycho-physic transformation [not an illusory beatific state] begins when work is started to unify and mix together three important forces radiating from the Chakras – Sexuality, Love and Spirit. This effort creates a permanent action upon the whole personality, laying the foundations of the spiritual path. The fracture originated at one’s birth is accountable of the fact that a unique reality is split into three parts which begin to fight against one another. Therefore, in Pranayama, the energy is moved first around the Chakras and it is not immediately forced into the spine. Let us open a parenthesis and see the definition of these three energies. The sexual energy is not only what this name implies but also the agent that makes us rejoice of the sensorial perceptions and gives us the strength, the determination, to fight the battle of life and to obtain all the necessary things to it – unfortunately, another reason why we fight is to obtain things which are superfluous to our living; this is a cause of endless difficulties. The energy of love becomes a deep feeling – beware superficial emotionalism – toward another person; the joy we feel before a work of art, fuel of fair-minded actions born out of inner, noble instincts and ethic laws. Instead, the highest peaks of aesthetic contemplation, where the vast prophetic visions may manifest, can only be lived through the spiritual energy. Often, in the common religious tradition, a person is taught how to maintain, rather to cultivate as a virtue, the division of matter from spirit, fostering, thus, the conflict between the three forms of energy. In such a case, the word "Spirit" becomes synonym of sacrifice and expiation. It does not recall the totality of what is cheerful, beautiful, of what has a "heart" in the world. The Kriya path includes the end of each conflict, it establishes the kriyaban into a substantial unity of intention – a person’s heart can reside in the spiritual reality and at the same time have a full experience of life. In Pranayama, the sexual energy coming out of the first and second Chakras is brought to the level of the heart. The energy’s path goes up from behind the spine.

86

The energy of love comes out of the heart Chakra; the two mix together, supplying with enough determination not to succumb to any obstacle and to realize love in all the forms in which it normally manifests. The reinforced energy of love is brought into the higher Chakras (Vishudda, Ajna and Sahasrara) from which the energy of Spirit radiates. The spiritual energy, surrounding love with its irradiation, transforms it into aesthetical rapture, creating the aspiration to find out and to enjoy beauty in the outer reality. This mix of the three energies is brought down into the body to nurture the body. The energy’s path goes down through the "outer" side of the Chakras, which consists in the irradiation of energy departing from the spine and turning toward the body. [In the China’s Internal Alchemy, the circuit goes down through the "frontal components" of the Chakras, to be found on the front part of the body: Adam’s knob, central region of the sternum, navel, region of the genital organs, perineum. The effect is the same, anyway]. In order to make this mechanism work, the circuit must be closed; here we understand the value of unfastening the knot of the tongue with the Kechari Mudra [inserting the tongue in the nasal-pharynx hollow]. After some energy rotations, as described above, the awareness crosses the "door" of the navel to reach the seat of the Samana current, in the lower-medium part of the abdomen. In Pranayama, this happens by increasing the heat in the region of the navel and, through the Navi Kriya, by perceiving the middle region between the navel and the third Chakra. The Internal Alchemy provides plentiful descriptions of the Dan Tien, or lower Dan Tien, namely the container of the new form of energy produced by the "Microcosmic Orbit", a form of breathing akin to our Kriya Pranayama. The Dan Tien has the dimensions of a ball whose diameter is about two- and-a-half inches long. In order to localize its position, one has to concentrate on the belly button, to come about one and a half inches behind and below to the same extent. In Esicasm’s mystical tradition, there is an indication of this center too. It is a concrete universal reality that each kriyaban should perceive to obtain really substantial effects; it is not the product of a visualization, mere result of a theoretical outlook.

87

To settle into this zone, by whatever name it can be called, to awake the Samana current Lahiri Mahasaya writes about, embodies the birth to the spiritual life; in the mystical literature it is designated through very suggestive expressions like «Coming back to the center»; «the union of heaven and earth»; «the emergence of the true serenity»; «the birth of the golden flower of the Great One»; «the creation of the dazzling gem». Lahiri Mahasaya describes it as the achievement of the state of Equilibrium. The psychological, immediately perceptible transformation is the unification of all the different facets of one’s personality, the discovery of a unique internal thread connecting all the past actions with the forces that are currently bringing our spiritual aspiration forward. This state is the authentic and solid foundation of the Kriya path. SECOND STAGE [related with the beginning of the work of unfastening the knot of the heart] The knot of the heart is the outer, physical aspect of the fourth Chakra, Anahat, the cardiac plexus. It accounts for the superficial emotions, which foster the world of the thoughts and cover, choking, the realm of the deep sentiments. It is the root cause of men’s attitude of being influenced by others, of accepting what is flaunted by the magnificence of churches and organizations as true. Deepening the experience of Omkar in the aspect of the inner sound begins to unfasten this knot, the experience of the breathless state – third stage -completes the work. In Kriya, tuning with the Omkar and merging fully with it is essential; it is not one of the different possible ways to Self-realization, as stated by some books of Yoga. The Omkar’s embrace of bliss is the only thing able to calm the cardiac plexus in a natural way! The proof that this process has hit the target is the apparition of an inner bell sound and of a crepuscular light in the upper part of the head. While listening to this sweet inner sound which, as light as a fall of petals, knocks softly on the doors of intuition, there comes the realization that all the experiences of love are like splendid crystals blooming around its gilded thread.

88

The deep feeling of hope that has warmed our heart innumerable times since infancy, the vast comforting smile surrounding us in misfortune, that is the Omkar reality. In this way the wonderful state of peace created or rediscovered in the region of the belt [Dan Tien] is brought into the heart region. THIRD STAGE [related with completing the work of unfastening the knot of the heart] The strong action of the Thokar, combined with maintaining the consciousness upon the Spirit during the whole day, brings to the state of breathlessness. When this is reached and experienced for a long time, the work of unfastening the knot of the heart is completed. In this state a kriyaban, motionless and free from the intake of oxygen, is filled with an elation that nothing in life can give. After that, an experience of unthinkable beauty is left to exploration. Lahiri Mahasaya hints at it when He writes – «Following an excellent Pranayama, the breath is wholly internally oriented. After a long period today, my descent has been fulfilled» (Puran Purush)! With this strong statement he did not certainly refer to the energy which, in Kriya Pranayama, is perceived moving internally in a simultaneous way to the physiological breath. Indeed, a continuous and spontaneous circulation of energy comes out of the perfect quiet of the physical breath. The extraordinary fact of this experience is that a kriyaban touches a new dimension of the Spirit once he discovers in each cell a mysterious path going from his awareness to the external reality. Its sweet pressure, then, can break the barrier of the body and touch other people’s consciousness. The beauty and the value of this phenomenon go far beyond things ever conceived – it certainly goes beyond Patanjali’s vision. [See p. 144] FOURTH STAGE [related with the unfastening of the knot of the Muladhar] The powerful obstruction at the base of the spine, originating from the two lateral currents of Ida and Pingala, is called "knot of the Muladhar". It represents the door that the energy should cross to reach the kingdom of Spirit.

89

To work on this knot a kriyaban must deepen the Omkar perception by discovering the Trivangamurari micro-movement in each Chakra. This experience marks the perfection of all the Kriya path. The internal movement does not belong to the physical body; it is beyond it. The mind, that is about to contemplate this reality, vanishes, dissolves. While a kriyaban is engaged in this work there are many spontaneous movements of energy, like an electric wind on the surface of the body, then inside of it, finally starting from the base of the spine going along upward from inside of it, being particularly intense when the brain is reached. Untying the knot of Muladhar means going beyond the essence of Time and attaining lasting peace.

90

SECOND PART: THE ACTUAL TECHNIQUES OF KRIYA YOGA DISCLAIMER OF RESPONSIBILITY The techniques herein described are exposed for study reasons only and serve as a comparison with the works of other researchers. The author expects an intelligent feedback from this sharing: remarks, criticism, corrections and additions. The author wants to make clear that this book is not a manual of Kriya! He might write one in the future and face the problem of how to divide the whole matter into different lessons, trying, for each level of learning, to give all the necessary indications. However certain techniques cannot be learned by means of a manual. An expert has to check their execution. There are delicate techniques such as the Maha Mudra, the Pranayama, the Thokar and the Yoni Mudra, which cannot reasonably be learned only with the help of some written material. It is also necessary that an expert check the impact of the techniques on the kriyaban, being every practitioner so different from each other that nobody can foresee what the effects of a technique can be, especially if practiced in strong doses. Being about to share Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya techniques, the author is disclaimed from all responsibilities in case of negative results, especially in the case that someone decides to practice the techniques without having their execution checked by an expert first. Those who mean to go through this path, do it with a due sense of sacredness, being aware of the health that it can bring to their life. They have the whole right and the duty to grant themselves the control and the guide of an expert. CH.II/1 ELEMENTARY EXPLANATION OF THE FIRST KRIYA Now, it is time to talk about the First Kriya techniques: the first two can be practiced even some hours before the following ones. Talabya Kriya Starting from the relaxed-tongue position, the kriyaban sticks it to the palate, using the same principles of a suction cup and keeping its tip always turned to the outside. Open the mouth so that the tongue, which for some instants has been kept attached to the palate, can click off it. The stretching effect on the tongue Fraenulum is distinctly perceived and the tongue is immediately pushed outward toward the chin. This work is repeated 50 times [no more than ten times in the beginning]. After months of practice, this technique produces the Kechari Mudra:

91

inserting the tongue into the nasal pharynx hollow, keeping it firm in that position with a physical and mental effort [Lahiri Mahasaya was absolutely against cutting the fraenulum to obtain faster and easier results]. A lot of people practice the Talabya Kriya incorrectly because they instinctively turn their tongue backwards, erasing the whole effect. It is very important that the tongue turns outward and be kept plain before sticking to the palate. This technique creates a visibly relaxing effect on the process of thinking; that is why the Talabya Kriya will never be left aside once the Kechari Mudra is fully learned. It is not easy to account for the relaxing effect that an action on the Fraenulum creates on the process of producing useless thoughts; it is still a mystery. In spite of that, anybody can test it. Om Japa around the Chakras

Rising and descending from six to twelve complete runs, the Mantra "Om" has to vibrate in each Chakra; some rotations can be carried off singing it out and keeping it in the mind with the other ones. Rising, each Chakra is touched on the backside up to the cervical, then Bindu, then the Medulla; descending, the external components of the

92

Chakras, till the Muladhar, is perceived. The correct pronunciation for this Mantra should not be "om" like in "Tom" but "ooooong" like in "song", with a long-drawn "o". [The Chakras are subtle, astral, organs in the spinal cord, ideal steps of a mystical ladder, which guides safely to the highest experience of the Spirit. It is important to feel intuitively where, in the spinal column, the Chakras have to be located. A lot of people believe in the possibility of applying to Kriya what they can find in the books on Yoga, but it is not so. With that belief, a kriyaban would run the risk of losing the real meaning of the Kriya techniques, or part of their riches. In the beginning, the thing to do is trying to give all the various parts into which the backbone is divided a physical location. We can start with the coccyx region, where the first Chakra, the Muladhar, is located; the second Chakra finds its place at sacrum’s height; the third one is in the lumbar region, at navel’s height; the fourth one is in the dorsal region, at heart’s height; the fifth one is placed at the foot of the cervical vertebrae. Independent traditions situate the location of the sixth Chakra, Ajna, in different places. It seems self-evident that the Kutastha, the center between the eyebrows, the "third eye" or "spiritual eye", the organ of inner vision, is tied to it but it is another reality, which must be kept distinct. According to some, Ajna resides in the Medulla Oblongata [on top of the backbone]; according to others its location is the so-called cave of Brahma: a hollow cavity of the brain with the hypophysis in the anterior part and the pineal gland in the back. Some think it is in the occipital zone, in the nape: surely they hint at Bindu, which seat is in the occipital region, where the hairline twists in a kind of vortex [where some Hindus, with their shaven head, wear a lock of hair]. This is indeed a very important center, tied with the sixth Chakra and acting as a door to Sahasrara [its nature will be explored later, when dealing with the Higher Kriyas]. It can be located by fixing the attention on the Kutastha and coming back an inch higher up - this simple indication will do for now. To locate the sixth Chakra Ajna, one can abide by two integrating instructions: the first is to focus on the Medulla Oblongata, that means trying to perceive, or at least visualize, the summit of the backbone, at the base of the brain; the second is to feel an ideal line that comes back from the Kutastha to the occipital region, then to feel the ideal line connecting the temples. If an oscillation back and forward and then sideways is done, and if the attention to the intersection point of the two lines is placed, then the awareness of the sixth Chakra happens in the best of the ways. The seventh Chakra, Sahasrara, extends from the crown of the head up to its summit. This Chakra is not to be considered like the other ones; it is in fact a superior reality and we can have experience of it only in the state of breathlessness. It is not possible, then, to concentrate on and to locate it with precision the way we are used to with the other Chakras. It is only possible to

93

"harmonize" with it, - to "tune" with the state that is embodied by the seventh Chakra. After Pranayama, when the breath is very calm, we can drift our concentration first to the Bindu, then to the crown of the head and, later, to the "Fontanella". All the procedures of Kriya work in the space between the first Chakra, the Muladhar, and the Bindu; the result of such action is the settling of the energy and of the awareness in the seventh Chakra. Before starting with the explanations on Pranayama, it is important to get through to the reader that the first five Chakras are made of both an "inner component" and of an "external component". The first one can be visualized as a tiny and dim "light" within the innerest channel of the spinal column, facing the Spirit; the second one can be visualized as a beam of light, an irradiation of energy, coming out of the spine, piercing the internal part of the body, scantly reaching its frontal part. Visualization is far from realization; yet it may be useful in the beginning at least, for our awareness to proceed in the correct direction and to start a process of perception that will then go on by itself.] Pranayama The body is relaxed, the spinal column is kept straight and free of all tensions, the tongue can be kept horizontal or with the tip slightly turned backward or, if possible, in the Kechari Mudra position. The eyes are close, relaxed, as if to look at the distance through the Kutastha. A deep inhalation, producing an unvoiced sound in the throat like that of a distant waterfall, acts like a hydraulic pump to raise the energy from the foot of the spinal column to the Bindu; a deep exhalation brings the energy back to the foot of the spinal column. Let us discuss in detail the route taken by the energy. 1….The awareness rises from the Muladhar along the rear side of the spinal column, approaching the second Chakra, then the third one, the fourth one and the fifth one from behind; then, covering the occipital region curve, it reaches the Bindu. 2…A two-second pause follows, during which the radiance of the Kutastha taps at the awareness; a glow in the consciousness gives proof of its presence. 3…A deep, unhurried exhalation, of the same length as the inhalation, brings the energy back to the foot of the spinal column. Only a slight hiss is produced in the throat during the exhalation. After a long practice and thanks to the Kechari Mudra, that slight hiss will turn into a fine flute-like sound. The Prana touches the Medulla first; then, guided downward along the front side of the spinal column, it meets and enlivens the outer

94

component of each Chakra until the energy is perceived in the perineum and in the Muladhar, where the elliptical orbit closes. 4…When the calm energy pauses for two seconds in the region around the Muladhar, a growing feeling of calmness and immobility is felt; by improving the technique, an ecstatic feeling, like a blissful shiver, is also perceived. [The energy does not come up along the inside of the spinal column but along the back and, while coming up, there is an interrupted continuity until the Bindu is reached. To visualize how the upper part of the circuit should be, we can draw a graphic and keep it in mind, but we would run the risk, amid lines and curves, to lose the simple meaning of the whole happening. To give precise measurements may be helpful to avoid misunderstandings: we can say that the distance in between the inhaled and exhaled paths is of about 0.5-1 inch, but giving measurements of the circuit in the head is impossible. There, the direct link existing between the Bindu and the Kutastha generates the perception of the Kutastha. If nothing happens, it does not mean that the practice is wrong. Kutastha awareness is not a goal to be reached by doing something, but a spontaneous revelation happening when there is sufficient stillness in the body. However, a beginner can lift the awareness up to Medulla, then pause and come down. In my opinion, it is good to be acquainted with the Bindu because each technique cooperates with all the other ones: they constitute a harmonious whole. Now, if we consider the Omkar Pranayama and all the Higher Kriyas, we notice that the path of energy is from the Muladhar to the Bindu and then going down to the Medulla. To perceive Bindu is not complex: the previous Om Japa - which unhappily many don’t consider even worthy of diligent use - acts like a flywheel and makes the correct procedure of Pranayama happen very easily.] The breathing is an abdominal breathing. During the inhalation, the abdomen expands and the chest has a slight drift, result of the abdominal expansion; during the exhalation, the abdomen retreats and, at the end of the exhalation, there is a clear perception of the navel drifting toward the spine. If all this is done with a correct and relaxed attitude, the pauses result natural and pleasing. The beginner has a rhythm of about 18-20 seconds per breath. The related literature points out that the perfect Pranayama is made of 80 breaths per hour - about 45 seconds per breath. During long sessions, a kriyaban can try to reach this rhythm and experience the great Tranquillity it implies. A beginner practices only 12 of these breaths, to pass to 24 or 36 after some weeks.

95

Maha Mudra Sitting on the left-leg heel, the right leg is to be stretched forward. During the inhalation, the energy is raised to the Bindu. Then, holding the breath, the upper part of the body leans forward to allow both the hands to grab the right-foot toes - a muscle contraction at the base of the spine is kept while the abdominal muscles go into a slight retreat. Holding the breath, the Om is chanted in the Kutastha from six to twelve times. Then, the initial position is resumed, an exhalation is made feeling the energy that goes down to the base of the spinal column. The entire procedure will be repeated in the opposite and symmetric position, that means sitting on the right-leg heel and stretching the left leg forward. The procedure has to be, once again, repeated keeping the two legs stretched out. This three-movement cycle is repeated two more times for a total of nine extensions. Navi Kriya The breath flows freely; one’s awareness goes slowly up along the spinal column, placing the syllable Om in each Chakra and in the Kutastha as well. The chin is tilted down toward the chest and the Om is chanted in the navel [or in alternation between the Kutastha and the navel] 75 to 100 times. The hands are joined together cross-fingered; the thumbs apply a light pressure on the navel for every single Om. The chin is then raised, the concentration drifts to the Bindu first and down to the third Chakra. The Om is sung approximately 25 times in the third Chakra [or alternately in the Bindu and in the third Chakra]. The fingers are kept crossed behind the back and, for every Om, the thumbs apply a light pressure on the lumbar vertebrae, as if to push the Om vibration in. The chin’s normal position is then resumed and the Om is thought in each Chakra, from the Kutastha to the Muladhar; this is a Navi Kriya. Four is the ideal number of repetitions. As we go along with the technique, a calm energy is perceived gathering in the centre of the Samana current, in the middle-low part of the abdomen [see discussion at page 87-88]. Mental Pranayama To enter a perfect physical and mental stillness as easily as possible, the practitioner has to draw three deep breaths, each of them ending with a fast

96

and as complete an exhalation as a sigh. Then he goes slowly up with the awareness in the Chakras – without necessarily singing the Om. The Chakras are like six knots that can be unravelled if "touched" with the concentration; the secret lies in maintaining the awareness in each of them until a particular sensation of sweetness is felt, as if that Chakra were "melting". Ten to twenty seconds are spent in each Chakra; one’s own awareness will know when to turn to the following one. The awareness rests in the Chakras; the purpose is not that of practicing a new technique, but that of enjoying a sensation of rest and relaxation. Once the rise to the Bindu has been completed, the descent from it can start; in the latter, apart from the already described perceptions, the practitioner should try to feel the subtle irradiation coming from each Chakra. This is not a complicated technical detail; it is just a matter of pure awareness, a natural feeling leading to the perception of this irradiation as if it were a fresh light sustaining each part of the body’s vitality. After some minutes, the Omkar perception – both as a sound and as a crepuscular light – grasps the attention. The head’s upper part undergoes a sort of lighting and a kriyaban keeps on concentrating on it for a long time without feeling any tired. This process of rise and descent through the chakras is carried on from ten to twenty minutes. Yoni Mudra At night, before lying down to sleep, the kriyaban calms the whole system with some deep breaths; after that, he raises the energy to the Kutastha through a deep inhalation. He closes the head orifices – the ears with the thumbs, the eyelids with the index fingers, the nostrils with the middle fingers, the lips with the ring and the little finger – so that all the energy is forced more deeply into the Kutastha [the index fingers should not in any case press on the eyelids; it would be harmful and of no use]. Holding his breath until he needs to breathe again and singing the Om mentally several times, he observes the light of the "spiritual eye" that gathers and increases in intensity in that place. He holds his breath until the necessity to breathe out is impelling. Once we descend with the awareness along the spine, the practice is complete.

97

Note nr.1 While this part of the book is devoted to clarify each detail of the techniques, the third part is written to discuss how Kriya Yoga works in practice. That is the best place to introduce some routines. Here I add just an example of a beginner’s routine. 1…Short practice: Talabya Kriya; Om Japa; Mental Pranayama. 2…Complete practice: Talabya Kriya; Om Japa; Pranayama [12/24]; Maha Mudra; Navi Kriya; Mental Pranayama; Yoni Mudra. [A very profitable adjunct is a short resumption of Pranayama after Navi Kriya: at least six breaths] Alternative: Talabya Kriya; Maha Mudra; Navi Kriya; Om Japa; Pranayama [12/24]; Mental Pranayama; Yoni Mudra. or: Talabya Kriya; Om Japa; Maha Mudra; Navi Kriya; Pranayama [12/24]; Mental Pranayama; Yoni Mudra. Note nr.2 After some weeks of Talabya Kriya, when the tip of the tongue, being kept slightly turned backward, touches the uvula, the base of the tongue can be pushed inward with the fingers. In this way, with the proper work, the tongue can stretch a little bit farther; then, removing the help of the fingers, it remains like "trapped" in that position – the soft palate acts like an elastic tape, it sustains the tongue preventing its slipping out and getting back to the normal position. Holding the tongue in this position, one may try some Pranayama. One’s performance of Kechari Mudra will improve: after some days it is possible to fill the tip of the tongue into the nasal-pharynx hollow, keeping it there for some minutes once the sense of irritation and the salivation increase is gotten over. After a week, it is possible to make the tongue touch the top of the palate in the nasal pharynx from a vertical position, keeping it there for some minutes. This is what we call Kechari Mudra. From then on, the practice of Pranayama with the Kechari Mudra will be easy and comfortable. Wonderful is, from time to time, during the day, practicing just the Kechari Mudra and merge in its soothing effect.

98

CHAPTER II/2 IMPROVED FIRST KRIYA ROUTINE After the techniques described in the previous chapter have been practiced for some months, the Talabya Kriya must have definitely revealed his mind-calming effect and, maybe, the Kechari Mudra is one of the marvellous results of the whole work. At this point, some details should be added to the basic routine. I…Talabya Kriya II…Om Japa III…Kechari Mudra and Ajna Chakra tuning Just some minutes are needed to feel whatever taste there might be on the tip of the tongue [Amrit, nectar] and to locate the sixth Chakra, Ajna. A kriyaban tries his best to perceive an ideal line coming back from the Kutastha to the occipital region, as well as an ideal line connecting the temples. An oscillation back and forward and, then, sideways may favor the perception of the two lines’ intersection point. The sixth Chakra is to be ideally located there. IV… Deep Maha Mudra preceded by a particular stretching exercise After inhaling like in the Pranayama, the half-lotus position is maintained – sitting on the heels is also ok – the body is bent forward; the head is placed in the region between the knees. The hands are used at will, the breath is free even though the energy is kept in the head as if the breath was being held [this skill is develop through practice]. The head is placed close to the right knee, the face is turned toward the left knee, so that it is possible to perceive a pressure in the right side of the head. When, after it, the head gets back to the central position, that pressure is felt on the forehead. When this is all done, the starting straight-back position is resumed and, in the end, the energy is brought down by means of a long exhalation. This exercise should be repeated three times at least.

99

As for the Maha Mudra proper, in addition to the istructions already given in the previous chapter, when the right leg is distended, the right hand grabs the left foot toes while the left hand grabs the inner side of the right foot; here the face is turned left. From this position, the breath is free to flow in order to stay down for a longer time and feel the ''the inner pressure" in the right side of the head. It is clear that the same perception in the left side of the head is the goal to reach whenever practicing from the symmetrical position; when the legs are distended, the pressure must be felt in the front part of the head. [There are people who believe they are practicing their Kriya correctly without ever practicing the Maha Mudra; it is clear that, renouncing this exercise and living a sedentary life, their spinal column loses its elasticity. The physical conditions get worse as the years go by and it becomes almost impossible to maintain the correct meditation position for more than a few minutes]. V… Navi Kriya advanced form After chanting the Om from the Muladhar to the Kutastha, the chin is tilted down. A very long expiration is started, feeling the energy descending from the region of the Kutastha to the navel and, crossing it, making a non-remarkable motion toward the inside of the abdominal region, where the Samana current is located. After the descent, the Om is chanted mentally from 10 to 15 times; the purpose is not just that of knocking on the navel's door, but also of accompanying the energy’s descent throughout its route, as if applying some "soft pushes". A short inhalation follows. No concentration is brought onto any of the chakras; there is only the perception of a rise of energy accompanying the inhalation. The head goes back to its normal position and bends over the left shoulder – there is no turn of the face – and the procedure is repeated again. An ulterior, long expiration, together with the Om, descends with the movement of energy, which heads downward from the head's left side along the body's left side, crosses the belt's left side and moves toward the inside of the abdominal region. The same procedure is repeated likewise, keeping the head bending backward, then rightward, then forward, then leftward and so on. Thirty-six descents are the basic dose of this advanced Navi Kriya. The session ends with the Om Japa done from the Kutastha to the Muladhar.

100

VI…Pranayama with Kechari Mudra The Kechari Mudra, during Pranayama, gives rise to a particular phenomenon. After a while, the breath comes out producing the sound of a "flute", shii shii... Lahiri Mahasaya describes it as something «similar to when one blows air through a keyhole». He says it is like «a razor through which everything is cut off». With this statement he means to say that it has the power to lead the beginner beyond the mind, cutting any external disturbing factor off, thoughts and illusions included. It might not show up for months, but when the Pranayama is practiced correctly – with the above-mentioned perception of the navel – it will certainly show up. The consequent sensation is that it has its origins in the frontal part of the pharynx instead of in the throat; when it is finally obtained, relaxation is required; a keen effort to increase its intensity will be the cause of its disappearance. It might occur that this phenomenon does not happen; in this case, being it very important, a kriyaban can "open the doors" to it creating it in his conscience; if this has to be done, it is sufficient to think Shii very intensely during the expiration. Not only is this the best preparation for the thoracic box and the throat to get to the correct sound, but its thundering in the conscience works as a guide for the energy, region after region, into the body until every single part of it and each one of its cells are invested with it. VII…Samana Pranayama We have seen that the Pranayama way of breathing is absolutely abdominal and the concentration follows the movement of the navel. During the inhalation, is it possible to feel the energy rising behind the spinal column and it is also possible to feel the energy coming in through the nose, flowing into the lungs, crossing the diaphragm and entering the abdomen. During the exhalation it is possible to feel the descent of the energy, to which we got used, and a warm current coming up from the abdomen. When this happens, a kriyaban can experience the Prana and the Apana uniting in the navel, thus activating the Samana current: this was an unthinkable degree of refinement during the first practicing weeks. The more the awareness of all this increases, the more heat is produced in the navel. This heat is like an "arrow" that, starting from the centre of the

101

"bow-body", can finally reach its "target", the Kutastha, and reveal the spiritual light. VIII…Shambhavi Pranayama After an overall number of 36 breaths, a kriyaban can adopt the Shambhavi Mudra position: the eyebrows are raised, the eyelids closed or half-closed and the eyes look up to the roof with no movement of the head. In the beginning, a light tension is perceived in the eyeballs muscles, but the position is maintained rather easily once you get over that tension. Pranayama goes on; the awareness has its center in the upper part of the head, as if the whole essence of the person moved up there. In this way it is possible to touch the region of imperturbable calmness [static Prana], having its location in the upper part of the head; it is also possible to complete the fusion of the two first energies [sex and love] with the third one [spirit]. Result of this is the impression that Pranayama happens spontaneously and the energy descent in the body is looser, softer and more complete. When a minimum of 12 breaths, in this way, has been completed, the Omkar Pranayama procedure is adopted. IX… Omkar Pranayama This technique is a real jewel, especially if it is kept in mind that its purpose is not only to move "certain energies", but also to listen to the vibration of Om. For its good outcome it is essential that the bendings [stretching] and the advanced form of Maha Mudra have been done with the maximum of awareness. In the first days of practice, it is necessary to be patient: it exists, in fact, the "sum" effect, which means that any achievement depends on what and how deep it had been practiced during the previous days. While Pranayama is notoriously the central technique of the Kriya, the Omkar Pranayama is the very foundation from which all the Higher Kriyas derive: they are indeed a deepening of it. We will see how these Kriyas can be divided in two categories: those in which there is a form or Kumbhaka [holding one’s breath], from 2° to 7° and those in which the breath is free, practically absent, from 8° to 12°. Inside an ideal routine the first ones are placed after the Omkar

102

Pranayama, while the latter after the mental Omkar Pranayama. In Omkar Pranayama, the kriyaban "touches" each Chakra internally, thinking the syllables of the Sanskrit Mantra "Om Namo Bhagabate Vasudevaya" - I am sure the reader knows the correct pronunciation of the syllables Om Na Mo Bha Ga Ba Te Va Su De Va Ya, that is why I will not add any phonetic symbol. The inhalation is divided into six parts; during the first one, the concentration is on the Muladhar, where the syllable Om is mentally chanted; during the second one, the concentration is on the second Chakra, where the syllable Na is mentally chanted … and so on, until Ba is mentally placed in the Bindu and the inhalation is completed. During this process the muscles at the base of the spinal column are slightly contracted. Now, for three seconds, the breath is held, as well as the contraction, and the awareness makes a complete, anticlockwise turn along the crown of the head, starting from the Bindu and returning there. [The route of the awareness touches the head the way a King’s crown also does. The head accompanies this tour with a very slight rotating movement - slightly back, then to the right, front, left, back]. The contraction is eased off and the exhalation starts. This is divided in six parts as well; during the first one, concentration goes to the Medulla and the syllable Te is put there; during the second one, concentration goes to the fifth Chakra and the syllable Va is put there… and so on, until Ya is mentally placed in the Muladhar. There is an ulterior three-second pause at the end of the exhalation; the awareness makes a complete, anticlockwise turn around the Muladhar. [This Chakra is visualized as a little horizontal disk of a coin’s dimension, with a diameter of about an inch. The awareness moves along the ideal coin’s border]. The use of the contraction is not essential but good to start: an experienced Kriyaban replaces it with a mental pressure to which Kechari Mudra gives an important support. The entire process has to be repeated from 6 to 12 times: 20-30 seconds for each complete breath. Then, "gradually", the whole process is interiorised and the emphasis is given to the flow of the energy through the subtle channel of the backbone, inside each Chakra and not on to the physical movements. Each kriyaban understands intuitively how to translate in his routine the instruction of interiorising "gradually".

103

As a rule the breathing is soft, delicate and continuous - the sounds produced in the throat weaken or come to a complete disappearance - the energy rises and descends in the innermost part of the spinal column, as if it were a golden substance, crossing ideally each Chakra like the thread of a pearl necklace. The contraction at the base of the spinal column becomes more and more light and disappears entirely, the head hints for some time at a slight movement, then it remains still - the Mantra and the turn of awareness inside the brain and around the coccyx deepen. Thanks to the ideal conditions set in the psychophysical system and to the constant effort in the inward listening, it is much easier to catch the powerful internal sound of Om. A minimum of 12 breaths should be enjoyed in this way; this is the core of the whole process and it is wise to take as much advantage as possible of it. Then one can yield to the tendency to go over to a mental practice. X… Mental Omkar Pranayama To enter a perfect physical and mental stillness as easily as possible, the practitioner has to draw three deep breaths, each of them ending with a fast and as complete an exhalation as a sigh. Then he goes slowly up with the awareness in the Chakras: they will be slightly "touched" with the concentration. The awareness will be maintained in each of them until a particular sensation of sweetness is felt, as if that Chakra were "melting". Such thing can be deepened by a multiple repetition of each Chakra's relative syllable [Om Om Om Om ... in the first one, Na Na Na Na ... in the second one, Ba Ba Ba Ba ... in the Bindu and on the circumference of the head, Te Te Te Te ... in the Medulla, etc.]. The rhythm can be that of one or two syllables per second. It might be of great advantage to synchronize them with the heart pulsations, if they are easily perceived – of course this should be avoided if instead of deepening the concentration, it pushes it away. During this delicate internal action it is important to continually listen to the internal sound. After two or three complete rounds of this procedure, the energy and the awareness are raised into the Sahasrara. A kriyaban, breathing calmly, leads the awareness into the Muladhar, waits for the stimulation that makes him breathe and, during the inspiration, visualizes this Chakra that, from its own spot, moves rapidly

104

up toward the upper part of the head; during the exhalation, the Chakra is brought to its initial position. The same procedure is repeated with the remaining Chakras. In this way we have six breaths, each of them being bound to a different Chakra, from the first to the Bindu; then, six more breaths, from Medulla to Muladhar in an inverse order. A multiple repetition of the whole process deepens the tuning with the Omkar reality. Finally, the concentration on the physical location of the Chakras and the continuous lifting of them into Sahasrara bring to the manifestation of the Chakras’ real nature. [As remarked, the Higher Kriyas from the eighth the last one should be practiced in this dimension.] Yoni Mudra Lahiri Mahasaya assured that the final realization is to be gained through Yoni Mudra. For a good practice it is necessary: 1…To practice Kechari Mudra keeping the tip of the tongue pressed upon the highest point inside the nasal pharynx. 2…To surround by calm energy the region around Muladhar up to perceive a tremendous feeling of immobility in all the body - this comes by the proficient practice of Omkar Pranayama. When an ecstatic feeling is felt and the light begins to brighten in Kutastha, that is the right moment to face the most delicate aspect of this technique: the number of times which the syllable Om is sung in the Kutastha is increased [no more than 1 per day anyway], sticking to a maximum limit of 200 repetitions. This practice's intent is to see the spiritual light, not to set a personal record of apnea! It is important to create a strong intensity of concentration and of energy in the Kutastha; this cannot be obtained through haste and violence applied to one's psychophysical system. After the practice, it is recommended to lie down and stretch each limb and part of the body, in order to enter a deep state of relaxation; it is possible to have some precious experiences right after getting through the first level of sleep.

105

INTRODUCTION TO THE VERTICAL ROUTINES The horizontal routine – whose length is as constant in time as that of a fence pegs – is the only system of practice which is recommended by the organizations and by a limited number of Kriya teachers. It consists in a daily practice of the same set of techniques, changing neither the order of practice nor the number of repetitions. It has been observed that the human being cannot bear the repetition of the same, identical routine for an infinite time, and nobody can escape this "law". What happens is that one's psychophysical system, accustomed to the practice, stops reacting causing the routine to become ineffective. Practicing the same technique every and every day, a kriyaban might run into a condition of annihilation of the initial expectations and enthusiasm. An expert wrote that the hope of obtaining a deep change through such a practice amounts to the hope that, hitting a piece of iron once a day might make it release the atomic energy that it contains within. A vertical routine – increasing in the number of repetitions as well as the pipes of an organ gradually increase in length – is a peculiar feature of Lahiri Mahasaya's Kriya. It consists in putting the usual technique aside once a week to use, at its place, a unique technique which must be regularly increased. After some months, after a predetermined number of repetitions have been completed, the same process is re-made with a different technique, then again with a different one and so forth, until the last Higher Kriya has been completed. It is clear that the importance of the vertical processes go beyond words! I… The kriyaban will discover a stout inner transformation, both in his psyche and in the ability of entering the states of ecstasy. II….The Kriya techniques involved in that plan will be mastered, coming to an unreachable goal through purely horizontal techniques. To keep in mind the reality of the inner knots (Grantis) helps to understand this point: a knot is like a gallstone, embedded in an organ, that a doctor must remove, gradually and with due care not to destroy the organ or kill the patient. Our knots cannot be blasted in one day, not just because our being could not stand it, but also because our erasing force is narrow and it must be built week after week. Thus, if the final stage of the vertical process of Pranayama [see following example] is 36x20=720 breaths, this means that, a week before, a kriyaban

106

must have assimilated 36x19=684 and a week before the latter 36x18=648…. Each stage must be experienced within a single day: this is vital to make any resistance blow up. If we try to be smart and do abruptly 720 Pranayamas, it is like doing nothing, because the inner channels close up. It is like pouring too quickly a liquid from one bottle to another having a smaller opening: all the liquid is spilled out. So the vertical process must be done in a gradual way and digested, bit by bit, during a normally active living. Navi Kriya and Pranayama are the best techniques to begin with. I....A kriyaban can practice in a day twice the standard quantity of Navi Kriya [8 units]; after three days he can practice three times the standard. His effort will not be as hard as to be impossible. During the following days, he can avoid practicing or he can just limit himself to a brief practice at will. After a week's rest – useful to absorb the practice's effects – he can practice four times the standard quantity and so on up to twenty times the standard quantity [80 units]. Needless to say that a practitioner can choose to practice every other week; in less than a year the process will be complete anyway. It is important to point out that the long sessions of practice are not necessarily uninterrupted; on the contrary, it might be interesting to divide them in two or three parts. Maha Mudra, Talabya Kriya and Pranayama can be done in the morning and/or in any moment of the day, according to one's necessities. The Navi Kriya's advanced variant can be adopted: the vertical process increases the number of descents according to multiples of 36 until 36x20 descents have been completed. As the process becomes gradually more intimate, the head movements are just hinted. II....Concerning the Pranayama vertical process, 36x1, 36x2, ...36x20 is a very good plan; 24x1, 24x2, ...24x24 is lighter but good anyway. It is important to underline that when more than a hundred breaths are practiced, it is wise to drift to the Omkar Pranayama. If all the recommendations are followed, the conscience will find itself floating in a state of infinite softness, a great and soothing spiritual light.

107

HOW TO GRADUALLY INCREASE THE DEPTH OF THE FIRST KRIYA ROUTINE

Technique Duration for 1 unit Begin With

Daily routine after some weeks or months

Verticals - if prescribed - to be done once in a lifetime

Talabya Kriya 1-2 secs 10 50 --------------- Om Japa 30 secs 6 to 12 6 to 12 ---------------

Basic

Pranayama [with or without Kechari Mudra]

18 -20 secs; up to 45 secs 12 24 - 36

max108

Vertical of Pranayama is a combination of Basic, Samana, Shambhavi and Omkar [see]

Maha Mudra

[1 unit is 3 extensions] 60 - 80 secs

3 x 3 ext.

For each 12 Pranayama, past 36, one

should perform one more Maha

Mudra

---------------

Navi Kriya 140-160 secs 4 2 - 4 4x1,4x2, … ,4x20

Very boring: much better with the advanced variation

Advanced Navi Kriya

[1 unit is 36 descents] 1 1 1x1,1x2,…1x20 [w]

Samana Pranayama

18 - 20 secs; up to 45 sec

12 [after at least 12 Basic Pranayama]

12 - 24 [after at least 12

Basic Pranayama]

See Omkar Pranayama

Shambhavi Pranayama

18-20 secss; up to 45 secs

12 [ after at least 36

Pranayama - basic and samana]

12-24 [ after at least 36

Pranayama - basic and samana]

See Omkar Pranayama

Omkar Pranayama 20 secs

12 [ after at least 24

Pranayama - Basic and Samana]

12 [ after at least 24

Pranayama - Basic and Samana]

36 basic; 36 Bas + 36 Sam; 36 Bas +36 Sam + 36 Shamb;… from then on add 36x1 Omkar, 36x2 … 36x17 for a total number of 36x20 breaths [w]

Mental

Pranayama and Omkar Pranayama with calm

breath

2 - 4 minutes Different rounds

A global time of 10-20 minutes

---------------

Yoni Mudra 1 “round” 1 “round”

1 “round” The singing of Om is increased

of one per day up to 200 [D]

[w] = the work is done once a week: during the other days minimal doses of the technique are practiced [D] = the technique is practiced everyday and is increased of one round a day

108

CH.II/3 DEFINITION OF HIGHER KRIYAS The Higher Kriyas have been specifically created to unravel the knots of the heart and of the Muladhar; they are the seals protecting – as Mère would say – «our right to pain and suffering». Let us explain some points before passing to any technical description. I....The practice always begins with the Maha Mudra, 12/24 Pranayama and the Navi Kriya. Only the expert can skip this rule, creating at will a condition of interiorization and starting, from here, with a specific Higher Kriya. If the breathing remains calm, if the inner sounds are perceived and the feeling of bliss continues to increase, it means that it is all okay. II....People agree on the fact that, practicing the Higher Kriyas with one's tongue stuck in the nasal pharynx is different than practicing them keeping the tongue in a normal position. The big part of teachers state that the necessary internal pressure, produced by the Kechari, makes the Higher Kriyas work in the most effective way. In India, the way a practitioner does the Kechari Mudra is crucial for his initiation in these Kriyas and the teacher actually asks a student to open his mouth and checks how his tongue "disappears" in the nasal pharynx. A question cannot but be made at this point: is the whole practice of these Kriyas to be avoided by those who cannot perform the Kechari? In my opinion – even though my supposition is based on indirect proofs – Lahiri Mahasaya gave the initiation also to people who could not do the Kechari Mudra. No wonder at all if we consider his attitude, his grace, and his taking part to human suffering. If a person receiving these instructions is not able to reach such tongue position, good results can still be achieved thanks to his firm desire of success in the practice. Of course, I am not saying that the Kechari is not important; I am fully aware that it is an effective and powerful tool; notwithstanding, I believe that a real treasure can be found in the Higher Kriyas even without it. III...To be able to taste these techniques’ effects, one can choose to practice either the doses prescribed by Lahiri Mahasaya and by his most famous disciples, or to take it all in smaller doses. The Kriya path leads toward freedom; in order to be a joyful experience it should not be considered a constriction. If any teacher has ever given out

109

such an idea of it, that is due to his own psychological problems and conditioning. In any case, considering the value of the vertical processes, it is clearly vital to complete them at least once in a lifetime and as soon as possible. IV...These techniques should always co-operate to establish a foundation of harmony and calmness. A practitioner should be able to have an objective vision of his work and to perceive whether it is done correctly or incorrectly. In this case the advice of an expert is highly recommended. If a vertical process is not prescribed for a Higher Kriya, but only the completion of a certain number of repetitions, during weeks or months of intense effort, then it is necessary to go on with this task without expecting anything: the inner transformation will be rewarding. Only at the end of such processes will we discover that, by introducing the Higher Kriyas cautiously and one at a time in our routine, instead of disarranging its balance, add inexhaustible beauty to it. The state where the breath is completely stilled, practically inexistent, can be experienced after, or during, the practice of the Higher Kriyas. It happens in coincidence with a profound sense of immobility, together with an inner lightness and transparency. An incomparable sense of inner freedom - which will never be forgotten - is the result of quietness and of the total immobility of the lungs. The breathing process is like frozen; neither is the least need for breathing perceived. It does not produce any inner throb of surprise, anxiety or tension. It has a great value and nobody dreams of verifying the absence of breath through lab instruments, even because, during such a hypothetical test, a kriyaban might not be able to recreate the same conditions of relaxation. In Kriya Yoga, Samadhi is the powerful revelation of the Omkar reality accompanied by a unique calmness of the heart. The heart Chakra reveals its nature as unbearable bliss; an energetic current moves up inside the spinal column. Samadhi can also be induced in various ways. At times a sudden sound, a noise perceived in the periphery of conscience might create a very intense joy that goes far beyond all what has been experienced before; it lasts for just a few seconds. It is different when the conscience seems to become one thing with a certain inner image, so that some minutes pass by in perfect tranquillity. We have the best experience when the inner light becomes the totality of awareness.

110

SECOND KRIYA Once the Pranayama and the Navi Kriya verticals have been completed, it is normal to enjoy the magic and the beauty of such a beautiful practice as the Thokar is. First, the environment to be created is like that of the Omkar Pranayama. The Mantra "Om Namo Bhagabate Vasudevaya" is used in order to touch each Chakra with his syllables, all this being done rising and descending with the awareness. During the inhalation, the muscles at the base of the spinal column are contracted, the syllable Om is placed mentally in the first Chakra, Na in the second one, Mo in the third one, Bha in the fourth one, Ga in the fifth one and Ba in the Bindu. The rising energy touches the internal part of the spinal column, entering ideally every Chakra; there is a subtle breathing. When the inhalation ends, the breath is held and the muscles contraction is kept. The Thokar, now introduced in its simpler form, is a movement of the head consisting in a complete anticlockwise rotation, followed by a stroke. Let us discuss it in detail.

The head begins its round by moving to the left shoulder [left ear moves slightly towards the left shoulder, the face does not turn left or right and the movement is free of all bouncing], Te is thought in the heart Chakra. The head tilts back a little and in a sweeping arc reaches the right shoulder, [the right ear coming near the right shoulder]: the syllable Va is thought in the heart Chakra. The rotation goes on, the head bends forward just a little and moves left until the left ear is near the left shoulder [the face is not turned to the left]. From this position, the chin is tilted down diagonally as

111

if to strike the center of the chest, whereas Su is placed into the heart Chakra through a high mental intensity. Let us describe the internal perceptions accompanying the mental placing of the three syllables. The fourth Chakra is visualized as a little horizontal disk of a coin’s dimension, with a diameter of about an inch. On this ideal coin’s surface, an inner movement sensation is perceived as if the head movements were projected on its surface. I will try to make it clear. While the head is moving left, an inner light movement to the left is perceived there; similarly, when the head moves right, a movement rightward is perceived; when the head moves back toward the left shoulder, this inner movement moves left, and when the head reaches the chest, the inner movement draws the missing part of an ideal "S" [a flat "S", whose base is wider than normally and run from bottom to top].

Let us describe how the procedure ends. The head is kept still [one or more seconds, according to one’s intuition] enough to perceive an irradiation that, starting from the heart Chakra, is felt throughout the chest and especially in the back. After this, the contraction at the base of the spinal column is eased off; through a very subtle exhalation, the remaining syllables are "placed" into the first three Chakras: Da into the third one, Va into the second one and Ya into the first one. [Just to give an idea, the duration of this Kriya is about 30 seconds.] The procedure is repeated 12 times; it is possible to increase of 1 per day up to 200 repetitions. The presence of physical problems may require that the cervical vertebrae are not forced into a sudden movement to bring the chin close to the chest; a more delicate movement is recommended, trying to create a perception of

112

energy in the fourth Chakra only through the power of concentration. After about six months, when the 200 repetitions are accomplished, a kriyaban is ready for the next variation of the Thokar process. THIRD KRIYA The difference between this and the previous technique lies in the repetition of the head movements, holding one’s breath. Lahiri Mahasaya gave the instruction to start with 12 repetitions of the head’s global movement [rotation and stroke] and go up incrementing of one repetition per day up to 200, while holding the breath! [To give an idea: inhalation, 12 repetitions and exhalation may all together last about 70-80 sec.] Just one Third Kriya per day is practiced. During this process the concentration is directed upon the associated inner perceptions [see Second Kriya], which leads to a deep spiritual experience. As a matter of fact, something important and of very delicate nature has to be remarked! It is obvious that trying to get to a high number of rotations at a high speed, obsessed by holding the breath, is absurd. Wrong are those who say that this power comes in due time and/or practicing the Kechari Mudra; it cannot come and it will never come! Holding one’s breath during the execution of all these movements amounts to a mere violence against one’s own body! As far as I am concerned, the only possible option is to bring the energy up, gathering it into the chest’s upper part, no matter if a minimal quantity of air flows in and out of the body. With the aim not to breathe – which does not mean holding one’s breath [it might sound the same thing, but it is not] – a practitioner should proceed in a free-of-tension way. The natural and pleasing experience, together with the sensations of warmth and of exciting joy in the fourth Chakra, brings the kriyaban to believing that he is not breathing. The fact that this technique is not an apnea technique should always be kept in mind. There must necessarily be an imperceptible exhalation whenever the chin is moved toward the chest; similarly, an imperceptible inhalation is produced whenever the chin is brought back up. A molecule of air passing through the nostrils cannot for the world ruin the technique and its effects! The practice of the Third Kriya ends in the same way as the Second, the remaining syllables De, Va

113

and Ya are "placed" into the first three Chakras: Da into the third, Va into the second and Ya into the first one. FOURTH KRIYA Let us combine each Chakra with a particular Mantra: Muladhar…Om Bhuh; Swadhistan…Om Bhubah; Manipur…Om Mahah; Anahat…Om Swah; Vishuddhi …Om Janah; Medulla…Om Tapah. [In the Fifth Kriya, we will see how the Om Satyah and the Bindu go together]. The technique starts with focusing on the first Chakra; through an inhalation, it is ideally raised into the Kutastha, to be herein seen as a bright "moon". [The path to be followed from each Chakra to the Kutastha is an almost straight line; the lifting happens in an instant. It is not a movement of energy like in Pranayama, but the lighting of an intuition: the Chakra is already there. The visualization of the bright "moon" is that of a vertical disc, a bright circle, just as big as to allow the Kutastha to contain six piled-up "moons".] Thinking Om Bhuh, the power of intuition knocks on the Kutastha’s door; a slight oscillating movement of the head, as a mini Thokar - faster and less emphatic - is carried out. [The head swings left for no more than an inch, right, left again, ending with a small, barely hinted twitch in the middle. Om accompanies the oscillation and is longer than Bhuh, ideally put in the middle.] The inner movement has no longer the shape of an "S", but the following one:

The deeper the concentration, the easier for the breathing process to dissolve! Once the 36 repetitions have been carried out, a long exhalation brings the Chakra back down. [To give an idea, this process may last about two, two and a half minutes.]

114

The same procedure is repeated for each Chakra with the corresponding Mantra, till Medulla is brought in Kutastha. The six Chakras are visualized as piled-up moons - the position of the 2nd Chakra in the Kutastha will be a little higher than that of the 1st Chakra and so on… The whole procedure is then repeated in the opposite order: Om Tapah is again combined with the Medulla, Om Janah follows, etc. The required concentration is both applied to the inner light and to the afore described sensation of movement. While in the beginning this sensation might seem the same for every Chakra, later on it becomes possible to discern all its little differences. The literature refers of «different rhythms in the chakras», pointing out the possibility of distinguishing something that is peculiar of each of them. This complicated technical detail is aimed at pushing the kriyaban toward the Chakras’ true location – which is not in the spine, but in the Kutastha. No vertical process is prescribed for this Kriya. Variation. As soon as each Chakra has reached the Kutastha, the latter is re-located into its place through a subtle exhalation. [The coming down of each Chakra is very quick, the time of a light sigh; there is no need of visualizing the piled-up "moons".] Then the 36 repetitions of the Mantra and the head movements are done - these movements may be accompanied by a very faint, lateral swing of the spinal column. Part of the awareness remains in the Kutastha. The gist of this procedure is to be able to perceive the inner movement both in the Kutastha and in the Chakra’s location. FIFTH KRIYA It is started off with a deep concentration on the Ajna Chakra. Mathematical precision is not required when locating it, since the inner light perception will guide the awareness to the right place. The head swings left and right and the correct place is easily spotted thanks to the concentration between the two temples. Let us imagine raising the first Chakra right there by means of an inhalation, trying to perceive the inner movement 36 times through the Mantra Om Bhuh. The same thing is to be done with the remaining Chakras but each in a different position. Let us imagine raising them ideally one after the other, getting closer to the Bindu. [As the Bindu is

115

physically located upwards and behind the Ajna Chakra, we are moving in a diagonal line from the Ajna Chakra to the Bindu - upwards and backwards.] The conscience will finally try to enter the Bindu, where Om Satyah will be repeated 36 times. This will result in a major enrichment of the inner light perception. This concentration will be gradually intensified until 200 repetitions are reached. To conclude the technique, the kriyaban "lowers" the Chakras according to an inverse order [Ajna Chakra first then Vishuddhi, Anahata, Manipur, Swadhisthana, Muladhar], accompanying each one by means of an exhalation. SIXTH KRIYA Inhalation is made like in the Omkar Pranayama; the muscles at the base of the spinal column are contracted, Om is placed into the first Chakra, Na into the second one, Mo into the third one, Bha into the fourth one, Ga into the fifth one and Ba into the Bindu. The movement of energy going upward is intensified contracting the navel’s area; the finger-crossed hands are placed upon it to push the abdominal region upward. The energy touches the inner part of the spinal column and ideally enters each Chakra. The breathing is subtle. Holding both one’s breath and the muscles contraction, the Thokar movements are repeated but something totally new is perceived inside!

[I] While the head is on the move toward the left shoulder and then while it moves rightward, some kind of bright inner movement is felt descending from the Bindu, running a small curve to the left and reaching the Medulla.

116

Just then - in the instant the head is in the middle - the syllable Te is mentally pronounced. [II] While the head is on the move toward the right shoulder and then while it begins the returning movement to the left shoulder, the inner movement descends from the Medulla, producing a curve to the right and comes into the fifth cervical Chakra. Just in the instant the head is in the middle, the syllable Va is mentally pronounced. [III] As the head reaches the left shoulder, thus completing its rotation, the inner movements follows it to the left; when the chin strikes the chest, the inner movement winds downward and enters the heart with the syllable Su. When the chin is raised, the awareness shifts to the Bindu. In this way the inner movement, being vertical, connects the three higher Chakras [fourth, fifth and sixth] with the Bindu. It is called Trivangamurari movement, which means "three-curve movement". The procedure is to be repeated 12 times. Then, the muscles at the base of the spinal column are relaxed and, while exhaling, the remaining syllables De Va Ya to be placed into the 3rd, the 2nd and the 1st Chakras respectively. [To give an idea: inhalation, 12 repetitions and exhalation may all together last about 70-80 sec.] Just one Sixth Kriya per day is practiced. The scheme of the head rotations’ progressive increase is not different than that of the Third Kriya [till 200 rotations]. Again, regarding the way the breath should be stopped, consider the Third Kriya breathing issue. SEVENTH KRIYA Being this technique very delicate, its execution and its effects have to be taken on very carefully. The head movements and the breathing control do not change from the sixth Kriya; the inner movement, instead, does not stop in the heart Chakra, but it proceeds into the lower Chakras too. It starts as in the Sixth Kriya: a rotation of the head, with Te and Ba in the Medulla and in the fifth Chakra, plus a stroke, being Su put into the fourth Chakra. Then, the head movements are repeated; but, after placing the syllables Te and Va in the Medulla and in the fifth Chakra, the inner movement reaches the third Chakra when the chin hits the chest: the syllable Su is placed there. Then the head movements are repeated ….. and now with Su, the second Chakra is reached. Then the head movements are repeated ….. and with Su, the Muladhar is reached.

117

Going on in the same way, the procedure is repeated in inverse order: the first one is reached, then the second, the third, and the fourth. A kriyaban can either stop the Thokar process here or start another descent, by hitting again the fourth, the third, the second, the first Chakra. To close the practice, the muscles at the base of the spinal column relax and, while exhaling, the remaining syllables – De, Va, Ya – are put into the Muladhar Chakra, if this was the last to receive the stroke or in the 3rd, the 2nd and the 1st Chakras respectively, if the Thokar process ended in the heart Chakra. The progressive increase plan varies from person to person, according to the experienced effects – which are no mild effects, anyway. Normally, the increase grows of multiples of four; only the guidance of an expert, though, can lead you safely beyond the number of 36 total movements or the head [rotations with stroke]. [Just one Seventh Kriya per day is practiced.]

118

EIGHT KRIYA [Also known as Second Omkar Kriya Amantrak] Let us now consider how the subtler aspect of the Omkar reality, the inner movement Trivangamurari, is perceived in the body. We are dealing with a procedure which is fit for those who have mastered, or are in the process of mastering, the third Kriya stage and have sound experience of what it means for the breath to calm down almost to disappearance. This Kriya and the following ones are all called "Kriyas of the calm breath". After practicing the Pranayama and the Navi Kriya techniques, a kriyaban checks his meditation position and tries to make it comfortable so to be able to keep still as long as possible. Unlike in the precedent techniques, the breathing carries on in its own way to calm downrightly later on. The technique is started off by slowly raising the awareness along the spinal column [half a minute is the needed time to get to the Bindu], focusing on a sense of inner power and vibration, which also rises. [It is difficult to explain how this should happen. Through the Kriya practice, however, perceiving this current should not be that difficult; that is why I will not include any further comment on that]. After touching the Bindu, the awareness start descending along the body.

As shown in the picture, the current draws three curves that touch the Medulla, the heart Chakra and, lastly, the Muladhar. The whole Trivangamurari movement takes place on an ideal plane containing the spinal column. The difference between this and the Sixth and Seventh Kriyas inner movement lies in its intensity; now, a person has all the necessary time to come to a more "precise" perception of it, let us say, "inch after inch". It is no longer an effect and a projection of the head’s

119

physical movement, but the experience of a universal reality that exists of its own. The four new centres, localized along the descending flux, must not be considered new Chakras; they are, instead, small "vortexes" of current within the main current. A practitioner should not get upset at trying to understand with precision their location; this is something that happens in due time. Approximately speaking, anyway, the body’s right side centre is located on the back about an inch above the right nipple’s height, whereas the opposite centre, on the left side of the body, is situated on the back about an inch under the left nipple’s height. Half a minute is ideally required both to rise and to descend, and a stop of about a second is made in the Muladhar; so one round is one minute, but if it comes out to be shorter, let us say 45/50 seconds, this does not mean that the procedure is done incorrectly. The secret of these techniques hides in good concentration skills, in immobility and in the ability to bear this technique’s resulting power. The perception is repeated 25 times a day for two weeks; then, add 25 more times every two weeks and so forth, until 200 repetitions are reached. The power originating from this practice can be so strong that the practitioner might prefer a more gradual increase, limiting his or her practice to 10 movements for ten days, to go on augmenting it by 10 repetitions – every ten days, of course – until 200 repetitions are reached. During the months of practice, many things might occur and many difficulties might obstruct the way; intuition will advise on how maintaining the overall control. NINTH KRIYA [Third Omkar Kriya Samantrak] The technique does not change, but the perception is intensified thanks to the twelve-syllable Mantra. While the inner movement rises, the syllables Om, Na, Mo, Bha and Ga are put into the first five chakras, the syllable Ba into the Bindu. Then it descends along the left side, curving till the Medulla; this is where the seventh syllable, Teee, is chanted. At this point the inner flux moves toward the right side of the body, reaching the center where the eight syllable, Va, is located. It curves, it

120

crosses diagonally the heart chakra region and it gets to where the ninth syllable, Su, is located. The syllables De and Va find their location along the inner movement’s last segment, the syllable Ya in the Muladhar.

The process of progressive increase does not change from the previous technique. Once this number has been completed, the practitioner should be ready to intensify the whole procedure by introducing the particular form of Thokar - with a different set of movements - that we describe now. TENTH KRIYA [Fourth Omkar Kriya Thokar] With his chin on his chest, the kriyaban starts practicing raising the awareness very slowly along the spinal column and touching its relative centres with the syllables [Om Na Mo etc. are placed into the Chakras as per Ninth Kriya], thus raising the chin as if to follow the inner movement. When the chin is up straight, then the perception is at the Bindu. Then, the head moves slowly to the left without turning the face, tilts slightly backwards, begins the round but stops in the central position. The chin is already up but it is raised to an upper position as to intensify the perception of the Medulla, where the seventh syllable, Teee, is placed. In that very instant, also the Kutastha is neatly perceived. Now the movements of the head will be quite different from those we are acquainted to. From the chin-up position, the face turns slowly to the right, the chin is naturally lowered until it reaches a position parallel to the right

121

shoulder, above it. [It may be necessary to remark this: the face is turned to the right!] During this movement of the head, the inner Trivangamurari flow as lightly as a brook and tracks half of the second curve, reaching the eighth centre. [There will be no doubt about the speed of the movements of the head: they are very slow! The inner Trivangamurari movement should go on as in the Eight and Ninth Kriyas and the head just accompanies it.] At this point the chin, being parallel to the ground and above the right shoulder, touches the latter for an instant and it is in this very instant that the syllable Va is vibrated in the eighth centre. [The shoulder also makes a small motion upward to render the contact with the chin easier]. This is the first of five strokes. Right after it, the face turns right in a very, very slow motion, accompanying, millimetre after millimetre, the perception of the inner flux getting across the fourth Chakra. The second stroke similarly takes place in the left side, when the syllable Su is chanted in the ninth centre. Thence, the chin goes slowly back into its initial position – down in the middle of the chest – grazing the left side of the collarbone; during such movement – exactly when the syllables De and Va are thought in the tenth and eleventh centres – two light strokes are given to the collarbone in positions intermediate with respect to that above the left shoulder and the final one, in the middle of the chest; in the end, the last chin stroke on the chest is carried out when the syllable Ya is placed into the Muladhar. A pause of about a second follows. One round should last ideally one minute, but the practical experience is that it lasts 40/50 seconds. This technique is repeated 36 times a day until it becomes quite familiar. At this point, it will be possible to face the engaging process of vertical increase whose various stages happen no more than once a week! The increase is of 36 in 36, till 36x36. It is important to understand that if problems are met during such way of practice – I am referring to stress and pain in the cervical vertebrae and in the muscles of the neck – sudden and abrupt movements should be avoided; it is thus possible to favour a deep mental intensity of concentration in the moment that each of the five syllables is thought.

122

ELEVENTH KRIYA [Fifth Omkar Kriya Amtrak] After the Pranayama and the Navi Kriya, the awareness is guided to the Muladhar, which is visualized as a little horizontal disk of a coin’s dimension, with a diameter of about an inch.

On this ideal coin’s surface, a Trivangamurari movement – already experienced in the three previous techniques, even if of inferior dimensions – is perceived three times. The same thing is experienced in each of the 12 centres [the first five Chakras, the Bindu, the Medulla, the four new centres and the Muladhar: the disk is always horizontal]. The practitioner who is immersed in the Omkar reality maintaining a perfect mental and physical stillness, starts one more "round", and then one more… till 12 complete rounds are made. After 3 to 6 months of regular practice, the practitioner is ready for the next Kriya. [Some people demand to know how long each Micro-movement lasts. The answer is that this experience must happen absolutely spontaneously, and it lasts as decided by one’s internal rhythm. Lahiri Mahasaya’s recommended - «Never be in a hurry! » The Micro-movement can be normally perceived if and only if a person has worked properly with the previous Kriyas; each micro lasts about 10/12 seconds.] TWELFTH KRIYA [Sixth Omkar Kriya Samantrak] The Mantra "Om Namo Bhagabate Vasudevaya" is chanted mentally, while the awareness perceives the Trivangamurari Micro-movement on this ideal coin’s surface. For each Chakra, the whole Mantra is chanted and, obviously, the number of Mantras is then equal to the number of times the micro-movement is perceived. The Mantra’s syllables are used like little thrusts to render the inner movement perception deeper. Everything else does not change. This technique is carried on for months or years, until the opportunity

123

comes to practice the vertical process of it, which is by far the most challenging of all the Kriyas of Lahiri Mahasaya. Vertical process On the first stage, the Micro-movement is perceived 36 times in each of the 12 centres; on the second stage it is perceived 36x2 times, that means 72 times [just to avoid any sort of misunderstanding: 36x2 Micro-movements in each centre means 72 times in the first centre, 72 times in the second centre and so on, until the round has been completed. The vertical process provides for a unique round; the stopping time in each centre is what is increased]. A kriyaban increases it this way from 36 through 36 times, until an entire day is not sufficient to complete the round. That is why the work must be divided in two days; on the morning of the second day, the technique is resumed exactly where the night before it had been interrupted. Proceeding with the practice, three days are required, then four days, and so on, till the last stage [36x36], which might last a week or more. During this effort it is wise to keep silent, avoiding any occasion of conversation. Yet, the use of common sense should always prevail; if addressed, a polite reply is always imperative.

124

AN OVERALL IDEA OF WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE PROCESSES. Once the verticals of the Higher Kriyas, done at the best of one’s ability, have been completed, one has more or less mastered Kriya Yoga. The question about what a kriyaban then does, what his routine is like, comes spontaneous. The repeated experience of the breathless state destroys the reality of the world and of any restricting anthropomorphic concept of the Divine; the Advaita vision of the "Formless Divinity" burst out and overwhelms the Ego. Flashes of the ending state of freedom touch the mind. Usually the kriyaban learns to enter the Samadhi state through Pranayama and Omkar Pranayama alone. His daily appointment with Kriya [it is not correct to call it "routine"] is not a duty but a vacation from his work: it begins with the breath and, after some minutes, is lived in the breathless state. Some vertical processes, or just the last stage of one of them, are experienced again just to merge deeper, through it, into the Omkar reality.

125

HOW TO WORK WITH THE HIGHER KRIYAS [ONE AT A TIME!]

Technique Duration for 1 unit Begin With

After some weeks -

months, as daily routine

Verticals, if prescribed. To be done once in a lifetime

K2 30 secs 12 24 - 36

12, 13, 14, … 200 [D]

K3 and K6

70 - 80 secs [Inhalation, 12 sets of

movements, exhalation]

1 “round” [Inhalation, 12 sets of

movements, exhalation]

1 “round” [Inhalation, 36 sets of

movements, exhalation]

1 “round” [Inhalation, 12, 13, 14, … 200

sets of movements, exhalation] [D]

K4 120 -150 secs x12 =24 - 30

min

1 “round” 36 Japa x 12

Chakra

1 “round” 36 Japa x 12

Chakra ---------------

K5 120 -150 secs

x 7 =14-18 min

1 “round” 36 Japa x 7

Chakra

1 “round” 36 x 6 + 200

Japa

1 “round” Increase up to 200 in Bindu.

[I]

K7

60 secs [Inhalation,

8 sets of movements, exhalation]

1 “round” [Inhalation, 8 sets of

movements, exhalation]

1 “round” [Inhalation, 24 sets of

movements, exhalation]

1 “round” [Inhalation, 8,12,16,…36 sets of movements, exhalation] [More

than 36 movements only if expert can guide you] [I]

K8 and K9 50 - 60 secs 25 36 25 x1x 2 weeks; 25x2x 2 weeks, …. 25x8x 2 weeks

K10 45 - 50 secs 36 36 36x1,36x2,…,36x36 [w]

K11 10 -12 secs x 3 x12 = 6-8

min

12 rounds [3x12x12]

12 rounds [3x12x12]

[After 3 - 6 months move to next Kriya]

K12 10 -12 secs x 3 x12 = 6-8

min

12 rounds [3x12x12]

12 rounds [3x12x12]

1 “round” 36x1x12 ; 36x2 x12, … 36x36

x12 Chakras

Note How the Higher Kriyas can be mixed in the best of the ways with the techniques of the First Kriya is matter of the third part of the book, as well as the routine, to be followed when all the vertical processes are completed, is. [I] = The decision when to increase comes by intuition

126

THIRD PART: LAHIRI MAHASAYA’S KRIYA YOGA IN PRACTICE CH.III/1 THE FIRST STAGE I described how the idea to write a book about Lahiri Mahasaya’s mystical path and to place it at everybody's disposal in the web was born. As well as a self-imposed prisoner and having reduced my social life to the bare minimum, I started to work living in strict isolation. For a few months I wrote each Kriya technique in the most exhaustive way, adding remarks in a concise way. When I had to write my own personal experience in the specific field of Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya Yoga, I was blocked by a substantial impediment. While the description of my first experiences as a self-teacher and those with my first Kriya school gave me no problems - I knew my story was intended only to enlighten the reader on how great my personal attraction on Kriya had been and on how desperate and chaotic my search had been - trying to do the same with the last part of my path created a strong resistance. It was hard to mix the description of Lahiri Mahasaya’s techniques with my experiences and with remarks about different possible routines. When I succeeded in expressing an idea, I felt, on the following day, unsatisfied. The more I thought how I could come out of my awkward situation, the more I realized that my way of thinking, that I deemed clear, was indeed uncertain and contradictory. There was nothing else to do, irritated and verging on exasperation, but to start thinking again the whole inner structure of the last chapters. Almost without realizing, some years flew by. From this situation I could come out dividing the book into three parts and setting aside the third one just for the subjective remarks: in this way - so I thought - the reader could skip them completely. I felt relieved. That was the moment in which I practiced great doses of almost all the techniques. In this way, what in the past had been already utilized, but sometimes in a superficial way, now it received a great and consistent attention. Unfortunately in the past, the very essential force that made me do a certain practice had been the desire to complete, as soon as possible, the

127

number of its prescribed repetitions in order to obtain the next Higher Kriya from my teacher. The yearning to "squeeze" each Kriya teacher and to receive from him whatever he knew derived by the fear that, for some reason, I would not have been able to get in touch with him in the future. Now I was no more in this enervating situation: I was living a wonderful moment of my life, free from any Guru - from any falsehood and pretence - and I could concentrate on each technique unhurriedly, meet its essence and write down all my impressions. In fact, these last years have been really different from all the rest of my life. In chapter III/1 I take into consideration how the basic procedures of the First Kriya can create a solid foundation, from where the wonderful project of the mystical search can start. In chapter III/2, concentrating on the fundamental experience of Thokar, I share some considerations about the effect which this technique can bring in one’s practical life: an appreciable transformation in the capability to quiet the superficial emotions. In chapter III/3 I focus on the higher experiences of the breathless state and of the "Internal breath" state, which are the mark of the third stage of Lahiri Mahasaya’s path. Considerations about the value of Japa, as an undoubtedly privileged means helping in reaching this states, are added at the end. The chapter III/4 is devoted to report about my search of nearing the fourth stage of Kriya and to comment the information about what a kriyaban does in the very last part of his life. 1…About Lahiri Mahasaya’s First Kriya, I remember the astonishment experimented when I realized how Talabya Kriya succeeded in calming immediately the mind; I also remember the boredom suffered during the practice of Navi Kriya, when I used its first variation - namely, to sing the Mantra for 100 times in the navel and 25 times behind – and the satisfaction felt when I adopted the variation which consisted in chanting Om alternatively between Kutastha and navel. I did some experiments because I felt to be not compelled to go blindly along one direction only. If any change was useless, it will fall by itself. Each Kriya technique became something which appeared as obvious, inevitable, something that could not be fancied but in that way. Most of the kriyabans do not dare to carry out an experiment; for example, there is a discussion whether, during Pranayama, it is correct to chant Om

128

in the Chakras. If Lahiri Mahasaya’s sentence about the importance of placing the syllables exactly in each Chakra is quoted, one objects it refers to Omkar Pranayama and not to Pranayama. The essential fact is that, instead of losing time in polemics, a kriyaban can experiment and verify it through actual practice and then make up his mind. 2…One day I could insert the tongue in the hollow of the nasal pharynx. The irritating sensation in the pharynx, the increase of the salivation and the necessity of swallowing frequently, became a real problem. I set aside half an hour every day just to get used to it and two weeks later I felt perfectly at ease. Thus nothing, at least theoretically, would have prevented me from practicing Pranayama with the tongue in that position except for a feeling of "daze" that I perceived during the day. It was not possible to ignore that difficulty: my mental faculties were definitely numb and I was prone to ignore prudence and behave in a negligent and even dangerous way. For one month I excluded myself out from many activities and, like someone who is convalescent from an illness, I tried to live longer indoors; then everything seemed to come back to normality. Almost all the literature about Kriya describes how during Kechari a sweet taste [the so-called "nectar"] is felt: well, in connection with this experience, I cannot bring personal positive evidence. I'm not certain if I perceived it because in such a circumstance, where the sense of taste is involved, it is very easy to get confused. I applied carefully the teaching suggested by my second teacher, namely to rotate the tip of the tongue, while focusing the attention on any feeling of taste, over that kind of asperity that a kriyaban feels in the upper part of the palate inside the nasal pharynx. Sometimes, absorbed in that endeavour, also inspired by Lahiri Mahasaya’s sentence according to which «the tongue can go even more higher», I extended my tongue at the maximum and experienced a great strength of attraction in the Kutastha. I had the sensation to reach, with the tip of the tongue, an even higher position. However, as any atlas of human anatomy reveals, the tongue, completely contained inside the nasal pharynx, cannot go upper, so I came to the end that the experience hinted in that sentence should be intended symbolically and ascribed only to the energetic level.

129

What is certain is that whenever I remained for many hours with the tongue in Kechari Mudra, touching the roof of the palate, on the following day I felt unfailingly a particular soft and diffuse happiness. I noticed that if Kechari Mudra is accompanied by a strong concentration in the Kutastha, it arouses spontaneous experiences of energy in the spine; the strength of interiorization was so strong to give the impression to have switched the external reality off. Since birth, the energy streamed towards the outside making us no more able to directly contact our inner reserve of energy. The main purpose of Kechari Mudra is to recover this skill. Sometimes we do not realize the amount of energy we waste: for example when we yield to the vice of mentally addressing to one person or to an imaginary public, this "internal talk" is a pernicious way of using our vitality, that leads to the dissipation of it. Kechari Mudra can turn this attitude into its opposite - the state where the daily experiences are understood and metabolised through the beam of the meditation-born intuition. 3…To practice the vertical process of Navi Kriya, I chose the variation where the energy is guided through four different directions from the head to the waist region. The target to enter the abode of peace and tranquillity located in the middle of the abdominal region was felt like a goal within reach, not at all abstract: the other variations of Navi Kriya could in no way attract so much my attention. After many repetitions, the breath became almost imperceptible: during exhalation a new experience occurred. Just before exhaling, a small resistance manifested as if there was an impediment, as if the lungs were blocked: the resistance was defeated by something which started to penetrate into the body in an extremely sweet way. This was the beginning of the "Internal breath" phenomenon that I will develop and describe in great detail in the chapter III/3. The sheer beginning of this phenomenon gave me a great joy as some lines of my diaries witness [I used to excess words like: immense, boundless, etc].

130

In the evening, when I could allow myself a peaceful stroll, a mighty calm filled the circle of my thoughts: there, the blessing of a silence full of beatitude took place. At the end of this process I had the feeling as if epochs had gone by! The central psychological effect, typical of this practice, lays in a unification process. It was as if all the different facets of my personality were joining, consolidating in a unique, new and at the same time very ancient, thing. It was as if my work was a repeated attempt, never tiresome, to reach the obscure sources where my actual life originated. Although it was not possible to decipher the core of my personality, I felt it was possible to have a look at it indirectly. Surely, an internal thread connected all my past actions with my present driving forces: it was obvious that I had always pursued the unique mystic goal through different intermediate goals. I had decided to grant me the privilege and the dignity to move in life according to the fundamental principles I had chosen to follow. As soon as the effects of the practice crystallized in my conscience in a total order and gave birth a coherent action, I began to perceive a violent reaction in the other persons. Some friends perceived my silent but firm attitude as coldness. Even if bitterly opposed by those people, I decided to go on loyal to my principles. It came to my mind Achab's personality and composure in Melville's Moby Dick: «The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Naught's an obstacle, naught's an angle to the iron way!» 4….I acknowledge that, to be more accurate, I should refer to the vertical of the Pranayama as to that of Omkar Pranayama. After a maximum of one hundred breaths, the perception of the Chakras and the balm of the twelve syllables of the Mantra must be introduced and this is Pranayama, Higher Pranayama! In my practical experience, the unique problem was that on the internal screen of my awareness appeared many visions like dreams. This phenomenon had already manifested during the vertical of Navi Kriya but not in such a strong way. I was perplexed and I wondered if the practice was proper and effective.

131

A great help was to do different times Maha Mudra: it was not necessary to move, to open the eyes or to interrupt the count of the breaths. I think that a kriyaban should be able to stay, for a long time, in that diffused and irresistible Tranquillity which precedes sleep. In The Way of a Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues His Way, translated from Russian by R. M. French [S.P.C.K., London; there are other good translations] the protagonist describes how, when he was practicing his method of prayer, the cloud of his thoughts surrounded him: he experimented «a great heaviness, idleness, boredom, an invincible drowsiness». In my experience, the will to win the drowsiness was constant and no temporary defeat could have stopped me, but at the same time I accepted as a universal necessity that a continuous outpouring of images from my past covered the mystical experience. Each of my memory, instead of giving birth to an unceasing chain of thoughts, transfigured in an endless beauty and revealed its inner substance of light, its nature of bliss. In the countryside, when with half-closed eyes I practiced in this way, my Pranayama assumed the consistence of the sky. «Enough, enough of the mind and of his false stars - I repeated Aurobindo’s words - let us turn on the suns that never extinguish!» In this way the process went ahead and it was not hard but beautiful and natural to reach the desired number of 720 repetitions. After each practice, I felt the miracle of this new epoch of my life. My heart was grabbed by the certainty that something pure, enchantingly pure, present in my past, was emerging anew in my life: «the seas of endless shining» of which Aurobindo speaks seemed to be in front of me! DIDACTIC REMARKS The preceeding annotations concerning the First Kriya can be completed by adding a synthesis of my few but meaningful experiences in sharing it. Beginning…To those who, having not practised any Yoga technique at all, express the intention to begin this path, I counsel to get first acquainted with Nadi Sodhana and Ujjayi Pranayama. During this time, the evaluation if the person is going to meet success with this discipline, begins to take shape. An optimistic point of view has its

132

sound basis when the person practise the exercises with a lot of care and, this is essential, in an important realization comes to his awareness: «This practice has a direct influence on my state of mind, has the power to change the tenor of my whole day!» If one makes the splendid discovery that inside his being there is a great joy which can explode without any motivation and accepts it enthusiastically, without any fear, then he is born to the spiritual dimension. If in his psychological structure there is to be found the predisposition to work rather than to indulge in beautiful anticipations without the desire to deepen them, then he certainly desires to do a footstep ahead in the same direction and is ready to begin the First Kriya routine. No hasty conclusions should be drawn if a person disappears for a few years: in fact, even a simple practice produces often big effects. It can throw a sudden light on some aspects of the life that is urgent to modify; this can be accompanied by great and momentarily paralysing fears. When all this is past, people can take back the thread of their interests and they are often really clean and free from a part of their psychological ballast. The positive effects of the routine, as reported, are similar to what I have already described: the objects around seem to be changed, as if each one is more beautiful, as if a greater joy flew in the veins of the nature and in the other persons alike. To be acquainted with the First Kriya…When I introduce and demonstrate to one person the techniques of First Kriya, I don't recommend starting immediately with the complete practice and, in the first weeks, to not feel guilty if some day he doesn’t succeed in practising. Obviously I care they don't fall into the trap, which is the very behaviour to wait for "the ideal situation" to practice - for example to change occupation or to change hometown. It is certain that, in this way, the decision will be postponed for good! I try to show how beautiful it is to have at least a brief session made up just with the preliminary techniques such as Talabya Kriya and Om Japa! It is pleasant, before beginning a session, standing, flexing the backbone forward, on the right and on the left, also with some torsion - without excessive effort - and then take up the position of "half lotus." Then, chanting the Mantra Om in the Chakras, until this really makes abdomen,

133

chest and backbone vibrate, they can discover the "blessing" that this practice brings into their life. In explaining Pranayama, being intentionally simple, I try to avoid any perplexity: I choose a balanced, rational, flexible approach. Aiming at conveying the idea of Kriya as a mystery of joy to unravel within the natural way of living, and not as a means to gain supernatural powers, I never push people to create an expected effect through fancy. By moving the awareness along the elliptic path around the Chakras - visualized with their two components -, the concentration deepens almost without any effort; nevertheless I teach to pay attention to the execution of the Pranayama technique in the same way as a skilled musician plays his own instrument. Until Kechari is achieved, I think it is correct to mentally tune with the sound of "Shii" during the exhalation. I find no good reason to teach breathing with the mouth open even if it could be indeed an aid for the beginner: my purpose is to teach Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya, therefore I find it correct to avoid what is going to be dropped anyway. A kriyaban undertakes his routine with patience… the same as the housewife’s who "peels potatoes" - trying to follow the instructions in a disciplined and respectful way. I counsel not have too much pretensions or expectations before any session of practice, forgetting thus to perceive its "naturalness" or developing an excessive tension from which it will be hard to get rid. A lot of people are convinced that the good quality required for Kriya is the ability to obtain a perfect concentration: but this is the final result, not the beginning of Kriya! A common fact is that a mind continually stirs in thousands of different directions, as if daily activities would continue inside and this is what Kriya will defeat as time goes by: therefore, why suffer and feel guilty if, at the beginning, this concentration is still missing? Many had trodden paths of "personal growth". Each experiment ended up in a pure waste of energy: our mind’s effort cannot succeed in giving us that embrace which comes from eternity and leads to eternity. It is better not to try any mental trick and only keep on applying the techniques lamblike. Forgetting the attempt to "strangle the mind by the mind itself ", concentrating only on the breath, one day the strength of real "silence" will

134

take possession of the thoughts - then it will be more proper to consider our mind as "non-existent" rather than "concentrated". Discipline…After some weeks I explain it is correct to impose themselves a discipline and maintain it for at least three months. I introduce Omkar Pranayama as soon as possible, because it is appropriate to enjoy its marvel - it is obvious that the basic Pranayama is never relinquished and it is always done at the beginning of any routine. When the breath calms down and the awareness becomes absorbed in the revelation of the Chakras, I counsel to remain in this dimension as long as possible. After several weeks of mild but constant effort, at the end of each session it is possible to feel a sweet and comforting experience, which remains engraved in one’s memory. The vertical procedures…About the vertical processes, I think it is wise to begin with Navi Kriya and then, after half of the work, to begin the first sessions of the vertical of Pranayama. The main reason for this choice is that the vertical of Pranayama is very subtle and great doses of Navi Kriya prepares it in the best way. It is curious to see how some Kriya students, more polluted than prepared for Kriya by some readings, in their desire to perfect Pranayama by establishing their awareness in Sahasrara, worry about what Mantra may be thought in its location or about the details of some elaborated visualization. They are unable to see what a tremendous impact the movement of the head with the accompanying perceptions, in the advanced form of Navi Kriya has. A kriyaban can hardly do a more reasonable thing than increasing the gathering of energy in his brain and distributing it in a calibrated manner in each part of it. It is up to a kriyaban’s intelligence to make the day of intense practice as pleasant as possible: it is good to wake up early and practice half of the amount, then he can have a light rest; lunch is followed by a short walk in the open air. In the afternoon the last part of the practice may be carried out. Eventual unpleasant states of mind will not last for long: they are a sign of great changes, which are already taking place inside. When the

135

transformation is complete, an authentic, true, non-misleading sense of satisfaction will follow. The fulfillment of these two vertical processes is decisive: a student who is not able to complete them – even with slightly reduced doses – will hardly keep on treading this path. Note In the intermediary days of the vertical processes the person goes on with the routine of the First Kriya, letting the concept of discipline go. If something important is to be done, that is to keep up the perception of the Omkar during the day. The effort must be sincere, it must be kept constantly notwithstanding one thousand failures, being very careful not to exclude any facet of life. If a kriyaban breaks willingly that tuning - just with the wrong hope to enjoy some pleasure, considered as rough, more freely - such an act brings him out of that reality for a very long time as if transported into another continent.

136

CH.III/2 THE SECOND STAGE We have seen that the Kriya path is a long walk consisting in crossing four different phases or stages, defined as the unfastening of the four internal psychophysical "knots". The second stage has something to do with the knot of the heart [tied with the fourth Chakra]. We have seen [p. 88] that it as the root cause of men’s attitude of being influenced by others, by the churches and organizations. In my spiritual search, the technique of the Second Kriya remained a well-sealed secret for many years. Using such a technique in the most suitable moment - I mean suitable from a Karmic point of view - Swami Pranabananda, an eminent disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya’s, consciously left the body - at least this is what is written in one book which was the foundation of my first approach to Kriya. My curiosity was strongly stimulated by this fact and I was fascinated by the idea of learning the technique. I dreamed to practice it one day, not to die consciously within a short time but to benefit from its delicate mechanism. I deemed it was unlikely to work with such a procedure and at the same time not to receive a strong, global benefit for my spiritual evolution. However, such a technique, given by Lahiri Mahasaya only to chosen disciples, was bound to kindle my imagination. If I consider now, what different teachers said and are still saying about this technique, I think that there is a curse hanging upon it! As if they were obeying to a perverse wish, they gave vent to their ability to bring forth the wildest deformation. One of them tried to convince me that the Second Kriya was similar to the Tibetan technique of opening a hole in the Fontanel [on the top of the head] and that the test of the validity of the technique was the same as in the Tibetan traditions: a kriyaban would have been able to insert the stem of a flower in it (!). I won't oppress the reader with the list of other foolishnesses which I listened at that time.

137

The reason why I was almost hypnotized by the magic charm of some absurdities was because I had the attitude to privilege complicated techniques. My way of approaching, enough diffused in the esoteric world, was willing to embrace what seemed artificial and strange and against the laws of the common sense, with the plain justification that the more a technique was bizarre, the more it was powerful. For many years, the deepest part of me suffered because I didn’t know the Higher Kriyas completely - in fact many essential things were denied to me - so I feared I could not realize the essential stages of Kriya. The thought I was limited in my personal experience of my mystic path by someone's will made me angry. Surely, I run the risk to get lost and so never to know the correct technique. What saved me was the - already quoted - book Puran Purush: there I found it clear that the Second Kriya was the Thokar process where a kriyaban makes a sharp movement upon the chest with the chin. I already knew the technique but never used it because no one gave me the theoretic basis to understand its importance! The real Second Kriya [and its variation called Third Kriya] had nothing to do with all the deformations I had learned; it was not a "cunning esoteric trick" to master the mechanics of a painless suicide, but, on the contrary, it was a dive into the Omkar reality, whose embrace of bliss was the only one able to calm in a natural way the cardiac plexus! Lahiri Mahasaya wrote that this technique creates «a strong stimulus in the heart region - cardiac plexus - and succeed in releasing the obstruction - the knot of the heart - opening the gate of the internal temple». I have already discussed the mechanics of the technique, clearly explaining its meaning from a psychological point of view to unfasten the knot of the heart [see ch. II/3] so I will not insist upon that. Lahiri Mahasaya wrote that a kriyaban learns to see what others cannot or don't want to see, he experiences the misery and the sorrow endured by mankind - this can move him tremendously into the depth. Regarding my experience, the days when I practised it were soaked in a feeling of burning love: I felt a really beautiful presence in my heart. I went around as if I was carrying a brazier inside my heart and what I felt was not pain but intensity of love! I perceived the centre of my personality in my heart and no more in my brain, and I started to develop a different way of looking at life.

138

Seeing the illusions furnished by religion, a strong participation to the others' sorrow grew. I felt a real pain for those people who, in the dept of their tragedy, kept on begging their God as if He was a person who could spare them a sad fate. Sometimes the feeling of this devastating reality filled my heart with weeping as if it was hold by an intolerable vice, which tore my heart to pieces. The most solacing effect was the increase in the perception of the inner sounds. The Second and the Third Kriya give a clear experience of the inner sound like a bell sound: Lahiri Mahasaya described it as «produced by a lot of people who keep on striking the disk of a bell», a continuous sound «as the oil that flows out of a container». ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE EMOTIONS IN OUR LIFE In a strenuous practice of the Second and of the Third Kriya, the potential to master the superficial emotions is to be found: this has a deep consequence upon one’s practical life. Let us stop to observe the role played in our life by emotions. Each technique including Thokar produces an important transformation which concerns the reaching of the emotional maturity. Discrimination should always be the main quality, which presides over our way of living among other people, therefore there should be no place for any hasty decision. Often violent, frantic and hysterical emotions rise suddenly in our being and then they disappear: they express a reality deprived of authentic depth but they possess a propulsive strength which ends in hurried actions, lived in a sort of cerebral fever nurtured by a narrow visceral pleasure. While the passion enflames the whole being, it is not possible to listen to the guide of common sense: therefore hard but necessary paths of behaviour - those which would push us towards a more evolved and complete stadium of existence - often yield to irrevocable stops. Sometimes fatal decisions begin to take shape in our imagination - just like in summer the grains of hail condense and thicken in the air before falling on the ground producing disasters - especially while we are wasting our time musing upon the changing of the external circumstances of our lives. During those reveries when we are engrossed in the idea to avoid something difficult, we float in an illusory happiness: this prospect seems

139

to give more "light" to our existence, and something that in the past would have made us shiver in horror and shame, now seems to twinkle on the horizon of our life as if it were glimmering upon a river on a clear, transparent day. Just to make an example: a person does not only dream to fly away from a difficult examination but he sometimes embraces, all of a sudden, the project to quit the entire course of studies. Emotions make us blind: we cannot see that this sudden ideal leap in the "new happy condition" stops forever a tremendous occasion to grow. In the same way one can decide to put brusquely an end to a challenging human relationship. Sometimes we are confident that an important relationship of ours would proceed in the obvious and same way forever; lulled by this idea, we cannot accept anything, which can threaten our childish illusion to have reached a perfect tuning with another human being. As soon as we detect the least warning that something inside this relationship should be reconsidered, we react as if a useless, cruel violence came to hurt our being. We feel as if the other person did not appreciate the present peace and with a bit of sadism she/he desired to sort out useless arguments for enervating discussions which, according to our intuition, are of no value and therefore should be never faced or perhaps postponed in the future. And if at last we acknowledge the real need to resume one boring and thwarting discussion which we had apparently resolved in the past, we feel as if we had to swallow a piece of black rock with cutting borders. A person, who believes she/he is listening to her/his heart but actually is guided by her/his wildest emotions, can, in such a situation and with an action of "radiant" free will, which makes bystanders bewildered, harshly break that relationship. In the following instants, especially when there can be the slightest "risk" to beat a retreat, pride will prevent this from happening, magnifying to excess the present exciting pleasure. Existence appears splendid, as it has never been; a person feels as if reborn after a long and painful illness and enjoys the slightest action with uninterrupted voluptuousness, surrounded by blue coloured lightning. But how could one define authentic that pleasure, which consists in walking among the ashes of what, patiently and with many sacrifices, has been built for years and for which one has trembled, maybe cried?

140

Was one totally blind then? Of course not, the blindness lies in yielding now to a ruinous emotion! This has the same effect of an asteroid, which falls into the terrestrial atmosphere and causes fires and destruction. If some days pass by, the person feels a weight on his breast; an indefinite sadness tinted by pessimism towards human relationships reveals that this experience was not an "upward flight" at all. A part of one’s being is lost forever, entrapped in that relationship, belonging to a past which becomes unattainable since the person fears not to survive the naked truth of its full remembrance. We can go on trying to persuade ourselves that life is not perfect and we have made our mistakes too. The subtle deception of the mind makes it more convenient to believe that the mistakes had been the decision to start a certain path of studies or to create a relationship with the wrong person, not our recent catastrophic decision! Many try to keep their bad conscience silent by repeating to themselves that they have «acted following their heart». Yet in their hasty action, how could they have listened to it? The heart asks for a limpid patience to make its voice heard amid the deafening choir of different views. Who acts obeying to the dictates of the heart has no hurry because he knows that the thereby attained vision is unshakable, that no one will be able to change it. Paradoxically the rare person who acts in such a way is often perceived as a cold temperament, one… «who has no heart». DIDACTIC REMARKS Introducing the Thokar…It is not necessary to complete the procedures of increasing the number of rounds [from 12 to 200] both of the Second and of the Third Kriya. The doses must suit the person, his life, time, interest or enthusiasm; in a maximum of two years, all the Higher Kriyas should have revealed their wonder; the risk that a kriyaban gets stuck at this point should be avoided.

141

With such premises, what I expect from a kriyaban, - besides thankful words for having found such a beautiful path - are some small hints to the breathless state. If, on the contrary, any kind of complaint is expressed even in the mildest way, this should not be considered a negligible voicing, such as the common sense can clear up; it very probably covers a deep-rooted inner obstacle, which a kriyaban is not even able to identify. This hindrance did not appear at the very beginning of the path because there was not enough calmness and transparency in one’s own awareness. Often, an inner obstacle comes from a strong conditioning which, regressed in the undergrounds of the psyche, is, apparently, no more to be detected among the current convictions and beliefs. Only evidence of it is an unsatisfying life style, which the practitioner has been led to by a chain of small or great falsehood originating from that conditioning. The assignment of a teacher is never ceasing to push the kriyaban towards a strong practice of Thokar, in any form this is relished. As a hammer, it destroys the grey walls of the self-created jail, clarifies some perverse psychological mechanism ended in wrong decisions and in an almost a daily violence to one’s own needs. The impact of a passionate Thokar can separate a person from his self, isolate him from his life and bestow the healing touch with his primeval Self, thus encouraging him to find the strength to begin a new life. It should be underlined that when the moral fiber of a man is wounded, this fundamental contact is not to be gained with the normal means of self-analysis. The recovering comes not through intelligence and understanding but through a boundless love - love for humanity, burning love for everything - which is the notably result of the practice of Thokar. Each Thokar session is like digging a river of inspiration in the arid grounds of one’s acquired indifference, where the vestige of one’s primeval hope and aspiration can again flow.

142

Routine [nr.1]…I consider here a routine which integrates the practice of the Second and the Third Kriya with the basic techniques of the First Kriya, leading to a good experience of the internal sounds. Preparation…There are simple practices - if possible to be done in the morning - which act as a preparation for the main routine which becomes a "harvest" of unthinkable splendid results. It is very helpful to begin with the practice of Nadi Sodhana. Its balancing effects seem to "open" the brain and to bring easily to that peculiar perception of pressure inside the head which is the first manifestation of the Omkar experience. The alternate breathing followed by deep Maha Mudra, preceded by the stretching, actually originate the Omkar experience in the aspect of inner sound. Then a kriyaban must bring ahead, during the daily activities, an attentive awareness to any kind of inner sound. Main session … Talabya Kriya, Om Japa aroundg the Chakras. Pranayama, with or without Kechari Mudra, being continuously aware of the Chakras - chanting Om in each - and of the inner sounds. The peculiar attention at each Chakra, prescribed in Omkar Pranayama should be introduced since the first breaths. A kriyaban knows that the pauses after inhalation and exhalation are two important moments where he can concentrate on the pressure in the head. It is possible to get attuned to the reign of the calm Prana which lays there and this consolidates the Omkar experience. Sambhavi Mudra can be of great help. Without interrupting the attitude of the inner listening, Maha Mudra and a short session of Navi Kriya can be done; then, all the efforts are directed towards the Omkar Pranayama. After that, it comes the turn of the Second [or Third] Kriya. The Second Kriya should never be replaced once and for all with the Third Kriya. Few realize how strong is the action that the Second Kriya exerts upon the lower Chakras. If the syllables De, Va and Ya are thought powerfully without hurry, the technique causes a great outpouring of energy. The immediate result is to have the power to do all the other Kriya techniques in the best way. Night… The technique of lifting the Chakras into the head gives a wonderful result. It can create a heaven of bliss. If this procedure is carried

143

on with the Kechari Mudra, the state of absorption is so great that it is no more possible to count the breaths: in order to complete a certain number, a kriyaban should esteem it by looking to a timer and considering the elapsed time. Note about Kechari Mudra Each kriyaban has heard that Kechari is a prerequisite for initiation into the Higher Kriyas. It is explained that there is a needed pressure produced by Kechari that enables one to hold the breath and strike the heart [Thokar] in the proper manner. There are indeed teachers who ask to see how you do Kechari: they ask that you open the mouth before them and they want to see your tongue to disappear inside the nasal cavity. The problem is that Kechari can be really difficult, almost impossible for some persons. My opinion about this theme is, in part, contrary to the common viewpoint - of course I’m always ready to think over the whole argument if I find at least a new idea worthwhile to explore. Lahiri Mahasaya was firm in asking for a regular effort in Talabya but who can assure us that he did not give Thokar to those devotees who were unable to assume the correct position of the tongue? With a regular practice of Talabya, many effects proper of Kechari can be obtained. Besides, since different degrees of Kechari can be distinguished, perhaps He was contented even with the first stages of it. Many are able to hold the point of the tongue on the Uvula and they can perceive there a mild nectar sensation, but they are unable to enter wholly in the nasal pharynx or to touch a particular zone in the higher part of the palate. My opinion is that if one is not able to do it but loves Kriya path and goal, then he should entertain no reasons of discouragement and should practice, with all his heart and intelligence, each technique of it! Therefore I introduce the vertical processes of the Higher Kriyas to those who have completed the previous ones, even if they have not realized Kechari.

144

CH.III/3 THE THIRD STAGE We have seen that the third Kriya stage is marked by the breathless state. While this is characterized by the absence of any energetic movement, the deeper experience of the "Internal Breath" is entirely different: the body remains motionless, lungs included, while a subtle form of energy goes on circulating inside the body. The discussion about the latter phenomenon leads us straight to the core of the mystical process and reveals a new perspective of the mystical experience’s meaning. But let us proceed step by step. 1…The Fourth and the Fifth Kriya disclose the Omkar dimension in the aspect of inner light and increase tremendously the power of discrimination. In the Fourth Kriya there is not a vertical process to be completed; furthermore a kriyaban discovers that even with lesser doses than those prescribed he can obtain the same astonishing results! This technique leaves its mark because the strong concentration in the Kutastha, which is the secret of its working, seems, from any perspective, to put everything back in its proper place. It is explained that, while the Navi Kriya channels the Pranayama power into the Navel and while the Second and the Third Kriya push this power up to the heart, the Fourth Kriya brings it definitively to the Kutastha. The Pranayama technique becomes more beautiful, reflecting the important inner transformation, which derives from this refined work. Sometimes, it seems to have a laser in the Kutastha, which can operate everything our will, wants it to do. A kriyaban succeeds in doing his Pranayama without any effort while he enjoys a full rest in the Kutastha and it is fantastic the power which comes out of it! He waits that the stimulus to breathe comes by itself, after some instants he enjoys the sensation of the fresh air which enters the lungs and has not the need to accompany this feeling with the visualization of the rising energy: the energy comes up powerfully by itself as it has never seen before!

145

The Kutastha is the unique motor of this movement of energy, which becomes stronger and stronger. A kriyaban has consequently all the good grounds for believing that a lot of violence is usually involved in the common practice of Pranayama so as to obtain the movement of energy, while, instead, it would be sufficient to increase the concentration in the Kutastha! The most delicate aspect of this technique consists in the ability to distinguish the different rhythms of the Chakras in the mirror of the Kutastha. The required visualization - the Chakras like six moons, one above the other - is only a starting help to move towards the realization that each Chakra has actually its seat in the Kutastha. 2….The peculiarity of the Fifth Kriya is to deepen the vision of the spiritual eye. As already clarified, Bindu is located in the occipital region where the hairline forms a kind of vortex. That region is said to be the "gate" of the Divine, because it is there where the finite reality and the endless one unite. While in the Fourth Kriya a little "veil" may remain to prevent the contemplation of the Spiritual Eye, in the Fifth Kriya that obstacle disappears. In the Indian spiritual tradition, some mystics say that the first experience of light radiates from the point between the eyebrows [Kutastha], but they also explain that the kriyaban's awareness should be brought backward towards the occipital region. Someone in a direct way and others with obscure sentences [for example hinting vaguely at the pineal gland and at the possibility of centre there all the energy of the body] all alluded to bring the concentration to the Bindu. One thing is sure: intuition helps unfailingly those who embark on practicing these two techniques daily, for months. The two procedures become one, since, at half way of the Fourth Kriya, after having lifted the Medulla, the Fifth Kriya procedure of approaching the Bindu almost spontaneously begins. The initial movements of the head and the physical oscillation of the spine, useful as they induce an inner sensation of movement, become more and more subtle and at the end everything happens in the physical immobility.

146

Here a kriyaban goes on enriching the Omkar experience in such a way, which is impossible to understand intellectually. As regards the psychological effects, they can be summarized in this way: a kriyaban becomes able to see his life for what it is, with definitive clarity, without veils, to see the reasons of many mistakes and wrong decisions. A teacher told me that the ego is not simply a function which must be made transparent and then destroyed; it is rather something which has created a really complicated mental structure made up of "mental formations", namely wrong ways to react to certain stimuli. Well, the roots of this structure will have to be destroyed and this can happen only in Bindu. Therefore the role of bringing all the centres into Bindu is beyond compare. In my experience in the same way as other researchers, I reached easily within few days the 200 internal movements in the Bindu. Each morning I woke up having spent a night which, I don’t venture to say sleepless, had been surely populated by very vivid dreams. I felt that this process had touched the regions in my psyche where I had never been able to bring my awareness. In fact, as days passed by, it was as if everything started to appear clearly to my awareness and many subtle tricks of the ego became utterly visible. Strong experiences happened in the spine. I do not know how to classify them: the term "Kundalini awakening" should be restricted to the definitive, irreversible taking place of the final experience which embodies the Realization of the Self. However I used this term in my conversations with other kriyabans, just to avoid circumlocutions. While resting in the supine position, a great magnet seemed to suck the energy aloft extracting it from all the parts of the body, even from the fingernails and from the teeth. I noticed also that after the practice of the Second and of the Third Kriya a melting sensation happened in the heart, a hearing of celestial music happened too; I had the impression of being divided into thousand parts and each part seemed to explode with joy and love. 3…. When I restricted my practice to the Sixth Kriya alone, I enjoyed one of the best moments in my life.

147

The dimension of the after-life’s fancied heavens was present. It was as if, while keeping on living, I was already a part of its glamour. Intoxicated by the rarity of this new condition and comparing it with that of the mystics, I wondered how it was possible that they had succeeded in playing their part in the world without being paralysed by a similar beatitude! 4….On the contrary when, full of enthusiasm, I began the practice of the Seventh Kriya, a bitter vision of human frailty - psychological rather than physical – threw me into a dark mood. That procedure had the power to root me in the harsh reality and open my eyes upon the human condition. The Seventh Kriya operates like the Sixth one but it gives additional stimulus to the first three Chakras: a tremendous difference comes from this detail! Its action increases the vibration of energy in the spine’s lower part; a slight feeling of restlessness may manifest in the beginning, especially if the technique is practiced for some days. The effects, from the psychological viewpoint, may be really difficult to bear - this is the kriyabans’ opinion whom I have shared my experiences with. In my infancy, as soon as I started to mull over the human precariousness, an image took shape in my mind: men were like animals fenced in a small space, compelled by their instincts to eat and to reproduce; someone suddenly appeared, grabbed one of them at random and cut his head in front of them all. I fancied that the flock, amazed by this sad sight, mumbled words suited to the occasion: «now nothing will be as before», was the favourite; then, with glassy eyes, turned again to the usual activities. In the present days, this image was dramatically, almost in a maniacal way, in front of my eyes. I decided to flee this unbearable condition and discarded the Seventh Kriya technique. One year later, I took it back: the reason was that if there was a truth to be confronted with, it was better to face it immediately. So I resumed the practice and increased it according to the instructions. At the same time I acted a little bit more prudently than before and encased it in a routine where the energy was subsequently forced to flow upwards, along the spinal channel. After some days my mind was again chewing

148

over the human weakness - not with the previous hopeless determinism - when the wonderful experience of the "Internal breath" breath came – I will deal later about it. ABOUT THE BRETHLESS STATE A kriyaban experiences as the Sixth Kriya is of definitive value in reaching the state of breathlessness. It works upon the knots of the heart and of the Muladhar; fostering the union of the three higher Chakras and their melting with Bindu, its effects are wonderful. If we consider the Sixth Kriya’s subtle dynamics, we see how it subtracts all the energy from Muladhar bringing it up into the brain. The breathless state appears after the technique, when the body is motionless and a kriyaban keeps on moving his concentration up and down the spine, stimulating the Chakras thereby. In my opinion, during the first year of practice, one should not aim at that achievement as an immediate goal, to be not in the least disappointed. Breathlessness takes place provided there has been a considerable change in the physical and in the emotive field. The required inner transformation calls for a couple of years at least: it begins with the vertical processes of Navi Kriya and Pranayama; it grows and is strengthened by increasing the number of rotations in the Second and in the Third Kriya. Some kriyabans have the first glimpses of that state while practicing the Second Kriya, others during the deep immobility of the Fourth Kriya. However the practice of the Sixth Kriya, combined with that of Japa [during the day], makes the breathless experience stable. Being not hermits, it is almost an impossible a task to reach the ideal conditions of relaxation in more or less than one hour. More time is necessary to calm the body up to the breathless state. The thoughts can be seen, identified and eventually stopped, but the diffuse, hard-to-rid-of background noise nullifies any effort of ours. So, even if the process of the Sixth Kriya is brought on with all the possible accuracy, this noise amounts to an almost insurmountable obstacle. The erasure of it is not obtained by technical tricks; Japa is a wonderful tool, unique because it can be done during the daily activities.

149

There must be definitely a reason if Japa was the basic practice of the majority of mystics [see "Continuous Prayer", "Internal Prayer", "Prayer of the Heart", Dhikr]! Although Eastern traditions recommend that Japa should be practiced mentally, I affirm that it should be done aloud, at least during an initial set of a hundred repetitions. As explained in the first part of this book [p.51], the choice of my Mantra sprang because of an unequivocal predilection of mine: I was elated at the vibration it created in my awareness. Therefore I liked to cherish this vibration, to prolong it in my lips, to have it vibrating in my chest, to invest it with the aspiration of my heart. I put much strength in it: my attitude was never like the begging disposition of a whining and sobbing devotee but that of a man who is just an inch from his goal. Experience and commonsense contradicts the belief that a Mantra works only if received by a Guru; equally it is clear that an expert does the most valuable service helping us to choose a Mantra and using all his power of persuasion to convince us to apply it constantly! I know that some kriyabans never do Japa; in fact they object that Lahiri Mahasaya did not teach it as well as he did not recommend any specific Mantra to be practiced during the day. We can reply that almost all his disciples, both Hindu and Moslems, practised it: this was, at that epoch and in that environment, a widespread practice. However, one is free not to practice it provided he tries to remain always calm just by the sheer use of his will. Nevertheless, my firm conviction is that Japa makes miracles whenever our will fails! The connection between Lahiri Mahasaya’s Kriya and the different forms of Prayer is very interesting and useful. The reader may not be prepared to grasp this link, especially if, conditioned by the traditional theories of Yoga, he is accustomed to look at Pranayama as a mere breathing exercise aimed at modifying the state of some energetic currents in our body. When, before or during Pranayama, we chant Om in the Chakras; when we practice Omkar Pranayama and repeat the twelve-letter Mantra, is it not a form of "Internal Prayer"? Then, if we decide to use Lahiri Mahasaya’s Thokar, are we not but carrying out the "Prayer of the Heart", thoroughly described by the specialized literature?

150

Thokar is the same process called Dhikr by the Sufis. They confirm that Dhikr begins like any other prayer, but when, accompanying it with the movements of the head, the syllables "slip" inside, then the prayer takes possession of him who practices and guides him straight to the coveted goal. One says he does not pronounce the prayer anymore, but it is the prayer that "pronounces him". This kind of Prayer is not an action but a state of ecstasy where the thinking mind no longer exists. This happens by bringing again and again the vibration of the prayer in the heart through the movements of the head. We may profitably take into account the literary material relating to Esicasm, a spiritual movement that looks at the internal peace as the basic necessity of every human being. Traces of this practice, dating back to 250-355 A.D., can be found by hermits such as Anthony of the Desert; it had its greater development from the XI to the XIV century by the monasteries of Mount Athos. Nowadays the essence of this movement is to be found in the already quoted The Way of a Pilgrim. The story is that of a pilgrim, returning from the Holy Grave, who stopped at Mount Athos; here, he told a monk about his long-life search for the spiritual teaching of how «to pray continually», as St. Paul recommended. He was resolved to proceed over the steppes to the infinite, in order to find a spiritual guide who might disclose this secret to him; one day his fervour was rewarded when a spiritual teacher accepted him as a disciple and gradually clarified each detail of the spiritual path. We discover that there is a singular kinship between Kriya and Esicasm. There are hints to a breathing exercise resembling our Pranayama; there is an exercise similar to our Navi Kriya and also an indication of the recommended tongue position, akin to that of Kechari Mudra. Regarding the Prayer on the navel, we are encouraged to be tenacious in that practice since «one can discover in one’s own self a joyless darkness, devoid of internal light, but, going on with perseverance, he will reach an endless happiness». Once the obstacle of the navel has been overcome, the path to the heart is opened. Really sublime – unforgettable - is the description of the moment in which the prayer enters the heart: the effects are, in an astounding way, similar to those of Lahiri Mahasaya’s Thokar! The state thus obtained is described as

151

that of an intimate feeling of divine presence that absorbs any wish and fills the soul with an ineffable bliss, giving a foretaste of celestial sweetness! In this way the Prayer becomes a living presence, a marvellous gem whose brightness protects the body and wins the hearts, even transforming the conditions of the surrounding reality. We may observe that in Catholicism the concept of "Internal Prayer" has risked a total eclipse since a lot of misunderstandings had deposited over it. For those who still practise it, it seems to have, except for rare cloisters, no other meaning than a supplication to God to merely obtain some personal favours and blessings for the suffering mankind. This tendency goes against the classical texts of mysticism, where the prayer does not aim to thwart the so-called "plans of God" but to surrender to and tune with "His eternal plans". The prayer, which in the beginning is an action, grows into a state. Some saints [just to quote two: Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross] said that, without it, perfection in spiritual life couldn’t be reached. Teresa’s writings aim to explain that a Prayer, like a ladder, has different rungs and it is necessary to start, humbly and patiently, from the lowest one to go all the way up to the state which she calls the "transforming union with God". At this point, we may see how the esoteric prayer literature may fill us with enthusiasm and create a revolution in the way we conceive our practice of Kriya. During the day we plunge in Japa and, as it happened for the pilgrim, this will mark our stupendous and intoxicated cohabitation with a continuous state of bliss. This will prepare for our meeting with the unfathomable experience of breathlessness. In Lahiri Mahasaya’s Pranayama the movement of energy has an undeniable role; if we forget it for some days and just plunge into the instructions of Omkar Pranayama - breathing and thinking intensely the syllables in the prescribed places - the energetic process will spontaneously and automatically appear, stronger than ever. It may happen that if we have never felt the Pranayama’s prescribed energetic flow, we can then feel it! [Many times I have witnessed that the vice-versa process leads to nothing. Some teachers only stress on the movement of energy while doing Pranayama; if this is not accompanied by any form of Prayer, nothing valuable happens; on the contrary Pranayama results to be a stressful, acrobatic as well as senseless exercise.]

152

Consequently we can practice Thokar with a new attitude: that of one who knocks on the inner temple’s door with the certitude of opening it. Let us do all our Kriya techniques in this way and see what happens! Like one who, by the fireside, enjoys the beauty of a windy, cold winter that surrounds the nest of his house, so we shall contemplate either the sad or the joyful dramas of life, having found in the centre of our heart the infinity of the skies! As far as I am concerned, the practice of Japa during the activities of the day and an intelligent routine with the Sixth Kriya, restored and made stable the breathless state already experimented some years ago. The silence coming out of that experience changed all my life and consequently that of many people too. Breathlessness is not an action; it is total lack of the least movement, of the least throb of thought, nevertheless the action that changes one’s life springs from it. Aurobindo wrote: «the mind does not act: an overwhelming action is simply emitted from its depths». Absence of breath is freedom, it is the true way of existing: compared with it, the common way of living is suffocation. It is the foundation of "religious" life. Those who spend their life writing and discussing about religion, having never experienced that state, are looked at as almost crazy people. It represents the certainty to have finally found something stable and unchangeable in the flow of an existence where everything is evanescent, without a basis, like an endless progression of reflexes on water.

153

ABOUT THE INTERNAL BREATH STATE One day I was practicing Pranayama outdoors, when I felt an obstinate rejection to interrupt the movement of energy along the elliptical circuit around the Chakras. I felt guided not to jump to procedures like Navi Kriya, Omkar Kriya or Higher Kriyas: my instinct rather led me to explore what would happen if the movement of energy was kept going on indefinitely, beyond the usual doses. Not long before, a friend of mine reminded me «he that has mastered Pranayama will not need any other technique, since he will find everything in it». I have heard that sentence many times and now I wondered if my effort would conceivably create the chance to master Pranayama, to distil something unexpected out of it. My attempt was to accomplish all the four stages of Kriya through Pranayama alone, maintaining the circulation of energy and, at the right time, relinquishing the help given by the breath. I was attempting something radically new but there were at least two good reasons accounting for my enthusiasm. The first was the experience of a new kind of exhalation during the vertical process of Navi Kriya: following its intense practice, a descent of fresh energy throughout the body manifested while the air seemed not coming out of my nose. The second, due to the practice of the Seventh Kriya, resulted in a strong presence of energy in my body, which I could lead anywhere by the sheer power of visualization. So in that day, with an unparalleled concentration, I went on watching very closely the mechanism of Pranayama; I tried my utmost to have a real perception of the sexual energy which was drawn aloft, guided into the heart Chakra, blended with the energy of love, then guided into the head where it melted with the luminous substance of Sahasrara. Then, during the exhalation, it went down radiating in the internal organs, reaching up to the skin. As the flute-like Shii sound did not appear by itself - in that occasion I was not using Kechari Mudra -, I created it in my mind and used it like a hypodermic needle to inject my awareness into the cells of my body. I cherished the idea that this Shii was the vibration of my awareness, the embodiment of my will.

154

Lahiri Mahasaya wrote that it had the power to bring one’s awareness beyond the mind; I dreamed it was like the «holy sound of the Rishi, the cry that shatters the hardest rock» as Sri Aurobindo wrote in a comment upon some parts of the Vedas. Then something grasped my attention: in the last moments of each exhalation, I felt an "impossible" orgasmic sensation of mild choking. It was as if the breath was squeezed out of the lungs but it produced so pleasant a sensation, to generate tears of joy. A diffused Navi Kriya upon all the body, in particular upon the chest, was alike. There was a shell to cross and although this was uncomfortable, the bliss anticipated the result yet to come. To me this was the proof that the Pranayama process was leading to something outstandingly new. The instinct guided me to forget the deep breathing, to relax and concentrate wholly upon the rotation of the energy. This was springing from the Muladhar and rapidly leaping to the head, then it came down very slowly throughout the body. I had the sensation to have crossed a barrier: no air came out of the nose; of course I cannot affirm with certainty that there was no physical breathing. In those instants I was totally concentrated upon the rain of energy which, like golden, liquid light, was not only coming down into but also onto the surface of the body. After some minutes the listening of a continuous, strong, sound of Om enriched the experience. That state was pure, beyond anything ever experienced: it could not be simply called a joyful state because there was a feeling of endless safety in it, solidity and confidence. It seemed to be as firm as a rock. Euphoria sprang out of it: in a depth made of blue, I felt I retrieved again the skies of my infancy. A part of my mind repeated: «I must not forget a single instant of this experience, I must write it down to try it time and again, everyday of my life. This is the truest experience ever»! I felt I could go on with it to eternity and never exhaust its marvel; I was definite that, from now on, I would privilege that direction in my endeavour in Kriya. The powerful sound of Om enveloped me, giving the assurance that all the experience was leading towards the correct direction!

155

In the following days the experience was repeated: I enjoyed an unfathomable clarity of mind and my life, until then full of asperities, looked perfect. This "internal breath" was a revelation: the beauty of nature overflowed from every atom as wine from a full glass. Lahiri Mahasaya had written something about the «wholly internally oriented breath»: I was sure that my experience had some connection with that. Perhaps, holding on to the Seventh Kriya for weeks, had helped me to bore my way through the rock of the unconscious mind until the shores of the purest dimension of existence, unpolluted by thought, appeared at last. By entering the body cells, I had found a safer way to escape the spells of the mind and to touch a key experience, which was otherwise impossible to be obtained otherwise. The subject of the "Internal Breath" leads straight to the core of the mystical process: my hypothesis is that through it a kriyaban approaches what Jung calls the "Collective Unconscious". I believe that Jung’s discoveries are more precious to understand the mystical path than any other concepts that XX century thought has produced. Although he was prudent in his statements, the scientific community didn't forgive his being busy with matters that were not considered part of Psychiatry: one of those matters was Alchemy, which seemed to be an absurdity; another one was the realm of Myth, which was considered a meaningless product of imagination; but more than any other thing, they disapproved the great value he attributed to the religious dimension, which he regarded as fundamentally healthy, unlike those who considered it a human expression at the borders of pathology. Nowadays, the enthusiasm for his writings remains, especially among those who are interested in spiritual or esoteric matters. Here I just want to say that the effects of the "Internal breath" gave me the feeling that I had somehow touched one of the deepest layers of my psyche. My hypothesis, strange as it may seem, is that in our cells there is something mysterious and indefinable that links our consciousness directly with that of other people.

156

I had been already hinting at a similar connection when, describing my initial experiences, I introduced my way of understanding the meaning of the so-called "Guru-disciple relationship". I know that I’m giving the body and its cells an unexpected role. The body has been always described as a shell containing the soul: how can we accept the idea that by entering this, we can touch all things including other people’s consciousness? Only after I had heard many times similar descriptions from other searchers, I have decided to write fairly about this subject. After enjoying the "Internal breath" for some days, a sudden depression took hold of my mood, lasted some hours and then disappeared abruptly. I don’t mean a simple dissonance, a disharmony but a real excruciating pain when objectively there was nothing to justify it. Of course through a certain mental effort I would have been able to find pathetic reasons to justify it - we know that the human mind can prove that black is white and white black. But I was astonished to remember a meaningful circumstance: a day before I was introduced to a particular person, we shook hands and talked. I understand the reader’s disappointment in guessing what I am driving at. If I had wrote that through concentration upon the Kutastha my awareness had expanded in the universe and my soul had escaped the prison of my body, perhaps he would have accepted that - yawning. Everywhere in Kriya books there are such written things. I want to be cautious not to let my fancies run freely, but I really believe that in that occasion I had been influenced, "contaminated", by what existed in that person’s consciousness. I had many similar and even stronger experiences from that moment on. It was not always a matter of depression or of moods: sometimes it consisted of violent motions of anger, a blind will to make bloodshed. I felt I was invaded by something totally extraneous to me. Many reflections came, musing upon this subject. If the mechanism of Pranayama brought me to that state, then it was necessary for my evolution to accept it and to cross it. My speculation went to the miracle stories: perhaps there was something true underneath all them. Who can exclude that a mystic touches the Collective Unconscious and by bringing there the light of his realization produces what people then call a

157

"miracle"? I was never able to look at miracles as a fortuitous "gift" from heaven; I could not accept the arbitrariness of that. The episode in which Lahiri Mahasaya, in a certain sense, "died" in the body of other people may be enlightening: one day, while He was talking to his disciples, he felt, without an apparent reason, he was suffocating. His disciples, fearing a deadly indisposition of their Guru, were really alarmed; when he came to, he explained that his awareness "drowned" in the body of distant people. Later a newspaper showed the simultaneity of Lahiri Mahasaya’s experience with that of a horrible disgrace: a shipwreck with the consequent death of many people. If that episode is true - and I have no reasons to doubt it - it shows that Lahiri Mahasaya’s awareness could expand beyond normal limits. Through the "Internal breath" we can touch a vastness where our narrow individuality gets in touch with something alien to us. When this happens, a kriyaban may react by running away from that rather unpleasant reality and he will instinctively change his Kriya routine in order to take refuge in the heaven of the spine. But someone puts his heart beyond the desperate thickness of the wall of collective suffering and perceives the perfume and the immensity, which lies beyond it - nowhere else. In that case, there is only one thing he can do: to keep on bringing his awareness into the cells of his body. In a mysterious way the bright ray of his effort will go through the layers of the collective consciousness and make what is obscure, lethargic and gloomy translucent and perfectly fit in the universal harmony. ABOUT MÈRE’S TEACHING OF JAPA IN THE BODY The great fascination for Mère’s eminent figure began many years ago when I was introduced to the thought of Sri Aurobindo; his Aphorisms and his epic poem Savitri [Collected works of Sri Aurobindo by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust] were my favourite works. After Aurobindo’s death [1951] it was Mère who brought ahead his search and embodied his dream: that the Divine - the intelligent evolutionary force at the base of all that exists - could reach a perfect manifestation in this planet! «In the matter, the Divine becomes perfect…», wrote Mère. She did not take the pose of a traditional Guru, but she made every possible effort to extract from each human being, who came at her feet, his

158

hidden potentialities. The story of her pursuit is described in Mother’s Agenda [Institute for Evolutionary Research, New York.] In my life, her presence, evoked by thoughtful and passionate readings, acted like an inner pressure calling forth a meaning from each corner of my life. She underlined the value of not trying, of not flaunting, to be pure at any cost but to behave in a natural way. According to her, we should accept what we are, acknowledging our dark side, recognizing to be fundamentally akin «to those people who live in the darkness»! I don't know where I found her affirmation that «desire for purity is the greatest obstacle in the spiritual path»! I will never succeed in describing the elation, the feeling of freedom, which I experienced reading such revolutionary words! «Do not try to seem virtuous - she added – be aware to what extent you are united, one sole thing with all that is anti-divine»... Now, getting back to our theme, one day, during the projection of a film she heard the Mantra: «Om Namo Bhagavate Narayanay» and had the intuition to explore the possibility of practicing it intensively. She chose only the first three words: Om Namo Bhagavate and began repeating them while walking in long up and down her room. Her aim was to bring the spiritual light to the cells of her body, continually charging this action with a tremendous aspiration for the Divine to be realized right there. That Mantra blasted its way easily through the layers of her consciousness - thoughts, emotions and even instincts - up to illuminate a negative layer; here the root of man’s impossibilities, source of each desperation, deposited there through the millennia, was to be found. It took much time and toil to cross it, but her awareness finally touched the cells and an incomparable experience "exploded". She found an eternity of perfection there! Reading the description of that state, I wonder if that was the experience of the Collective Unconscious: most likely it is. She felt on her shoulders the inertia of humanity; talking with Satprem [see Agenda], she relates how, since that moment, many people of her entourage began to react as if she had intruded into their intimacy. The Agenda is a splendid logbook of Mère’s "impossible" adventure.

159

While some spiritual researchers look at her aspiration as to an absurd, unattainable dream, I was moved and inspired in an indescribable way. I was so elated that when I was listening to people, no matter what they would say, a sudden joy burst in my chest, rose up to my eyes to the point that it was difficult to hold back tears. Looking at the distant mountains or at some other piece of landscape, I tried to address my emotions to it, to transform the almost paralysing joy into an aesthetical abduction: this held back and concealed the bliss which was tightening my being. To conclude, I want to add that there were Christian mystics [even if they are not recognized officially by the Church] who "thought" the prayers in the body: I have had reliable evidences that this practice is still adopted. Their prayers were very short, even of a single syllable sometimes. They understood indeed that the sheer power of one sound, recharged by their intention, was enough; they understood that there is no need to bring a concept into words. The big part of them preferred the use of a single vowel to vibrate in their feet; others began there and gradually lifted their awareness in the whole body. The few writings of such mystics are to be found among texts of occultism and magic nature. Kerning, Kolb, Lasario, Weinfurter, Peryt Shou, Spiesberger...are the names that come to my to mind. Despite the fact that they were born within Christianity and in overall tune with the principles of that teaching, over the past century they had systematically been relegated to a corner, as trash esoteric thought, as if they had been magicians aiming to develop hidden powers. The one who has the endurance to make a search in that field and accepts to skim through pages and pages filled with theories and practices of little account - put there almost to divert the reader - will finally find some paragraphs of inimitable charm. The essence of their teaching is that a vibration of whatever sound, if repeated with an incessant concentration upon the body, has the power to reach the atoms of it and the soul will discover there a direct link with the Divine Intelligence - «the whole body will be activated with new life and so it will revive».

160

Once I practiced that method steadily; recalling its effects, there is a vision of Aurobindo from one of his poems that comes to mind: «the abysses of truth and the oceans of smile, which are behind the narrow peaks of truth». DIDACTIC REMARKS To mix the Thokar with the Fourth and the Fifth Kriyas…At this point a break in the vertical procedures is necessary: the horizontal practice of the Fourth Kriya is introduced and the doses are suited for the person. If, instead of 36 repetitions of the Mantra for each Chakra, we have only 24 or just 12, this is fair. After one month, the Fifth Kriya is introduced with the same modality. Routine [nr.2]…. If a kriyaban has the time to enjoy both of them, then the following routine may bestow a good experience of internal light. Preparation…We have already seen the value of the Nadi Sodhana followed by the Maha Mudra. Then, in order to prepare the perception of the internal light, a long concentration in the heart Chakra - with the tongue in Kechari Mudra, if possible - is very helpful. Main session … Talabya Kriya, Om Japa around the Chakras and Maha Mudra prepare the Pranayama where all the effort is directed towards obtaining the greatest possible concentration in the Kutastha. Navi Kriya - the variation where the Om is chanted alternatively in the Kutastha and in the Navel - prepares a wonderful Fourth Kriya. Night… As much as possible of time and effort is devoted to the practice of the Fifth Kriya: that’s all! First attempt to reach the breathless state…When, after three or four months, this peaceful time is over, a kriyaban takes back the Thokar – in the Third Kriya’s form – alternating the first routine with the second. He feels intuitively what is the correct amount of each technique. During this well-deserved vacation - a rest after the binding vertical trials - some glimpses of the breathless state have already been revealed. Now, the Sixth Kriya picks up the whole reached mastery and, helped by a small further effort during the day, it leads a kriyaban to experience the real breathless state.

161

We have seen that the resolution to maintain, during the day, the attitude of a "detached witness" is often a short-living pretense. I have already explained to sufficiency that Japa can be of great help [I refer to what announced at p. 51 and then at p. 140.] It is important therefore to choose a Mantra that, includes a sweet note and a strong one [too much sweetness and peace... could bring to sleep!] Surely, by listening to the Indian Bhajans, a kriyaban can choose among a variety of Mantras; it is of course possible to choose a prayer in one’s own language - provided that it consists of a few words. Routine [nr.3]…. To come to the state of breathlessness Preparation… Nadi Sodhana followed by the repetition of a Mantra, aloud, for at least 108 times. Main session … Talabya Kriya, Om Japa around the Chakras followed by a short session of Navi Kriya - the variation where the Om Mantra is chanted from 70 to 100 times alternatively in the Kutastha and in the navel is to be preferred. Pranayama follows, where one perceives, during each exhalation, the irradiation of each Chakra permeating the internal organs of the body - the same perception will be essential, a few minutes later, to realize that the oxygen is not necessary to sustain his life. Then comes the turn of Maha Mudra. Then the Sixth Kriya is ideally performed 12-18 times. The Pranayama breathing is resumed, for at least 12 breaths, until a peaceful sensation is perceived; then three deep breaths are taken, each one ending with a short sigh-like exhalation, and the perfect physical and mental immobility is reached. Now it is necessary to put the awareness of the breath completely aside and concentrate, slowly and deeply, upon each Chakra. They are conceived as six knots, which can be unfastened by "touching" them lightly with the concentration: pausing from ten to twenty seconds inside each one is ideal. Two points are necessary to make the process reach its apex: one is to maintain a watchful attention in each one of them, until a particular feeling of sweetness, as if they were melting is perceived; the second one is to feel simultaneously the energy sustaining the life in the body.

162

About Kechari Mudra, I take all the responsibility in affirming that also those who are incapable to do it can master the breathless state. Night… A kriyaban tries to come to the state of breathlessness by employing the Fourth Kriya. Success in it implies the attempt to realize the same state after just one rotation of the Second Kriya. It may take months to give just one stroke, think of Te Va Su, and remaining breathless: it may seem difficult, but it is possible and it should be reached, sooner or later! Lahiri Mahasaya in His diaries comments the strong psychophysical impact of Thokar by explaining that when the cardiac plexus is struck forcefully, the Prana tied with the breath «is directed inside», a spontaneous deep engrossment occurs and there is the settlement in the Kriya’s still state for a prolonged period. Routine [nr.4]….One cannot say for certain if the following routine will bestow the state of the "Internal Breath"; it will surely produce an exceptional deepening in the perceptions of Pranayama. Preparation… Japa in the body, namely Japa - either in immobility or moving around - while remaining constantly aware of each part of the body. This helps developing the beautiful attitude to perceive each event with total concentration, without distinguishing if it has something to do with the spiritual or with the material world. Nadi Sodhana with Aswini Mudra can be added. Main session … Talabya Kriya, Om Japa around the Chakras followed by some deep breaths. A short practice of the Seventh Kriya. The energy, so stimulated, is brought up with Maha Mudra. The practice of Pranayama, in its basic form, without excessive concentration in the Chakras, follows. The tongue is relaxed, not turned back or in the Kechari Mudra position. During exhalation, it is important to use all the power of visualization to guide the energy in the cells of the body. After some breaths, the intuition is used to perceive the correct moment to put the breath-awareness completely aside and to direct the focus of the concentration upon the rotation of energy as a phenomenon totally independent from the breathing process. A crystalline irradiation of joy, a sense of absolute and total comfort will be perceived. At the end of the session, the beauty of the experience is

163

expanded by opening the eyes and glancing around without focalizing anything in particular. Night… The Seventh Kriya can be used in the following way: the fourth, third, second and first Chakra are hit just once, then immobility is restored and concentration is devoted to perceive and increase the upward flow of energy in the spine. The breath may be short or long, may exists or not. The aforesaid procedure is repeated: the rising of energy may be more clear and the process of "Internal breath" may appear. The more awareness is put in this process, the more consistent will be the flow of energy out of the Muladhar, up through the spine and then in the body. Maintaining immobility makes the whole procedure subtler.

164

CH.III/4 THE FOURTH STAGE If we look at the practices, handed down by the most famous mystical traditions, to begin the spiritual path, we recognize easily the few essential ones: continuous prayer during the daily activities (Japa); control of the breath; "prayer of the heart" which intertwines the prayer with the breath control. On the contrary, we are not able to pick out a unique essential teaching of what is to be done in the last phase of the path, when we are almost touching our coveted Goal. Some traditions recommend to visualize detailed representations of the Divine, others a few abstract objects such as the Yantras [geometrical diagrams], while others, pointing out that the experience should happen by itself, deny emphatically the value of any procedure. Lahiri Mahasaya explained that the last action leading to the Final Experience is to concentrate on the inner Trivangamurari movement, namely the "movement with three curves" - Omkar’s highest manifestation. Through this perception we begin the last part of our journey, bewildered in a marvellous land where we are going to lose so many illusions, so much sorrow. In these last Kriyas we are going to meet something deep, great, perhaps deeper than what our mind can hold and impossible to be rationally understood. Strange as it may seem, some Kriya teachers removed this teaching wholly, some others boasted that this inner movement appeared to them in the particular shape of Krishna or Shiva and taught their disciples to adore those specific divinities. A mess of distortion arose. It is correct to say that the figure of the beautiful prince Krishna, which is described in the Mahabharata and particularly in the Bhagavad Gita, reminds the Trivangamurari form: He holds his legs and back in a particular position, which clearly determines three curves, but that’s all. This mythological figure, like any other figure, has nothing to do with Lahiri Mahasaya’s Trivangamurari.

165

1…In my experience, the Eight Kriya [called also Amantrak, namely "without Mantra"] was difficult to be completed. After the first weeks, as soon as I practiced fifty rounds of it, I felt about to explode! This happened each time the energy, coming down from the left side of the spine, reached the Muladhar. The effects on my psyche were very strong too. As I woke up in the morning, I was inside the aura of a lot of absorbing dreams, as after a deeply intriguing and fascinating venture. The real problem was that, during the rest of the day, my mood became "grey". I was deflated, there was no place where I could be at ease and there was no activity that brought about a feeling of satisfaction. Always in my life, when I walked in the country, I perceived a beauty which seemed to pour out from every single thing surrounding me. Now I felt nothing, I was alien to everything! One of my teachers, while introducing this technique, said that the internal flow of the Trivangamurari movement crosses the heart Chakra and sweeps away a great lot of dirt; consequently it is hard to put up with its effects. It might be that this action diminished the frenzy of the superficial emotions nourished by certain energies present in this Chakra and replaced them with the vibration, with the touch of Omkar: this creates a total alteration of the perspectives from which we look at life. In the past, occasionally, when my mood became unbearable [impatience, irritability and sorrow] I tried to find a relief by practicing large amounts of Nadi Sodhana and Pranayama with a continuous Aswini Mudra. Now, the "medicine" could only function partially and I could not fully escape from my grey mood: I quit the Eight Kriya and I began the next one. In one or two days, I started feeling very well again. Later, when I got the idea that my attachment to the beauty of the landscapes and nature was an addiction anyway, I took with great serenity and renewed enthusiasm the interrupted practice back and I completed the required number with unswerving determination.

166

2….I began the Ninth Kriya [Samantrak] just when an extraordinary March, with a sky free from clouds, blue, and a fresh air, invited me to practice in the open air; the settled habit to metabolise great doses of the Trivangamurari perception made me capable to live this process as a pleasant assignment, without dealing with any trouble at all. The Mantra’s syllables, laid down with care in each centre, had a radiation similar to that of the sun, warming up the nature. As soon as the technique’s first effects began to fill my life, I reconsidered the best Prayer literature of the different religious paths. These readings warmed up my soul and created the conditions of the following beautiful inner disposition, experienced during a pilgrimage. With a group of people, I walked at night since the arrival to a beautiful sanctuary was scheduled for the following morning. Walking, I was whispering the syllables visualizing the twelve centres as much as possible. I knew perfectly that this was not the canonical way to practice the technique, but I could not help doing it. Something in my heart, like a tension of tenderness, began to be perceived, almost immediately and then the realization came to me that the existence of my travelling companions was bathed in love. I saw that the reality of love was the strongest force in their life, spoiled only by the pollution of the mind. Thinking of humanity as a whole, I felt that man cannot, owing to the instinct, eschew the condition of loving someone - his sons for example - and of caring for someone and, consequently, of living sorrowful experiences as well. I felt intensely - as never before - that even the most egoistic person is able to give his life for his children and can find in himself the strength for great, unbelievable actions. The warmth of the feelings experienced that night still lingers in my heart! Other effects also came from Samantrak but I’m not able to isolate them unambiguously because, before completing this Kriya, I began the next one, thus mixing their effects! 3…I completed the vertical process of the Tenth Kriya [Thokar with five strokes] in the following summer, working, in the beginning, two days a week, then only once a week. I learned how to arouse an intense aesthetical rapture for the beauty of nature and then to make use of any technique [this in particular] to amplify this rapture. A new way of living the spiritual path began to be established

167

in me. The classic idea to use Kriya to go beyond the mind was substituted by the more engrossing idea to use Kriya to burn my mind in the flame of beauty itself! In the morning I practiced two hours in my room abiding by each detail: I prepared my body to run the technique freely in the afternoon, when I would allow myself the delight to sit outdoors. I did not fuss too much about the strokes but went on concentrating only on the Trivangamurari flow inner perception until it seemed to be carved into my flesh. After a light meal and a little nap, I was very happy to go out; as soon as I reached a beautiful place where I could sit, I took some time to contemplate nature. Then, perfectly at ease, I completed the scheduled task. Everything went on harmoniously and became fantastic when sunset was approaching. Then, I couldn't keep myself from saying the Mantra in a whisper: each of the last five syllables was uttered with passion, amplifying, without limits, my elation. After each of them there was a short pause, isolated and protected from the hurry: an instant was enough to perceive a sweet irradiation coming out of each centre. One day, in the evening the sound of bells suddenly came from a distant village as a cascade of light! The surprise was so unexpected that my heart leaped with joy; I opened my eyes keeping the gaze off any particular thing. It was a miracle of delight: the intensity of the bliss was almost impossible to be sustained! A remote part of my mind kept on repeating: «I don't know if such a joy has ever been granted to a human being»! Surely a deeper part of myself was rejoicing about another fact: in those days, some spiritual searchers who had followed my counsels about Kriya, gave me evidence of going ahead in an admirable way. Some years ago I would have sworn that it was impossible to practice Kriya without having begged and obtained it from an organization: now I could prove the contrary. It is true that a solemn ritual may impress into somebody's mind the rarity of the event, but it is also true that many people, at least here in the West, are uncomfortable and puzzled by it: they prefer a simpler way of learning. In my life, to have a technique explained by an expert in an informal way was always a lucky event; to go outdoors and practice it in a beautiful scenery, was the best ceremony ever.

168

4…The years in which I was immersed in the Eleventh and Twelfth Kriyas, although not distant, appear in my memory surrounded by a dreamlike aura: I find it difficult to relate specific details ascribed to them. This procedure contains something mysterious, perhaps the scent of the final experience. It led me in another dimension where there was no space, no time. Even a small practice of it was a miracle of sweetness. To start the titanic engagement of the last vertical process, I judged wise to wait for the chance of retiring on a pension. I restricted my practice to experiencing only three Micro-movements per centre, repeating the whole tour in the twelve centres for a small number of times. The Eleventh Kriya was practiced for two months, then the Twelfth one became my favoured practice. 5… Finally came the age of retirement and I had all the time in the world. [I was proposed another job, even more binding than the previous one. I had waited many years and desired at the peak of my strength to cope with the impossible doses prescribed for the vertical process of the Micro-movement: there was no other job in my life.] I spent much time outdoors: I brought with me a seat made of a single layer of plastic and, over it, one made of wool, something to drink and a small 36-grain rosary. I sat down, took some deep breaths and then began with the Mantra and with the consequent Micro-movement perception. At the end of each cycle, I moved a little stone, from one side of the body to the other to count the global number of the cycles. Many times an irresistible drowsiness appeared. When I didn't succeed in withstanding the temptation to lie down for a while and rest, I verified that this action didn't solve my predicament because the problem reappeared immediately as soon as I took my practice back. There wasn’t any trick [coffee, a great deal of sleep…] that helped me; I had to accept the situation and cohabit with it. More than once I found myself with the spine lightly bent and I learned not to straighten it abruptly because this would interrupt the condition of absorption and quietness. To give and idea of the heavenly condition of those years, I recall one day when a particular euphoria broke through with instinct of swaying the body. It was like a sitting dance, a very subtle form of Thokar. When I

169

pronounced mentally the seventh syllable, my trunk moved slightly to the left, then the following syllable led me to move my trunk slightly to the right…. then to the left again. When I thought the last syllable, my body made a slight jolt accompanied by an outburst of bliss! Another day I was near the seashore, in a rocky place, frequented by a modest number of people who walked or sat nearby. I tried to protect myself from the sun by hiding behind some trees; at sunset I approached the beach, leaned my back against a rock and stayed there pretending to look at a distant object. I practiced with eyes open: the sky was an indestructible crystal of endless transparency; the waves changed continuously their colour that had an almost unbearable charm. I remember that I began to cry with joy while trying to hide it from the people. I learned to practice without being disturbed by anything: in this way the technique landed down on my life and mixed with it. Now, concerning the effects, something peculiar came about. I think that the term Par-Paravastha, found in some Kriya literature may be used to define it. Paravastha is "the state developing after the active part of the Kriya praxis"; Par-Paravastha a kind of spiritual rent to be enjoyed in daily life. A great need of truth, in myself and then in the close persons, destroyed all my diplomatic masks. I could not bear the least deformation of truth. My reaction remained always calm but I pushed to go relentlessly in the depth of each problem and find the truth. The difficulty in standing a superficial behaviour was the reason why some relationships died out. Nature hates the void and other persons entered my life to keep alive the flame of friendship. About what really happened to me, some say that the awareness becomes more in tune with the Sahasrara Chakra. I cannot describe what I feel but in a poetic way There is an Indian song [in the final part of the film Mahabharata] whose words are taken from the Svetasvatara Upanishad: «I know this Great Spirit, radiant as the sun, transcendental to all material conceptions of darkness. Only he who knows Him can transcend the bonds of birth and death. There is no other path to liberation other than this knowledge of that Great Spirit».

170

When I listened to the beautiful voice of the Indian singer, who went on repeating: «there is no other way than this», I was afire: nothing would have the power to deprive me from this state and from this practice, which I would relish till the end of my life. DIDACTIC REMARKS The last Kriyas…While introducing the last Kriyas I depart from the official doses: the reason is in my conviction that the vertical process of the Tenth Kriya also gives good results without the long and deep preparation of the Eighth and of the Ninth one. I know for certain that the micro movement can also be enjoyed in small doses, while waiting for retiring and having then the time to complete the canonical doses. I introduce therefore the Eighth Kriya, recommending 36 perceptions a day for one month; then the Ninth Kriya, with the same modality, is introduced. Then I advise the canonical doses of the Tenth Kriya: to gradually reach the 36x36 repetitions. I was able to ascertain that this task has never produced problems to anybody, rather it has marked the better period of their life. Naturally, as in the whole Kriya, but particularly in this, it is important to practice with the heart, with enthusiasm. Note Not understanding the subtlety of the Trivangamurari processes, some say that these techniques get you off the Sushumna, the inner channel of the spine. They do not accept Lahiri Mahasaya’s revelation by saying it has nothing to do with the Indian tradition. Alas, when a kriyaban hears that nonsense, particularly if, after an initial uncertain approach to that reality, his reaction was problematic, he is inclined to neglect, even forever, a real treasure! On the contrary, these techniques can be done only if a Kriyaban is tuned with the inner channel of Sushumna. In any other state, he would feel nothing! When the energy is gathered in the spine, a Kriyaban will perceive his body not through any physical sensations but through Kutastha.

171

In this higher state the macro movement Trivangamurari is not simply detected inside the body but as being one’s real body. The result of such a realization establishes permanently the kriyaban’s awareness in the infinite dimension of the Sahasrara. There are plenty of devotees who, while doing Pranayama, do not to move their awareness an inch from the spine, do not even try to feel the movement of the energy around the Chakras for fear to come down to a "lesser spiritual technique". In this way the meaning of Pranayama is distorted; the suggestion that the spine should be visualized "as thin as a thermometer" and the energy "the same as the mercury which climbs in the thin glass", is to be used only during Omkar Pranayama, when the initial work in the body has already been done! The reason of many distortions is to be found in the belief that Yoga’s ancient treatises are to be considered the basis of Kriya. In effect, nowadays there are teachers who prescribe the study of Hatha Yoga Pradipika as a requisite to receive initiation to Kriya Yoga. That text, together with Gheranda Samhita and Shiva Samhita, does not contain and cannot contain the theoretic basis of each Kriya technique. Many are convinced that Lahiri Mahasaya didn’t bring about anything new, that each part of his Kriya is to be found in the Yoga, either classic or tantric. In my opinion, if one has the time and the brain to search the origins of Kriya, he should study all the great mystical paths. This is where the great scope of Lahiri Mahasaya’s action of synthesis, the luminosity of his realization, is to be appreciated. Of course I'm not referring to the "esoteric" or "magic" traditions but only to those unpolluted, born spontaneously at the margin of the great religions or following the experience of some great Mystic, often persecuted by the official guardians of the religious tradition. The Sufi’s path [see the studies of Gardet and M. M. Anawati, particularly Gardet in Revue Thomiste (1952-53)], just to make an example shows how to distil in the best possible way the nectar of Lahiri Mahasaya’s Second Kriya [Thokar] because this is one of Sufi’s Dhikr variations. Dhikr is the "remembering" of the Divine by repeating a ritual formula and guiding it to the heart through specific movements of the head.

172

The formula chosen by Lahiri Mahasaya was Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya but he gave the Islamic La Ilaha Illa Allah… Mantra to his Moslem disciples. While some details may vary from a Sufi brotherhood to another, the essence remains the same - a psychophysical action upon the cardiac plexus. By studying the Sufi’s path we understand that Lahiri Mahasaya used the best, strongest methods at his disposal: his system is valid and each phase of it is exactly as it should be. The entire work of Kriya is first done outside the spine, then inside the spine and finally inside the core of the Omkar reality. A superficial reasoning may locate this last higher achievement out of the spine, while it unfolds only in the region without space and time at the summit of the innermost channel of the spine, which we identify, not wrongly but perhaps diminishing its real meaning, with the seventh Chakra Sahasrara. Routine [nr.5]…Now the moment has come to enjoy the micro movement in small doses as in the following routine. Preparation…A kriyaban enters the dimension of the internal prayer or of the "prayer of the heart" with the Ninth or the Tenth Kriya. Main session… Talabya Kriya, Om Japa around the Chakras, deep Maha Mudra, preceded by the stretching and a short practice Navi Kriya. After the Pranayama some repetition of the Tenth Kriya and one round of the micro movement without Mantra, three times in each centre, prepare a really shocking experience. The micro movement with Mantra is introduced - three times for each centre. In the perfect immobility, four global rounds are enjoyed: the power originated thereby leaves one speechless! Night… It is necessary to define the meaning of the term: "frontal components" of the Chakras. These are particular points on the surface of the body in connection with the Chakras: Adam’s knob is connected with the fifth Chakra; the central region of the sternum with the fourth; the navel with the third; the region of the genital organs with the second and the perineum with the first. When these points are touched by the kriyaban's concentration, all the energy in the region of the body situated before each Chakra is enlivened.

173

A kriyaban begins the practice in the Kutastha by using the twelve-lettered-Mantra to have the perception of the Micro-movement. This is done twelve times. Then he goes down, placing his awareness in the frontal component of the fifth Chakra and does the same thing for the same number of times. Then he goes down in the next frontal component and so on. In the Perineum and Muladhar it is not necessary to have two series of perceptions [namely 12 in the Perineum and 12 in the Muladhar] but only one. When this is done, a kriyaban begins to go up the spine and concentrates in the second Chakra having the same perception for twelve times, then stops in the third Chakra and so on, up to the Medulla, ending again in the Kutastha. The concentration produced by this process is so strong that sometimes the muscles of the face relax and the mouth opens. Yoni Mudra is performed as a conclusion. Weekly Routine…Very beautiful is the moment when a person takes in consideration with earnestness the following routine and makes a truly sincere effort to master and enjoy it. The realization of the breathless state, if it has not previously appeared, waits for this appropriate moment to pour its boundless joy and freedom into the doubtful awareness of the kriyaban. First day…Routine nr.1 p.143 Second day… Routine nr.2 p.161 Third day… Routine nr.3 p.162 Fourth day…. Routine nr.4 p.163 Fifth day …. After a short preparatory practice, a kriyaban perceives the macro movement without and with Mantra and then with the movements of the head; this can be done at different moments of the day. Sixth day …. Routine nr.5 p.173 If a kriyaban has just one session a day, I counsel the following. First Day…Nadi Sodhana followed by deep Maha Mudra, preceded by the stretching. Talabya Kriya, Om Japa around the Chakras. Pranayama with awareness of the Chakras while continuously listening to inner sounds. A

174

short Navi Kriya. Second [or Third] Kriya. Technique of lifting the Chakras up to the head. Second Day… Maha Mudra. Om Japa around the Chakras. Pranayama with great concentration in Kutastha. Navi Kriya [Om is chanted alternatively between Kutastha and Navel]. Fourth [or Fifth] Kriya until the perception of the spiritual light. Third Day…At least 108 Japa aloud. A short session of Navi Kriya. Pranayama with the perception, during the exhalation, of the irradiation of each Chakra permeating the internal organs of the body. Maha Mudra followed by the Sixth Kriya. Then again a short practice of Pranayama followed by three deep breaths; then concentration in the spine, going up and down, pausing in each Chakra. Fourth Day… Japa in the body. Some deep breaths. Seventh Kriya. Then a strong Pranayama where the exhalation is experienced as a "mental pressure" on the cells of the body until the intuition discloses the correct moment to put the breath-awareness completely aside: then the concentration is directed upon the free rotation of energy. Fifth Day… Pranayama followed by the Eight, Ninth and Tenth Kriya. Sixth Day… Talabya Kriya, Om Japa around the Chakras, deep Maha Mudra, preceded by the stretching and a short practice Navi Kriya. Pranayama followed by some round of the Tenth Kriya. Four global rounds of the micro movement with Mantra, three times for each centre, are the nucleus of the session. Thanks to this routine, the breathless state appears spontaneously as soon as the kriyaban’s inner conflicts have disappeared. It is not a matter of Nadi's cleaning, or of astral purification of some "shell"… but it is a matter of higher intelligence and will. Let me remark that if a kriyaban is not able to practice the Kechari Mudra, it is now the right moment to do the maximum effort to obtain it.

175

Age of retirement from work….When a kriyaban has retired then he knows what to do: to complete the vertical procedures and to work in realizing the two last stages of Kriya. I want to add here a very suggestive instruction concerning the practice to be performed in the last months of life. I have heard about this just from one seeker and therefore I cannot affirm that it was handed down by the Kriya tradition. My second teacher validated it indirectly when he casually, but with explicit details, referred to it as the technique «to die forever». I would like to avoid the risk of polluting the field of Kriya by creating unsubstantiated hopes and imaginations. So I want to clarify that I’m not going to describe the so-called technique of Maha Samadhi, namely the procedure by which a kriyaban leaves the body, but quite another thing: that is how to work to get the emancipation from the cycle of rebirths. This is something that, at least theoretically, is independent from the circumstances of death. I have already quoted the episode of Swami Pranabananda who left the body with the help of Second Kriya [Thokar with one stroke on the heart]. It is explained that, when the favorable moment comes, a kriyaban calms the breath with Pranayama and the heart plexus with Thokar, subtracting thereby all the energy from the body and opening the door at the base of the backbone. In this way he leaves the body. The Kriya literature reports that, in this exceptional occasion, the body cools down with the exception of the top of the head, which remains warm for a longer time. The procedure I’m going to describe now is to be practiced months before that moment and, if possible, repeated. It has not a specific name, at least I do not know one. Since it possesses the structure of the Fourth Kriya I have decided to make reference to it, adding "in great dimensions" since, as the reader will see, it is difficult to find a more suitable name than this. Fourth Kriya in great dimensions….The Chakras are lifted in the Kutastha in the same order of the Fourth Kriya [1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, Bindu, Medulla, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st]. In the first day a kriyaban concentrates upon the first Chakra, draws it up mentally into the Kutastha, through an inhalation, then he forgets the breath and begins repeating the Mantra.

176

The twelve-letter Mantra: Om Na Mo Bha… is used to accompany each perception of the Micro-movement Trivangamurari. Each time a kriyaban feels that the energy has slowly slipped down from Kutastha to the throat or to the chest, he should have another deep inhalation, visualize again the Chakra being lifted into Kutastha and be sure that the energy is again brought in it. This engagement continues the whole day, or two days, until a kriyaban has completed 36 x 48 perceptions! In a similar way he acts with the other Chakras in the following days. After many days of total absorption, detached from active life [a minimum of twelve days is required] a kriyaban has perceived the Micro-movement 20.736 times. Since Lahiri Mahasaya recommended not to be in a hurry, it is very wise to enjoy the Micro-movement only 36x24 times a day and complete this gigantic task in 24 days; in this way a kriyaban can grant his body, in each of those days, a slight physical activity like a stroll outdoors. [A kriyaban may wonder if he has to work only with the Chakras in the spine or should, in downward order, work in the centres introduced in the last Higher Kriyas. I was taught the first option but I’m sure that both ways are correct. In a dimensionless space, the same intimate experience happens.] It is a widespread belief that an advanced kriyaban will foresee the opportune moment to leave his body: he will prepare himself for this fundamental date by practicing the just described procedure. Well, I do not believe blindly in this premonition, nor I exclude it: I prefer not to chew over these myths and not to take anything for granted. As far as I am concerned, I plan to perform it as soon as possible, just because it is beautiful: I am sure that the resulting concentration in the Kutastha will be reflected in all the other Kriya techniques. As the Yoni Mudra marks the last moment of the day when, having concluded all the activities, a kriyaban is going to sleep, that is to subtract his awareness from the body and from the physical world [a "mini death", so to say], likewise undertaking this last commitment characterizes that phase of life where all the other desires and preoccupations are won by the overwhelming enthusiasm to plunge totally into the kingdom of the Spirit, feeling the certitude that this time it will be forever!

177

With equanimity a kriyaban accepts his body’s natural decadence, even some physical ailment with the consequent natural suffering. It may happen that in the last instants of his life he will have the fortune to be in the condition of practicing the Second Kriya and thereby leaving his body. It may happen that this will reveal to be impossible: he shall try however, in the last moment, to remain conscious. This is his ardent hope and determination.

178