Tapas, Swadhyaya, Ishwara-pranidhana – Kriya Yoga

Kiev, Ukraine, Interview to the YoGa magazine (part I), 30 June 2010

Question: What is the source of Kriya Yoga shared by Guruji?

Origin of Kriya Yoga The origin is times immemorial. And the sages have been talking about it for thousands and thousands of years. This Kriya Yoga is the only Yoga which is mentioned by name in Patanjali Yoga Sutra. Out of 196 sutras that is the only Yoga mentioned by name. All other “yogas” are latter-day manifestation of the mind and its machination and mania and manipulations and mischiefs.

And it is saying that: “tapaḥ svādhyāy-eśvarapraṇidhānāni kriyā-yogaḥ”, which means this Kriya Yoga also has a Trinity. The Trinity in the western world is God, Son of God and Holy Ghost. And in ancient humanity it is Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara. And in Kriya Yoga it is Swadhyaya, Tapas, Ishwara-pranidhana. For the sake of poetry they have said “tapas, swadhyaya, ishvarapranidhana”, but the thing is “swadhyaya, tapas, ishvarapranidhana”. Swadhyaya is the beginning!

Swadhyaya

This means waking up to the activities of the separative psyche – the “I” – and how this is always giving continuity to itself. And this is what is covering up the Intelligence. This “I” is the chitta-vritti, Intelligence is the Chaitanya. And the activities, the super-activity of the “I” does not allow the Chaitanya to surface. The Chaitanya can be translated as Intelligence. That is the closest translation. And this “Intelligence” word is with the capital “I”. It is not the “shoddy-little-intelligence” which is understood by the psychologists and the people in general. It is not cunningness, cleverness and all the intellectual over-activities. This is not that!

This is a dimension of awareness, which is holistic, which has no fragmentation, which has no division. This is the dimension of Intelligence, the Chaitanya! This holistic awareness is not corrupted by choices, by likes-dislikes, preference-aversion, justification-condemnation – it is not affected by such corruptions. The word “corruption” comes from the word “rupture”. Rupture means broken up. Corruption is something which is broken up, split, divided, fragmented. In this awareness there is no corruption, there is no conformity. There is no conforming and becoming. There is only “Is-ness” – existence, not “I-ness” – egocentric activity! Not egocentric activity! This awareness is not available to any intimidation or influence. This awareness is nobody and yet everybody! And this is Intelligence, this is Chaitanya. And this “I”, the “me-me-me”, the self-centered activities, always hovering around, the “I” and its all kinds of pursuits and paradoxes and prejudices and pressures. This “I” is chitta-vritti. It is the separative psyche with which we are familiar. This is the consciousness, which we feel, which is full of fragmentation, division, corruption. The enquiry and exploration into this “I-ness”, the “me-ness”, the “ego-ness”, the enquiry and exploration into this “I-ness” – that is called Swadhyaya! That is the beginning of Kriya Yoga.

Ishwara-pranidhana

And with this Swadhyaya the “dominant I” becomes a “sober I”. And it is not so much asserting, arrogant. And then there is the awakening of Intelligence, which remains dormant, which remains quietly in the background because of these activities of the “I”. Although this activity of the “I” is possible because of the connection of Intelligence, but of this connection we remain totally oblivious, totally unaware of that Intelligence. Now lessening the activity of this “I” is the emergence of Intelligence. It’s the awakening of Intelligence. It’s the dawn of Intelligence. That is called Ishwara-pranidhana. That means a perception of the dimension of consciousness which is holistic! The dimension with which we are familiar is fragmented, it is divisive, whereas that one is holistic, non-divisive, non-fragmented. Awakening of that Intelligence – that is the third part. And enquiry and exploration into “I” – is the first part. That means enquiry into the chitta-vritti and then reducing the chitta-vritti – leads to resurrection of Intelligence, which remains dormant. This resurrection of Intelligence is Ishwara-pranidhana.

Tapas

In between there are certain profound practices, which are called Tapas. And this Tapas, this Yoga practice, the Kriya practice – it is not a physical fitness program as it is available in Hatha Yoga studios. Those are OK, those who need – they do it and they are available to certain physical benefit and healing. But that is sabotaged because of the psychological complications, the activities of the “I” and its constant pursuits and becoming. So unless at the outset, in the beginning, there is a psychological healing, which is Kriya Yoga, the physical healing of Hatha Yoga etc. – it does not bring that much of benefit. There has to be the benediction of Kriya Yoga at the beginning to be available to the benefit of even Hatha Yoga.

And this Kriya practice here is very subtle, but very effective. Its main purpose is to release the body from the stranglehold of the mind. The mind comes from the body. If there is no body – there is no mind. But ultimately it becomes the boss of the body and it interferes in the function of the body, creating all kinds of psychosomatic problems. And the main purpose of these practices – to release this body from the domination of the mind, from the interference of the mind. And the practices are simple. It is transforming. It is not conspicuous and exciting as it is available in many peculiar Hatha Yoga postures. It is not like that.

And yet, there are certain exercises through the frenulum beneath the tongue, which strengthens the glands around: thyroid, pineal, hypothalamus, pituitary. So that the glands are in command and they give instructions to the body, not thought interfering and creating a mess.

Similarly there is a profound process of bringing equanimity in the separative consciousness through certain special breathing which we call Kriya Pranayama, which is not only special breathing, but also a special awareness in this central line of the sushumna.

And then there are, of course, other subtle practices which can reduce the fear pollution and the pleasure pollution. They are the two main things which are the source of all corruption – fear and pleasure. And they are opposites. And we are held in the corridor of opposites! And the basic (pair of) opposites is fear and pleasure.

And this practice reduces the atrophy of the brain, which has run into this atrophy because of the too much of self-centered activities, because of the neurological defect, which has produced the false division in the inner consciousness.

So, that is what is happening. And therefore the Swadhyaya teachings, which are very profound but difficult to understand because of the superimposition of cultural input and conditioning... So that understanding – if that doesn’t happen, we remain in Tapas. And in due course, when the Tapas works Understanding happens. And the two together make a virtuous circle from one virtue to another virtue. In the self-centered activity there is always a vicious circle: from one vice to another vice. But here there is a virtuous circle – from one virtue to another virtue and ultimately blasting, exploding into Ishwara-pranidhana – the perception of a dimension of Awareness, which is whole, not fragmented.

Jai Kriya Yoga Lahiri