History and Tradition of Kriya Yoga

Kriya Yoga is an ageold tradition. There is no record of its history. It is the technique of spirituality, which has been practiced by saints, seers and sages from time immemorial. Even in Indian mythology, it is mentioned that Rama and Krishna also practiced and taught this technique of Kriya Yoga.After apparently being lost in the increasing spiritual decline of later epochs, towards the middle of the nineteenth century, a mysterious Master, the timeless Avatar Babaji Maharaj, brought the teaching into a new form and gave the ancient heritage the name Kriya Yoga. Babaji is a renowned Yogi, who is supposed to have lived in the Himalayas for many hundreds of years until the present time. However, he reveals himself only to a few people.He handed the teaching of Kriya Yoga over to his student Lahiri Mahasaya, a family man from Benares, who reached the highest realisation through the practice of this technique. This revolutionary aspect contributed to the proliferation of Kriya Yoga all over India.

Lahiri Mahasaya had many important students. One of the most outstanding was Swami Shriyukteshwar Giri, a true incarnation of divine wisdom. He was the Guru of Paramahansa Yogananda, who went to America by the order of Babaji in 1920, and who later became known in the West with his wonderful book Autobiography of a Yogi.The last great living master of Kriya Yoga who was a direct disciple of Swami Shriyukteshwar Giri and Paramahansa Yogananda, was Paramahamsa Hariharananda. He was 95 years young when he left the body attaining mahasamadhi on 3rd December 2002. He is the author of Kriya Yoga and other spiritual books and has memorised and fully understands all of the major scriptures including the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Holy Bible, the Koran and the Torah. At the age of 40 he obtained the highest state of Yoga nirvikalpa samadhi which means breathless and pulseless state.