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> 第七十四章 The Science Of Kriya Yoga
第七十四章 The Science Of Kriya Yoga
The science of Kriya Yoga，became widely known in modern India through the instrumentality of Lahiri Mahasaya，my gurus guru。The Sanskrit root of Kriya is kri，to do，to act and react；the same root is found in the word karma，the natural principle of cause and effect。Kriya Yoga is thus“union（yoga）with the Infnite through a certain action or rite”。A yogi who faithfully follows its technique is gradually freed from karma or the universal chain of causation。
Because of certain ancient yogic injunctions，I cannot give a full explanation of Kriya Yoga in the pages of a book intended for the general public。The actual technique must be learned from a Kriyaban or Kriya Yogi；here a broad reference must suffce。
Kriya Yoga is a simple，psychophysiological method by which the human blood is decarbonized and recharged with oxygen。The atoms of this extra oxygen are transmuted into life current to rejuvenate the brain and spinal centers。By stopping the accumulation of venous blood，the yogi is able to lessen or prevent the decay of tissues；the advanced yogi transmutes his cells into pure energy。Elijah，Jesus，Kabir and other prophets were past masters in the use of Kriya or a similar technique，by which they caused their bodies to dematerialize at will。
Kriya is an ancient science。Lahiri Mahasaya received it from his guru，Babaji，who rediscovered and clarifed the technique after it had been lost in the Dark Ages。
“The Kriya Yoga which I am giving to the world through you in this nineteenth century，”Babaji told Lahiri Mahasaya。
Kriya Yoga is referred to by Krishna，Indias greatest prophet，in a stanza of the Bhagavad Gita：
“Offering inhaling breath into the outgoing breath，and offering the outgoing breath into the inhaling breath，the yogi neutralizes both these breaths；he thus releases the life force from the heart and brings it under his control。”The interpretation is：“The yogi arrests decay in the body by an addition of life force，and arrests the mutations of growth in the body by apan（eliminating current）。Thus neutralizing decay and growth，by＆nbsp；quieting the heart，the yogi learns life control。”
Kriya Yoga is mentioned twice by the ancient sage Patanjali，foremost exponent of yoga，who wrote：“Kriya Yoga consists of body discipline，mental control，and meditating on Aum。”Patanjali speaks of God as the actual Cosmic Sound of Aum heard in meditation。Aum is the Creative Word，the sound of the Vibratory Motor。Even the yoga-beginner soon inwardly hears the wondrous sound of Aum。Receiving this blissful spiritual encouragement，the devotee becomes assured that he is in actual touch with divine realms。
Patanjali refers a second time to the life-control or Kriya technique thus：“Liberation can be accomplished by that pranayama which is attained by disjoining the course of inspiration and expiration。”
The Kriya Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve，upward and downward，around the six spinal centers（medullary，cervical，dorsal，lumbar，sacral，and coccygeal plexuses）which correspond to the twelve astral signs of the zodiac，the symbolic Cosmic Man。One-half minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution；that half-minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment。
The astral system of a human being，with six（twelve by polarity）inner constellations revolving around the sun of the omniscient spiritual eye，is interrelated with the physical sun and the twelve zodiacal signs。All men are thus affected by an inner and an outer universe。The ancient rishis discovered that mans earthly and heavenly environment，in twelve-year cycles，push him forward on his natural path。The scriptures aver that man requires a million years of normal，diseaseless evolution to perfect his human brain suffciently to express cosmic consciousness。
One thousand Kriya practiced in eight hours gives the yogi，in one day，the equivalent of one thousand years of natural evolution。The Kriya short cut，of course，can be taken only by deeply developed yogis。
The Kriya beginner employs his yogic exercise only fourteen to twenty-eight times，twice daily。A number of yogis achieve emancipation in six or twelve or twenty-four or forty-eight years。A yogi who dies before achieving full realization carries with him the good karma of his past Kriya effort；in his new life he is harmoniously propelled toward his Infnite Goal。
By Kriya，the outgoing life force is not wasted and abused in the senses，but constrained to reunite with subtler spinal energies。By such reinforcement of life，theyogis body and brain cells are electrifed with the spiritual elixir。
Kriya，controlling the mind directly through the life force，is the easiest，most effective，and most scientifc avenue of approach to the Infnite。
The yogic science is based on an empirical consideration of all forms of concentration and meditation exercises。Yoga enables the devotee to switch off or on，at will，life current from the fve sense telephones of sight，sound，smell，taste，and touch。Attaining this power of sense-disconnection，the yogi fnds it simple to unite his mind at will with divine realms or with the world of matter。No longer is he unwillingly brought back by the life force to the mundane sphere of rowdy sensations and restless thoughts。Master of his body and mind，the Kriya Yogi ultimately achieves victory over the“last enemy”，death。
So shalt thou feed on Death，that feeds on men：And Death once dead，theres no more dying then。
All scriptures declare man to be not a corruptible body，but a living soul；by Kriya he is given a method to prove the scriptural truth。
“Outward ritual cannot destroy ignorance，because they are not mutually contradictory，”wrote Shankara in his famous Century Of Verses。“Realized knowledge alone destroys ignorance……Knowledge cannot spring up by any other means than inquiry。‘Who am I？How was this universe born？Who is its maker？What is its material cause？’This is the kind of inquiry referred to。”The intellect has no answer for these questions；hence the rishis evolved yoga as the technique of spiritual inquiry。
Kriya Yoga is the real“fre rite”often extolled in the Bhagavad Gita。The purifying fres of yoga bring eternal illumination，and thus differ much from outward and little-effective religious fire ceremonies，where perception of truth is oft burnt，to solemn chanted accompaniment，along with the incense！
The advanced yogi，withholding all his mind，will，and feeling from false identifcation with bodily desires，uniting his mind with superconscious forces in the spinal shrines，thus lives in this world as God hath planned，not impelled by impulses from the past nor by new witlessnesses of fresh human motivations。Such a yogi receives fulfllment of his Supreme Desire，safe in the fnal haven of inexhaustibly blissful Spirit。
The yogi offers his labyrinthine human longings to a monotheistic bonfre dedicated to the unparalleled God。This is indeed the true yogic fire ceremony。Referring toyogas sure and methodical effcacy，Lord Krishna praises the technological yogi in the following words：“The yogi is greater than body-disciplining ascetics，greater even than the followers of the path of wisdom（Jnana Yoga），or of the path of action（Karma Yoga）；be thou，O disciple Arjuna，a yogi！”
Because of certain ancient yogic injunctions，I cannot give a full explanation of Kriya Yoga in the pages of a book intended for the general public。The actual technique must be learned from a Kriyaban or Kriya Yogi；here a broad reference must suffce。
Kriya Yoga is a simple，psychophysiological method by which the human blood is decarbonized and recharged with oxygen。The atoms of this extra oxygen are transmuted into life current to rejuvenate the brain and spinal centers。By stopping the accumulation of venous blood，the yogi is able to lessen or prevent the decay of tissues；the advanced yogi transmutes his cells into pure energy。Elijah，Jesus，Kabir and other prophets were past masters in the use of Kriya or a similar technique，by which they caused their bodies to dematerialize at will。
Kriya is an ancient science。Lahiri Mahasaya received it from his guru，Babaji，who rediscovered and clarifed the technique after it had been lost in the Dark Ages。
“The Kriya Yoga which I am giving to the world through you in this nineteenth century，”Babaji told Lahiri Mahasaya。
Kriya Yoga is referred to by Krishna，Indias greatest prophet，in a stanza of the Bhagavad Gita：
“Offering inhaling breath into the outgoing breath，and offering the outgoing breath into the inhaling breath，the yogi neutralizes both these breaths；he thus releases the life force from the heart and brings it under his control。”The interpretation is：“The yogi arrests decay in the body by an addition of life force，and arrests the mutations of growth in the body by apan（eliminating current）。Thus neutralizing decay and growth，by＆nbsp；quieting the heart，the yogi learns life control。”
Kriya Yoga is mentioned twice by the ancient sage Patanjali，foremost exponent of yoga，who wrote：“Kriya Yoga consists of body discipline，mental control，and meditating on Aum。”Patanjali speaks of God as the actual Cosmic Sound of Aum heard in meditation。Aum is the Creative Word，the sound of the Vibratory Motor。Even the yoga-beginner soon inwardly hears the wondrous sound of Aum。Receiving this blissful spiritual encouragement，the devotee becomes assured that he is in actual touch with divine realms。
Patanjali refers a second time to the life-control or Kriya technique thus：“Liberation can be accomplished by that pranayama which is attained by disjoining the course of inspiration and expiration。”
The Kriya Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve，upward and downward，around the six spinal centers（medullary，cervical，dorsal，lumbar，sacral，and coccygeal plexuses）which correspond to the twelve astral signs of the zodiac，the symbolic Cosmic Man。One-half minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution；that half-minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment。
The astral system of a human being，with six（twelve by polarity）inner constellations revolving around the sun of the omniscient spiritual eye，is interrelated with the physical sun and the twelve zodiacal signs。All men are thus affected by an inner and an outer universe。The ancient rishis discovered that mans earthly and heavenly environment，in twelve-year cycles，push him forward on his natural path。The scriptures aver that man requires a million years of normal，diseaseless evolution to perfect his human brain suffciently to express cosmic consciousness。
One thousand Kriya practiced in eight hours gives the yogi，in one day，the equivalent of one thousand years of natural evolution。The Kriya short cut，of course，can be taken only by deeply developed yogis。
The Kriya beginner employs his yogic exercise only fourteen to twenty-eight times，twice daily。A number of yogis achieve emancipation in six or twelve or twenty-four or forty-eight years。A yogi who dies before achieving full realization carries with him the good karma of his past Kriya effort；in his new life he is harmoniously propelled toward his Infnite Goal。
By Kriya，the outgoing life force is not wasted and abused in the senses，but constrained to reunite with subtler spinal energies。By such reinforcement of life，theyogis body and brain cells are electrifed with the spiritual elixir。
Kriya，controlling the mind directly through the life force，is the easiest，most effective，and most scientifc avenue of approach to the Infnite。
The yogic science is based on an empirical consideration of all forms of concentration and meditation exercises。Yoga enables the devotee to switch off or on，at will，life current from the fve sense telephones of sight，sound，smell，taste，and touch。Attaining this power of sense-disconnection，the yogi fnds it simple to unite his mind at will with divine realms or with the world of matter。No longer is he unwillingly brought back by the life force to the mundane sphere of rowdy sensations and restless thoughts。Master of his body and mind，the Kriya Yogi ultimately achieves victory over the“last enemy”，death。
So shalt thou feed on Death，that feeds on men：And Death once dead，theres no more dying then。
All scriptures declare man to be not a corruptible body，but a living soul；by Kriya he is given a method to prove the scriptural truth。
“Outward ritual cannot destroy ignorance，because they are not mutually contradictory，”wrote Shankara in his famous Century Of Verses。“Realized knowledge alone destroys ignorance……Knowledge cannot spring up by any other means than inquiry。‘Who am I？How was this universe born？Who is its maker？What is its material cause？’This is the kind of inquiry referred to。”The intellect has no answer for these questions；hence the rishis evolved yoga as the technique of spiritual inquiry。
Kriya Yoga is the real“fre rite”often extolled in the Bhagavad Gita。The purifying fres of yoga bring eternal illumination，and thus differ much from outward and little-effective religious fire ceremonies，where perception of truth is oft burnt，to solemn chanted accompaniment，along with the incense！
The advanced yogi，withholding all his mind，will，and feeling from false identifcation with bodily desires，uniting his mind with superconscious forces in the spinal shrines，thus lives in this world as God hath planned，not impelled by impulses from the past nor by new witlessnesses of fresh human motivations。Such a yogi receives fulfllment of his Supreme Desire，safe in the fnal haven of inexhaustibly blissful Spirit。
The yogi offers his labyrinthine human longings to a monotheistic bonfre dedicated to the unparalleled God。This is indeed the true yogic fire ceremony。Referring toyogas sure and methodical effcacy，Lord Krishna praises the technological yogi in the following words：“The yogi is greater than body-disciplining ascetics，greater even than the followers of the path of wisdom（Jnana Yoga），or of the path of action（Karma Yoga）；be thou，O disciple Arjuna，a yogi！”
