Kriya Secrets Revealed: Complete Lessons and Techniques

The instructions in this book regarding the kriya yoga of Lahiri Mahasaya are vastly superior to anything available anywhere else. They're clear, concise, easy to understand, and practicable. The quality of the techniques themselves are of excellent calibre, in comparing the experiences and perceived progress with other systems of kriya yoga/"spinal breathing pranayama".I docked a star because the author has a tendency to go into long-winded ramblings regarding his own personalized theosophy and how it relates to Kriya Yoga, which I find distracting and unnecessary. If I see a paragraph like that approaching, I usually just skip over it, instead of rubbing my temples through the whole thing.However, not a single detail is missed, and all of the kriyas of LM are given due and complete consideration and exposition. While I consider the price of this book unusually high, it has proven to be worth every penny.On a random tangent, as a comparative example, I've practiced 4 systems of Kriya Yoga:1) Bihar Yoga Bharati ("A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya"): A system of 20 meditation kriyas, but following mostly different paths than this one. This system almost completely does away with silent, coordinated concentration practices, which I've come to realize are absolutely essential at the end of every kriya practice to stabilize and calm the energies that've been kicked up during the practice, along with establishing the real fruit and intent of kriya practices, which is meditative absorption. These practices made me irritable, socially withdrawn, and very neurotic. It was because of these practices that I would abandon yoga and meditation altogether for several years.2) SRF/Yogananda: Besides the instructions being of very poor quality, difficult to understand, and uneasy to implement, this was by far the worst system of Kriya yoga that I practiced. I abandoned them after I'd felt that I'd gotten nothing out of the experience for over a year, except wasted time. And the people who ascribe to it as a religion are weird. Nice, but weird.3) Yogani/AYPsite.org: Yogani has taken what appears to be Yogananda's system of Kriya and blended it with traditional yoga and tested his system of techniques very thoroughly. They work very well and produce many amazing and miraculous benefits. I credit his system of techniques with reawakening my desire to regularly meditate, and invigorating it with a newfound life. My qualm regarding his system is that it's haphazardly put together in a monologue/Q&A format and no real intention, in 15 years, has existed to put the pieces together in an easily readable, understandable, step-by-step format -- So that after a person takes up his practices, figuring out what to do next after one has gained skill, confidence, and experience in his current practices is needlessly difficult and undefined. My second biggest qualm regarding his system, which was something that plagued me through the entire time I practiced his techniques, is that they do not produce the meditative absorptiveness of Lahiri Mahasaya's system. I'm not entirely certain why, as they produce many other things in super-abundance (small coincidental miracles, intensity of perception, gratitude and bliss, an intimate sense of connectedness and oneness with people and creation...)4) The Kriya Yoga of Lahiri Mahasaya (as explained in this book, and other sources that corroborate these techniques): They're excellent, simple, elegant, progressive, and they make logical sense in their execution. I should divulge that I've only been practicing these techniques for about a week now, but already I've experienced a depth of meditative absorptiveness I haven't experienced in close to a decade, at nearly the very beginning of using these techniques. I also suddenly started hearing the "om" sound shortly after I began these techniques. The sound persists throughout the day and is audible when I stop what I'm doing and calmly listen. In this way, the techniques provide measurable and provable milestones for progress - something that only exists outside of yoga in the Buddhist meditation "mind maps." A highly useful tool for keeping oneself on track, and not deluding oneself about one's progress or stage of attainment. I'm excited for what the future of practicing these techniques will bring.********************************EDIT (6/15/15)After practicing the techniques for the last few months, and trying to really hammer out and perfect even just the first kriya pranyama technique (along with the preceding maha mudra, navi/om japa, talabya...), I'm giving the full 5 stars, regardless of the religious/christian overtones and sections. These techniques are simply phenomenal. Attempting to perform ALL of the details just for KP1 is extraordinarily difficult, but it makes galaxies of difference compared to omitting some of them to make the technique more easier to perform (trust me). A gentle, peaceful happiness pervades my entire day; I'm extremely clear-headed with a crystalline focus; I'm quick-witted, witty, and creative in conversation; I seem to have endless stores of energy that I don't know the source of; I feel other-worldly (I'm guessing this is bliss) each time I finish the techniques with mental pranayama; I occasionally feel bolts of physical ecstasy during KP 1, and my breathing becomes so placid I occasionally become concerned that I haven't been breathing. While I have experienced samadhi a couple times during an extended, intensive personal meditation retreat, the technique at that time was simply a combination of sitting mental japa, and insight techniques when not sitting (all day long, with only 5-6 hours of sleep, and a lot of psychological torment and anguish). With these kriya techniques, which are not static concentration practices like japa, I have no idea what the experience is going to be like when one obliviously slips into samadhi during the technique as the concentration naturally intensifies and the relaxation hits the critical sweet spot. But I remember that leading up to it, suddenly becoming concerned that I wasn't breathing anymore had become a frequent occurrence. I would relish the chance to experience it again. There's nothing like it, and finding any words for the experience took months of analysis on my memories of the entirety of the experience, before, during, and after. Both the experience and the after-effects are, despite the indescribable beauty of it, categorically and undeniably eery in a supernatural way.For those who write reviews poo-poo-ing the book, its author, or the techniques without giving them fair and due diligence, all I can say is: The proof of the pudding is in the eating. And if you're afraid that eating the pudding will threaten the pudding you've already devoted yourself to, there's really no need to submit a review. Just keep on with what you've got. But if you're even here, then maybe a little honesty with yourself is appropriate. You're probably curious that there might be a better way, likely out of dissatisfaction with your results, as I had been with many of my prior experiences. Even if you gave something new a chance, all you would lose is time. But you would gain valuable knowledge from the experience that you could use to help shape your spiritual future, and there's nothing more valuable than that spiritual wisdom borne of one's personal experience.

edited six years later with an update. See bottom.Very clear and easy to follow descriptions. I like the workbook format, and the suggestions on when to "graduate" to the next practice, as well as extra tips on how to do them in different ways to get the best fit for oneself. I'm a little more than six weeks into the program, and have just started the first kriya initiation. At this point, I can see that everything that went before has been good preparation for the first initiation. In the past, I have had difficulty maintaining a regular tonglen practice, but I haven't missed a day with this, and have happily sat down to multiple sessions (though now that a sitting is about 40 minutes, comfortably, I am down to just one per day). So, at this early stage, I will venture to say that the pacing is quite good.For those wondering about this: it's purely about concept and practice. There are no prayers or devotions, at least up to my point in the workbook. Now, I've seen the other reviews here where people are upset that the sacred and deep aspects are missing, but this has not been an issue for me due to a lifetime of reading, starting with Autobiography of a Yogi when I was quite young. Would it be an issue for you? I cannot say, but I will say that you need to bring to this a clear idea of your goals. Do not dabble in this, do not learn a few practices to throw at your yoga class. Know that you can go very deep with this, and that is a personal and private journey. This practice is not easy. You will need the commitment that comes from understanding its origins and its intent.I've added some youtube viewings to what is described in the book, in order to actually see someone perform some of the breathing exercises (eg, hearing Ujjiyah pranayama really helped). I recommend others do the same as required to understand how to perform every thing. Having viewed other resources in the process, I come back to this book as my actual teacher.I also like that JC Stevens also adds in the appendix of the book several chapters detailing the practice of other kriya traditions. There is no "my way or the highway" sentiment here.edited: After six years of a daily practice using the practices I learned in this book, I can continue to endorse the book. Using this book slowly is the way to go. I don't mean you have to take second years just on the First Kriya Initiation and related practices, as I did, but don't try to rush through to the end. Things happen over time. Your ability to do the practices increases. You start to get a certain return on time investment. It's been argued by one of the Kriya influences on youtube now that techniques are not important at all. They are, in the way that a good, solid foundation is essential if you want your house to keep standing for decades. They are, in the sense that they open doors in our minds in ways that cannot be verbalized. They are, in that they were also present in the lives of the gurus and philosophers that wrote all those books you love. Six years and I am now moving forward again and it is incredible how effortless progress is now, and how much more understandable the instructions are, and how I am now seeing small nuances that I missed before. Also, I would also recommend the Ennio Nimis writings as an extra resource: they are free online and show these same techniques, with some alternate forms. Good luck to you on your journey.

Super livre et état conforme

El autor ha realizado un esfuerzo importante para recabar información sobre las técnicas originales de Lahiri Mahasaya. Hay pocos libros actualmente en inglés sobre este tema, ya que principalmente predomina el secretismo.

I had my first look at the book and I have browsed through the whole book. I can definitely say — This Is The Book on Kriya. So much effort has gone into writing this book and so much experience of the author is in it. The book moves in a total step by step scientific order as if you have a proper teacher teaching you at every step. Finally, a book that actually reveals Kriya rather than keep it a ‘top secret’! This book is the Guru — Guru is one who dispels darkness. If one is a sincere seeker of Kriya, then this is the book. Practice at your own pace. And bow to the Guru within and Lahiri Mahasaya and Babaji to guide. I was planning to take Kriya yoga 25 years ago, took all the lessons, but felt I couldn’t fulfil all the pre-conditions for initiation, and didn’t want to lie about it and so gave up the pursuit of initiation. After that, I widened my horizons reading and listening to the great Osho, J Krishnamurti, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Ramakrishna, Swami Rama, Shri Atmananda, Sathya Sai Baba, Jean Klein, Rupert Spira, Robert Adams — all great teachers. Recently I bought a wonderful book by Siddharameshwar Maharaj called Amrut Laya. He was the guru of Nisargadatta Maharaj. About a month ago, I came across another living Kriya teacher called Sri M who lives in India and my interest in Kriya revived. But I am unable to go and receive Kriya from him and was feeling a little despondent and prayed to Babaji and God to give me guidance as to how to receive Kriya without going to a Guru. That’s when I came across this treasure of a book by J.C. Stevens. I think he has done the greatest service to all those who want to learn Kriya and can’t find an authentic Guru (there are plenty of fake “Gurus” whose sole interest is your money). Some reviewers are complaining about the price, initially I also thought the price was a bit high and was hoping it’s worth it. And when I got the book, I can say it is manifold more worth than the price — in fact, it is a total gem! Billion Thanks Stevens from me! I’ll always be grateful for this book! Now begins the real task of actually practising Kriya which must be rewarding as all the real teachers and practitioners have vouchsafed for that.

Perfetto! Come da fotografia arrivato nei tempi previsti,magnifico libro,introvabile altrove!

All techniques exposed with detail. Must read