What is Kriya Yoga?

Kriya Yoga is an ancient meditation science for accelerating spiritual growth. At its heart is a precise technique of breath and life-force control that calms the mind, energises the spine, and gradually awakens the meditator to direct experience of the Self — the divine consciousness within. It was brought to the modern world by the immortal master Mahavatar Babaji through his disciple Lahiri Mahasaya, and made known worldwide by Paramahansa Yogananda in his classic Autobiography of a Yogi.

The meaning of the word

The Sanskrit kriya means “action” or “effort,” and yoga means “union.” Kriya Yoga therefore means union with the Infinite through a specific inner action. The sage Patanjali names it in his Yoga Sutras as the union achieved through three things: tapas (self-discipline), svadhyaya (study of sacred texts), and Ishvara pranidhana (surrender to God).

“Kriya Yoga is a simple, psychophysical method by which the human blood is decarbonized and recharged with oxygen.”

The aim of Kriya

The aim of Kriya is not relaxation or stress-relief, welcome as those are, but Self-realization — the soul’s conscious reunion with God. The tradition describes this as liberation from the long bondage of the soul to suffering and rebirth, and the discovery of the ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new bliss that is our true nature. The sacred sound Aum heard in deep meditation is one of the signposts along this inner road.

The unbroken lineage

Kriya Yoga has been passed down as a living transmission from teacher to student, guru to disciple. The grace and spiritual energy of that lineage is conveyed directly — sometimes through shaktipat and pranapat, the transmission of the guru’s own awakened force. You can follow the whole succession of masters, with dates and short lives, on our Kriya Lineage timeline, or explore each teacher under Kriya Masters.

How to begin

Kriya Yoga is traditionally learned through formal initiation from a qualified teacher or recognised organisation, who gives the actual technique and the protective discipline that surrounds it. Hamsa Info is an independent educational resource: we explain the path clearly and freely so that you can understand it and decide whether to seek initiation, but the technique itself is rightly received from a living teacher. To prepare, begin with the writings of the masters — above all Sri Yukteswar’s The Holy Science and Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi — and steady your mind with daily meditation.