Hi EK,
Great post.
I’m thinking about driving down to Miami some time in February to meet with Swami Atmavidyananda.
I have to agree with you regarding the mantra. Now that I think about it, chanting one never really did much. But listening to that deep low frequency sound/vibration is a completely different story. I’ll have to try and deepen the awareness and move it to the appropriate chakras.
Are you doing the KYI maha mudra or another one or did you modify theirs? Have you been doing bandhas in maha mudra? I have questions on this technique for Swami A.
HI RSS
You will really enjoy being with S.A. The feeling in his presence is one of a person that is full of inner strength, likely had a very bad temper at one time but has since outgrown it. He is kind and gentle and sensitive these are the impressions when in his company. He is also extremely intelligent and quick witted with a good sense of humor and treats all people and all questions with respect do not be surprised if he knows what you are going to say before you say it. I found him to be a little difficult to understand at first until I adapted to his accent. His voice has a sing song quality to it when he speaks one word flows into the next.
Ask him to tell you the story of the animals in the Jungle with the whiskey drinking Lion and the coke snorting elephant.
S.A. is very exact in the way he teaches and his way of teaching the kriyas is of the highest technical quality, other Acharyas I have met are not as thorough nor exact.
I guess you can tell I really like S.A. honestly how could I not? he gave me the most important gift of my being alive in a body. In truth I have love for him as my older friend and teacher that taught me in this life.
I practice Mahamudra as I was taught by S.A. with one exception. I use a pillow to place under the top of the foot near the toes of the folded leg on this gives me the needed comfort and 1 inch or so to properly rest on the perineum when practicing with opposite leg folded. With opposite leg straight I do not need it but it is still more comfortable this way.
One day as the body continues to develop the pillow will not be needed. We all have a generally same human body Arms legs etc… but the geometry for each is not the same so by doing one discovers how to overcome limitations of biology. When I first learned Mahamudra the best I could do was sit flat on the ground. I really struggled with this for a long time.
Then as the triple divine qualities continued to grow in this practice I started having the strong desire in the body to do Mahamudra just Like Swami Atmavidyananda did which is different from the books you see on Kriya so I tried and the body just could not do it. Then after some time passed and the desire grew from absorption in the triple divine qualities I tried again, I failed, then more time passed and I tried again and sure enough tadaaaa fell on my ass and made my knee hurt!
Then one day it came to me to try again and all of a sudden I got it, I just got it and had the feel for it like the first time you solo on a bike. I felt like an excited kid again when the kundalini shot from Muladhara to crown I was amazed how natural and right this mudra felt.
I was amazed how clean and fresh the air in my lungs felt so I stopped the monkey minds happiness and dove deep into the triple divine qualities and silent mind practicing exactly the way I was shown it was only afterwards I noticed there was a pillow under the foot and it made all the difference.
Afterwards I could really feel the difference and the following Kriyas took on a new dimension. So much so that I could finally say yes this is what they meant it is all true.
To clarify what I mean by comfort, I do not feel discomfort or notice the top of the foot. Without the pillow / Zafu Cushion it can get my attention due to discomfort.
Maha mudra is only easy to do if you do it every day, I have also discovered that if you have been doing treadmill work or any exercise with the legs that it is best to do so after Kriya and not right before as it gets in the way of sitting, Mahamudra and the knee joints can ache afterwards. If I do cardio work after Kriya everything is fine.
As far as bandhas are concerned I have been aware of them occurring on their own but do not really do them on purpose, I identify with the triple divine qualities while practicing and the details take care of themselves. The Prana takes over I just become witness and follow what I was taught then Prana takes over and makes everything else happen and this is felt as satisfying a deep desire in the body to do something a certain way and there is great satisfaction when done but if not done it remains almost like an itch that is not yet and itch or a sneeze that is on its way to forcing expression. The pressure builds and the body follows the must do and the mind thinks after the fact what was I waiting for I should have done this sooner, gosh I already knew to do this.
When the prana guides the body follows. If I try to perform Mahamudra with out becoming internalized first it would be difficult, once internalized by the Kriyas that come before it the body is just more flexible and the inner commands the outer, were this not the case there would be no reason to do this Kriya without the inner it is just posture.
The beauty of this teaching of this lineage of Kriya is the simplicity, this is also what makes it difficult. The thing to understand (speaking in general now not specifically to anyone) is that there is something going on when practicing these Kriyas in the sequence they are given weather the person doing them can feel them or not at first.
Hello Experientialknowing,
Reading your comments about KYI’s Mahamudra made me realize that I may be practicing it incorrectly, when it comes to folding the leg. Based on your post, it seems that the correct position of the folded leg may be like in these pictures, here, here and here. Can you please let me know whether this is indeed the case? Before reading your post, I was folding the leg like this. In the first case the pressure on the perineum is quite heavy, while in the second only light pressure is applied on the perineum.
I would also like to ask you another question regarding Hariharananda’s Mahamudra, but in order not to reveal online details that I’m not supposed to, I was wondering whether it would be ok if I sent you a PM.
Hi Holy,
Can you give me reference to Ashok you mentioned below ? Is he same as vedickriyayoga.com ?
thanks
Savyasachi
Hi andrew the first 3 pics are close, the last is how a beginner does it.
These people are bending the ankle to sit on side of heel.
The way Iwas taught by 3 seperte Acharyas was to keep the back of the heel on the perenium the way they are doing it you have no control over pressure on perinium, not a good idea for men.
Of course the man in the picture likely built up to it over time.
Siddhasana is another ome thatakes time in the beginning a pillow can be used to bare the majority of the weight on the back of the butt ox.
Thank you very much Experientialknowing. I’m glad to have this element of the technique corrected.
[quote]
What exactly is the difference between Gurunath’s Kriya and that of Hans? Are there differences only in the Kriya Pranayama, while the other techniques are the same?
[/quote]Hi Andrew75, sry it took some time, so here the answers: Hans kriya as far as I can understand is the same as what Asho teaches except one difference, there is no guru pranam in it. Hans was one oh those, I do not know from where he learned the kriya of Lahiri, but after having reached repeated nirvkalpa samadhi Lahiri appeared before him and said from now on God is your guru. He insists since that no physical guru is needed and that it is even better to directly commune with god by the power of extended kriya pranayama. But he also supports all those who practice the kriya as learned by his site www.kriyayoga.com and we also had conversations along the years. He recently said, that he will help all those sincere practitioners for all eternity, a statement with authority, but again focusedly pointed out to be in direct contact to god aka the one source.
Gurunath’s kriya as he himself in some earlier youtube vids also explains is a simplified kriya yoga, being similiar to Yogananda’s kriya (not the one from SRF, but the one Yogananda taught in India), but also being more advanced. In short, where Hans uses a lot of mantra, Gurunath uses a lot of breath. E.g. navi kriya with Hans has no breath at all, only mantra en masse, while Gurunath’s navi uses breath only and mantra just for counting the correct ratio. The same goes for maha mudra. While Hans kriya pranayama is mantra + breath, Gurunath seperated them into two techniques. Other differences are, Hans focuses on kutastha in the final meditation part, Gurunath on the crown. I think Gurunath has taken some elements and insights from Hari, as he also practiced under him and under Satyananda. You can download and see yourself how Hans kriya is, I wanted to nitroduce him aswell here, but life had other plans so far, some things didn’t happen, but lets see :)[quote]
Also, is it not true that Gurunath’s Navi Kriya can also be learned from one of his Kriya Acharyas?
[/quote]At least in two countries I’m not aware of anyone, but perhaps in the USA or somewhere else there might be some. I’m sure at some point his most advanced students, aka realized ones will start to give the full techniques including the higher kriyas like thokar etc.[quote]
Planned breath retention:
The instruction I was given by Atmavidyananda was a brief pause after each exhalation and inhalation where an when you both know. I was also told to increase this gradually and reside within the silence there and observe the triple divine qualities in each center.
[/quote] It is the same instruction as Manga did give.[quote]
KYI and lower centers not being addressed. They most certainy do address the lower centers but in a way that you might not be adjusted to yet, give it some time after the first year it will be more apparant, perhaps?
[/quote]Hi EK, they are adressed, e.g. much more than AYP adresses them. That statement was just in relation to he other kriya variants, but all in all the chakras are adressed very much in KYI, only the other kriyas do in relation adress them more. More is not always better, it depends on the overall effect. If you give more adressing to the lower chakras within KYI, the whole thing becomes too much. If you add more crown adressing in Gurunath’s kriya, it becomes too much. So at some point a compromise is obviously needed. If you add crown to Hans kriya, then it will be a very fast end to practicing for sure 
Outch :P[quote]
I have to agree with you regarding the mantra. Now that I think about it, chanting one never really did much. But listening to that deep low frequency sound/vibration is a completely different story. I’ll have to try and deepen the awareness and move it to the appropriate chakras.
[/quote]Hi Bob, have tried it out with mantra, but all in all I had better results as you with listening to the OM there (also as overall taught in KYI kriya). It is true, that Yogeshwarananda pointed out the tripple devine qualities more than e.g. Manga. She did it, but not repeatedly as Yogeshwarananda did.
Regarding mudras and bandhas while KYI maha mudra, they also happen here out of themselves. Also while KYI pranayama uddiyana does happen a lot, also some mula bandha here and there as pranically needed.
@NoDogma
yes Ashok from vedickriya, the one Will Power went to 
@Andrew75
regarding those webpages, OMG, I do think it is just a matter of time till all kriya variants and their techniquescan be seen in full detail on the web. What is interesting to see is, that people take these techniques and label them with other fancy names like AUM Lvee Pranayama and there you have a new system without any realized practitioner behind it. What I like with Yogani and AYP is, he also took from different sources, but at least practiced it through and with authority can give all these great lessons and insights.
Some more general info on the topic, KYI do have 6 kriyas. Yogeshwarananda’s kriya also had 6 kriyas. I do not know, but have a feeling, that the higher the kriy, the more similiar or the same they will be in both Yogeshwarananda’s and KYI’s kriya. Swami Nityananda’s book also gives hints, his kriya is again somethign else But most probably his second and third kriya may be the route Yogeshwarananda and KYI will head to aswell.
Peace and happy new practice year
Thank you Holy. Very informative and very detailed reply.
Hi all,
very soon I will meet this lady again Also some of the other calibers, like Peter and Atmavidyananda. Crown paradise is calling (8<3
Wish you all the best and
happy practice!
Hello Holy,
have fun there!!! I expect one of your awesome experience reports again 
Holy your experience reports are so inspiring to me…thanks. 
Blessings to your Satsang with her. 
Hi orangesky,
thanks very much, report is online
@BillinL.A,
also thanks, you are very much welcome!
Hi all,
as life happens here, Mangalananda comes by from time to time, visiting her sister who lives close to me, offering group meditations for free. This gathering also happens here twice per month without Manga. But only some times per year am I able to attend and get the crown rememberance
Today we had a small but nice gathering. Mainly women at younger to mid ages. To my feel Manga and her sister are somwhere around 45. Although am into classic kriya, I like this group very much and Manga still is capable of showing me new things in regards to the crown.
Before starting with the meditation, she mentioned that the lower chakras seem to give a reason to stay there, but there is noone holding you from going up she added. And right she is, with the right approach, going up is always possible independent of the remaining karmas in the lower centers.
The meditation was short but as always very nice and made me enter into the crown dimension with great depth one more time. With senses active, everything is completely transformed and transported to a different perception, nonduality in utmost refinement, godliness everywhere, It is hard not to love it The capability of becoming ultimately still is among the domains of the crown, as is freedom, joy and the opening of all doors. Grace and love is your being.
It was very funny and sweet to observe both sisters loughing reason free, the joy of the crown.
Still one thing to mention from this times observation: the ever present, the ever still is the ground in which even the crown dimension can beautifully expand upon. Therefore even the crown is still something within the ever present, at least that part of the crown that relates to the moving universe. It is for shure a door to discover and dissolve into the ever present too. It is the magic bridge refining the life force and perception to such a degree, that the unity of all becomes directly visible. Hari’s kriya cannot be praised enough for making it possible to open the crown so easily.
Greetings and love to all and happy practice
Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement
The last post is nearly three years after the posts before it, so since then a lot of things have happend and many more insights have come up Just to connect the different threads better, this conversation which reports of the crown chakra and the various after effects of kriya practice was happening in parallel to the thread’s beginning with Mangalananda: http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13635 .
After reading my own akashic writing in Yogani’s forum about the crown experiences, it is very interesting to note, that those deep crown experiences were happening problem free, but due to reasons of better life flow, the main approach here has continued as classic 6 chakras kriya. And to the suprise here, the last event with Mangalananda showed, that the crown was ready then (3 years ago) as it is now. So why all the wait for the crown?
Looking at it right now, it seems like there is a threshhold in relation to the first 6 chakras. If that threshold is passed, means if sufficient work has been done down there, at some point it is up to you! You can keep doing the work down there, as it is near unending The transformation can keep going, but also the transcendence and nnoduality up there is possible whenever you like.
Keeping the work below will continue to transform both the body-mind and the flow of life in godliest ways, slowly but shurely progressing into dissolution in the crown. But at the same time, it is obviously always possible to just leave it as it is and directly merge into nonduality and freedom from all the process by means of going up.
Manga spoke of the cloud 7 and the illusion of believing that you have to do something below it to be allowed to go to cloud 7. Looking into the body-mind here, asking this question to myself, the only thing I can see are remaining whishes/concepts in regards to the 6 chakras, like doing this in life first, then and only then it is ok… Do any of you have this aswell? Or what is the reason for you to holding back from dissolving into nonduality? And is it really doing so or do you want to be hold back by it (for whatever reasons, like perhaps fear of the unknown up there)?
Whoever reads this, your comments would be welcome to read!
Peace and happy practice!
Dear Holy,
I have been asking about this on AYP Plus - Penetrating the crown /Dissolving the Witness in Unity (Lesson 333). I certainly want to. I feel ready / on the brink so to speak - but it is not happening. At least not in the way some describe as a specific recognizable event. Yogani says it will happen once I stop desiring it and yet we have to desire it - “desire-less desire” as Gurunath calls it. I take it as a final act of Grace. It will happen when it will happen. Or… and I’m beginning to suspect this, it is a slow integration that can happen without any fanfare of an (reportedly glorious but unstable) event(s).
And it is very likely I have no idea what I’m talking about 
Sey
Dear Sey,
thanks for the post Have reread lesson 333 and all the crown lessons. And I couldn’t find any info of Yogani in regards to “AYP Plus - Penetrating the crown /Dissolving the Witness in Unity (Lesson 333)”. So far the nonduality discovery of the crown here has been something new for me which I had not read about in this way. Are there new lessons (or additions) in this regard in the plus forum?
Coming back to AYP classic lesson 333 (if it differs from the plus lesson), there is no direct relation to the crown and nonduality. Also the other lessons do not mention this relation. You can also feel yourself one with all you perceive by means of the witness penetrating all time and matter and becoming one with it. It is what is happening with classic kriya, shurely with AYP too. There are also different types of nonduality, very much depending upon the degree of perception. If the perception is physical only, nonduality will be limited to physicality. If perception refines to subtler dimensions, nonduality also does. The crown is supreme refinement, accordingly the nonduality.
Coming back to the question, it was more about nonduality by means of the crown which is obviously availabe today if you like. It is not a matter of final grace, nor something that has to do with a mental attitude. It is just a matter of collecting prana and concentrating it in the crown. Thats all. Nothing else to do and nothing else to wait for. Shurely we are speaking from the standpoint, that the body-mind has been purified enough to handle it. But you can remain in the purified body-mind for too long without the nonduality of the crown coming into your life, the only reason being non-adressing or in another word, ignoring this possibility. At least this is what Mangalananda was hinting at me, very much touching that part of me which wants to super-transform the body-mind in ways Gurunath has done for the benefit of all But yeah, the crown says, don’t forget me, or even more so, why do you not come up?
The way you are looking at nonduality is once and for all nonduality. The no return nonduality. Or in other words, having prepared everything in such a way that the first nonduality is the final one. The question is, which nonduality are you refering to, the one encompassing the whole universe or the one that encompasses as much as you can perceive? For the latter one, such wait is not required, but the former one is something can’t speak about so far. The nonduality mentioned here, does only go as far as the perception goes, both in terms of gross to subtle and in terms of scale (meters, kilometers). Then there is also the infinitely bigger mysterious transcendental side of nonduality. All of this can be accessed in few hours or days by meeting the requirements of the crown in a group setting. Or some days, weeks, maximum few months if you do it by yourself (going by the prerequisite of having done enough for the body-mind by daily practice that has already occured).
The super nonduality which encompasses all to the eternal infinity, that also comes and goes thousands of times according to the kriya yogis until one completely dissolves into it by means of exhausting even past life karmas. The first entrance to that, as you’d say desireless-desire or just being, yeah the reports of that are few on the net May it increase more 
Manga’s statement still remains… More comments are welcome!
Happy practice friends!
Hi Holy,
Yes, AYP plus has many lesson additions. We have discussed this in various threads in plus.
Firstly, I have been reading your posts for years and they are truly divine. You could write about doing laundry and it would still sound divine.
I have discussed my awakening in several threads so I won’t bore you with those details. The dissolution happened here through grace- no formal spiritual practices. As far as I can remember, I have always questioned the nature of existence, who am I? what am I doing here? I practiced my own form of self inquiry.
Looking back, I had unity experiences growing up. I would think of ecstatic bliss and it would arise in the body. I know you are a dedicated Kriya practitioner and I hear a lot of Kriya gurus with their last name as “Giri”. My maternal side is “Giri”. If you know anything about the eastern last names, Giri or sanyasi is the last name given to monks. So I was blessed to born in that lineage. May be I practiced Kriya in my past lives. May be it was the blessing of my ancestors. Who knows, none of it matters.
During the awakening, I had visitation from various ascended kriya masters, having never practiced . You know went through various experiences. I would have whole body orgasms. I could induce it by just thinking about it- no need for all the mudras, energy flowing through me to people. I would ask for some deities to reveal themselves and they would. I would wish for something and it would show up. I would visit other realms and so on.
You know all the fanfare. With all these experience, one thing I noticed- that I still needed to do the dishes, pay bills and be here.
Then one afternoon, I was sitting on the couch- my spine was readjusted, both sides of the brain readjusted and poof the “I” was gone- non duality. When you have this experience the mind is totally annihilated. Basically the intellect is not there to say –“oh yes this is Level A of non duality and now I need to get to Level B”. It is dissolution- one with creation.
One can read about this and debate till the cows come home. The actual experience changes everything and the actual journey begins.
Not to sound arrogant- I see all these Gurus sitting on the pedestal and the followers bowing down to their feet and chasing them. I just don’t get it. How can you see the nature of reality and sit there on the pedestal like a celebrity. This experience makes you humble because you know no one is better than anyone. We are “One”. Why does everything need to be so secret? I can see the misuse of the knowledge and the need to protect certain practices. But it should not cost hundreds of dollars to get the next mantra or the next kriya.
It took 4-5 years to integrate everything, since it was spontaneous and I had to work on the lower chakras. I think people who have been practicing for years will have a smoother transition. I feel working on the lower chakras and then opening the crown is the best way as Yogani emphasizes. IMHO, Yogani is “It” when it comes to gurus.
No, I’m not done. I practice every day. The openings, integration and learning continues. I can’t imagine the rise of more “Joy” in years to come. The past six years have been amazing.
Hope this helps a little. Sorry if I went on a tangent or off topic.
I think this is enough ~tooting my own horn today.
Sunyata
Perhaps therein lies my confusion and ignorance of the matter. You see, hearing talk of Nirvikalpa Samadhi (am I right to assume this would involve the transcendental Oneness with the whole universe?), I understood it that one must have penetrated the crown chakra and the more often one gets in and out of this state, until it stabilizes, the better and this is what is needed to gain stable 24/7 nonduality.
Lesson 333 says no need for all that but it is a matter of dissolving the Witness in Unity
From Lesson 333
Which is the same as what you are saying here:
Indeed - that is what is happening to me as well.
Ok…
I think Yogani is more concerned with this aspect.
I have and do experience all that I perceive as within me, sometimes for days on end. This has come about as a slow process of daily practices. But I did not count this as nonduality. Seeing the Universe inside of me is a much rarer event and of short duration. Exploding (It feels like an explosion and zooming out endlessly, instantaneously and for some reason, Jesus always appears to ‘catch’ me) into the universe does not make me One with it, does it? I just have suddenly become much much bigger.
I feel like to stop writing as I feel like I am talking rubbish. 
Forget the Universe - let us take the example of the cat. Seeing the cat walk by within me, does not make me one with the cat, in my opinion. I am just bigger and contain the cat. I have no idea how the cat is feeling.
Perhaps this is what I am longing for in my confused way
Bring it on
Sey
P.S. I had told myself to stop talking about this and just plunk my bum onto my seat everyday and keep at it - talking does not make me know anything, practice does
Qoute by Holy
Dear Holy,
Just read your reply and I like questions, this gives the opportunity to reflect how this works in me
To answer your question, there was never a holding back, from nothing. Together with the sudden k awakening came fearlessness. After that I found yoga lessons and strong bhakti and dedication to practice came to me.
I am no kriya practitioner, but a dedicated yogi, there was never fear or holdback, just curiosity and want to know and experience it all.
More and more there is the recognition that all is happening without doing.
There is non duality in which all exists, how we see this is depending from the perspective we are able to see. (my opinion)
Sorry for the simplicity, English is today 
I have difficulties with writing about me, still I do