Inner Silence - Antar Mouna - Guided Meditation Technique

       Antar Mouna means 'Inner Silence'.  Antar Mouna is a series of guided meditation techniques that progressively cultivate witnessing, mindfulness and ultimately, self-awareness.  

• Witnessing is the ability to remain self-aware and aware of the mind at the same time.
• Mindfulness is the ability to remain aware and present in each moment.
• Self-awareness results in self-knowledge and a sense of purpose.

       Antar Mouna teaches you the two most important elements to develop your mind take the first steps towards self-mastery.  It empowers you to:

• Better manage your thoughts, emotions, memories, desires and attitudes.
• Deal with and prevent anxiety, depression and cognitive decline.
• Clean the mind of old toxic thoughts and emotions.
• Access your innate resilence, intelligence and intuition.
• Develop authentic self-confidence.

       Antar Mouna is the foundation of yoga psychology and yoga therapy.  Mindfulness is scientifically recognized as a psychological intervention for stress, anxiety and various mental illness.

       Antar Mouna is a technique that empowers you to attain enlightenment by showing you how to disentangle yourself from an overactive mind.  The practice leads to an enlightening experience of deep inner silence and self-awareness.

      Swami Satyananda Saraswati of the Bihar School of Yoga, India, created 6 stages to Antar Mouna.  It is essential to master these stages prior to the more advanced and demanding stages.

Antar mouna Stage 1:

Teaches you to become aware of sensations in order to deeply relax the mind and to go within yourself without sleeping.

Antar Mouna Stage 2:

Teaches you to remain self-aware while passively observing the mind.  This allows you to remain relaxed when disturbing thought and emotion arises from the subconscious mind or while facing challenging situations.

What is Antar Mouna - Inner Silence?

       The Sanskrit word mouna means 'silence', and antar means 'inner'.  Therefore, the English name of this practice is "inner silence" and it is a great sadhana designed to make the aspirant aware of their inner silence as well as the inner noise which generally prevents one from knowing the silence.

       In our daily life our minds are almost continually externalized.  We see and hear only what is going on outside of us, and we have little understanding of the events  taking  place in our inner environment.  The practice of antar mouna is designed to turn this around, so that for at least a short period we can see the workings of our mind and understand them.  In reality antar mounta is one of the few "permanent sadhanas" which can be practised spontaneously all the twenty-four hours of the day by anyone who is really determined to know oneself.  By maintaining awareness of one's internal environment, thoughts, emotional reactions, etc., one can speed up one's personal evolution to the utmost degree.  It will make one understand the workings of one's own rational and irrational mind, as well as giving one an understanding of what make other people tick.

       The technique for the meditational practice of antar mouna is the first step toward attaining this permanent state of inner understanding.  Although it is to be practised for a maximum of one hour a day, its effect carry on after the practice is over and one will automatically start to know his own 'hidden side' and to see how he is reacting to life's situations in the clear and honest manner.

Stages of antar mouna

       The practice of antar mouna is sub-divided into number of stages.  The first stage of the technique is to be aware of all the outside sounds and occurrences that are going on around you.  The second stage is to withdraw oneself from all outside stimuli and to be aware only of the workings of the mind: what it is thinking, how it is reacting and what images are coming from the subconscious.  The third stage is the conscious creation for thoughts, which is followed in stage 4 by awareness and dissolution of spontaneous thoughts.  Stage 5, the last practicable stage, it is the suppression or removal of all thoughts, or the awareness of shoonya (the void), followed in stage 6 by the state of spontaneous meditation.

       Antar mouna is a complete training system for the awareness process; it teaches one how to know the processes of the mind and ways in which one can bring them under control.  It can e practised at any time by simply reflecting on the question, "What am I thinking?  What is occurring now in my mental sphere?"  When practised many times daily, this witnessing process becomes an automatic occurrence continuing by itself and showing you who you are, what you are doing here and where you are going.  It can truly be said that in this practice through the awareness of inner noise you will come to know the voice of silence, the golden sound that sings of eternity.

Antar Mouna - Inner Silence - Guided Meditation Techniques

Stage I:  Awareness of external stimuli.

The practice of antar mouna begins.

Please close your eyes and keep them closed throughout.

The asana is steady, the position is steady, the eyes are closed, the spinal cord is erect.

"I am prepared for inner silence" - this should be the mood of the mind.

Preliminary practice is not awareness of internal things, but awareness of external sensual experiences, different sounds, different sensations, different sensual experiences.

Concentrate on the external sounds and sensations, not at all considering them to be disturbances in concentration.  

With absolute concentration, with total external awareness do this practice until you find a change of atmosphere in your mind.

Don't fight with your senses, do not struggle with your sense expressions and sense experiences but become aware or become a spectator of them.

You should be aware.

You should also awaken the awareness of 'I am aware, I am hearing, I am aware that I am hearing Swamiji speaking'.

In this way the mind and the senses should be trained to become undisturbed by the sensual experiences. 

Neither the sound nor the taste nor the touch or anything else should disturb you at any cost.

Inspire of the fact that you hear the outer sounds or that you experience different sensations in your physical body, such as itching, laziness, scratching and so on, you should not be disturbed by them.  This particular aspect of sadhana is known as pratyahara, the fifth step of raja yoga.

Pratyahara means withdrawal of the senses, as hinted by Lord Krishna in the second chapter of Gita.

"Even as the tortoise withdraws its body within the framework of the shell, in the same manner the senses should be withdrawn."

Not by force but by a technique the senses should be withdrawn from the respective objects of the senses.

The senses should be calmed down by the drashta or sakshi attitude.

The senses should be calmed down by the attitude of "I am witnessing the experience of hearing and I am aware of the sound, the music of birds."

'I' is the third thing in this process.  

First is the ears, second is the object of experience, the sound, the music of the birds, and third is I, who is the spectator, who is the witness of this process of sense experiences.

Then in this way you should distinctly and deeply and intensely, with classification, develop this threefold awareness in the first stage of antar mouna.

The experiencer, the object of the experience and the seer of both.

The subject and the object, the ears and the sound, the eyes and the form, the skin and the touch, the tongue and the taste, the nose and the smell.

This should be witnessed properly, without any sense of disturbance.

This is the introversion of your sense experiences  and this you should do at any time, not at all hating the outer experiences, but looking at them with drasta bhava, with the attitude of a witness.

You will find within a few moments there is an atmosphere of calm, tranquility and peace, and then you will be ready for meditation.

This is for your homework for today.

Please practice it at home, at night, in the evening or in the day time; in the car or in the rickshaw; wherever you are, amidst your friends or alone.

Do not wait for calmness and silence.

There will be noise, there will be disturbances, the body will shake but you must develop the dharma of the calm and silent witness.

Stage 2:  Awareness of spontaneous thought process

The second stage of antar mouna consists of becoming aware of your thinking process.

You should become aware of thoughts, the spontaneous thought process, thoughts that come and go of their own accord.

You don't have to bring in a thought flow.

Let it come spontaneously and let it go of its own accord.
You must remain a silent witness of every thought that is going through your mind.

When you become aware of a particular thought you will have to say to your mind, 'Yes, I am thinking about this and that.'

If the mind supposedly become free of thought you should try to become aware of that state also.

There can come a stage of thoughtlessness even in the case of a beginner.

You are looking at the process of your thoughts and you are bound to be sure of the thoughts that are passing through.

You should remain alert all throughout, and the form of this is not to check the thoughts but to know the thoughts.

If sometimes you become absent minded and then you revive your consciousness, say to yourself,
'Well, I became absent minded for sometime and during those moments I was thinking of this and that.'

But please try to be aware of all thoughts that are spontaneously coming up, that are manifesting on your conscious plane.

They may be good thoughts, or they may be bad thoughts, but those thoughts do not come from anywhere outside.

They are expressions of your inner personality, they are expressions of yourself.

In the first kriya, in the first practice, the sense experiences came from outside.

Here, in this kriya the thoughts are manifestations or expressions of your inner self.

So therefore when you are able to see your own thoughts, you are able to know the content of your personality.

If bad thought do not come to your conscious mind continually, it mean that either you have become a liberated sage or only that the suppression is still there and the said suppression is too tight, the suppressions of the subconscious mind are not released.

Therefore, remember that you are an aspirant.

Remember you are a practitioner of dharana.

Remember you are a practitioner of pratyahara.

Bad thoughts and good thoughts will come.

They should come and you must bring them up.

If they come, please look at them differently, with absolute detachment, as a witness or as a spectator.

This is the second stage of antar mouna.

It is the practice of pratyahara in Raja Yoga.

The first step in Raja Yoga, is yama, then niyama, then asana, then pranayama and then comes pratyahara.

Pratyahara means return, pratyahara means retreat, pratyahara means withdrawal.

Please listen with absolute attention.

When bad thoughts come to your mind, do not stop them; immediately become alert, become aware that you are thinking of murder, of revenge, of robbery and so on.

If bad thoughts come to you and you set them aside, if you don't want to observe them, if you suppress them, they will come to you with greater force next time.

Stage 2:  Awareness of spontaneous thought process [Short Practice]

Sit or die down comfortably.

Don't create any mental inhibition, don't withdraw your mind.

Don't hate any experience, don't love any experience, don't react to any experience.

Don't react to any desirable experience, thought or feeling.

Let the sense capacities flow in freedom.

Don't withdraw the mind from disturbances, but follow the disturbances of thought, sound or any kind of disturbance.

Thoughts are stimulated and spontaneous from the depth of your mind. 

Thoughts without stimuli, or thoughts with stimuli from outside sounds.

Listen to any disturbing sound and follow it with awareness and concentration.

Follow every thought as a witness, as if you are looking from one corner of your brain.

'I am thinking... I am listening.... I am having this sensation.'

Keep on listening, seeing, witnessing the process of your concentration.

You will find thoughts coming-up, unstimulated, unagitated, from the very depth of your past. 

Meaningless, insignificant thoughts, in the form of a glimpse or in the twinkling of an eye.

Unless you are a careful witness, it will not be possible for you to follow the swift speed of your consciousness.

You will follow the free flow of your consciousness.

Spontaneous, desirable, undesirable.

Sometimes there is a mental block and no thoughts come.

It means that consciousness is not manifesting itself.

The mind goes on thinking.

Even now you are thinking, although you do not see it.

There is a veil put over the thought process.

Tear it off and find thought after thought.

They belong to past, present, different associations, like lightning.  

When a thought comes, see it and register it in your mind.

Many thoughts you don't want to remember, you want to escape from.

This is natural.

To escape from the thought is our psychological nature.

Memory or past; everything is suppressed.

If the veil is removed, it can manifest itself, and when it works in freedom there is joy and happiness.

If the past expresses itself while you are practising detached witnessing, you become free from agony and other reactions.

Most important is to see yourself.

One - allow freedom.

Two - see yourself.

The whole process of manifesting, of course.

Don't oppose any thought, don't hesitate, don't suffer from any thought of guilt.

Free thinking but vigilant seeing.

You are no the thought, but you are the witness of the thought.  Absolute detachment.

Don't associate yourself with any thought, keep yourself separate, as a seer of thoughts, as a beholder of experiences.

You are not the thought, you are not the energy of your consciousness  you do not hate any thought, you do not love any thought, you do not like any thought, and you do not dislike any thought, but allow them to manifest.

You do not see yourself thinking.

It is difficult to see yourself thinking

It is easy to think unconsciously; it is difficult to think consciously.

The thinking process is spontaneous.

Sometimes the process is stimulated by external influences.

Spontaneous thoughts come from the very depth of your personality.  

Withdraw the curtain of inhibition, then the thoughts come spontaneously.

But if they don't come spontaneously, then we shall stimulate the thinking process.

When the consciousness manifests itself freely, when the curtains of the inhibitions are fully or partially withdrawn, then first the horrible thoughts will come.

Good thoughts will come later.

If they come in the beginning, they come on account of your social behaviour or environment, because you have been taught to be good, merciful, etc., but this is not a true manifestation of your consciousness.

That is the negative face of your consciousness, your personality, your past; it has to come out and if not in thoughts, then it comes out in actions.

Don't be shy or tense; remain as a witness of the whole process.

Don't identify yourself with any thoughts, remain a witness, apart.

It may be the feeling of sleep, or drowsiness, any thought from outside, or the thought of this sound.

Always say, 'I am a witness of what I hear, of thoughts passing in my mind, feelings of whatever, or the thought of the practice.'

Be a witness of any thought, of any silly thought.

Constant awareness of anything happening in and outside you, in your consciousness or in your subconsciousness.

In you the the witnessing consciousness, in you the ever alert consciousness of witnessing thoughts.

The more you come to that inner consciousness, the more you become that beholding.

If you are able to awaken the inner consciousness in the form of a witness, then nothing in your mind will go unnoticed.

Even the flickering of your eye or scratching of the body, or the slightest thought, everything will be noticed by you.

If you will be able to keep your inner consciousness alert, then no phenomena concerning you will go unnoticed.

No thought, no feeling; consciousness  unconsciousness and subconsciousness will be unfolded to you; your whole consciousness will be unfolded to you.

The most important things are to keep the inner consciousness constant, and that you yourself should manifest thoughts, feelings, senses and processes.

The inner consciousness must be constantly vigilant, should watch peace, agitation, disturbance, desirable and undesirable thoughts.

You must behold all feelings, all thoughts, all dimensions of consciousness.

Anything your mind can comprehend, your inner consciousness must be constant beholder of that.

And if the thoughts stop in a mental block - nothing comes, then you must behold that nothing is coming.

Any painful situation which might come up, witness it.

Register constantly what you see, hear, know, feel, "I know, I feel, I hear, I see', and so on.

This will be a truly wonderful experience of self-purification, self-witnessing and self-analysis, free mind and alert consciousness.

Go on thinking and beholding, open the door of your thoughts, open your subconscious mind, go on seeing it.

Now withdraw your mind from freedom because the practice of antar mouna is over.

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Source: Excerpts from the book on Meditations from the Tantras by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Bihar School of Yoga.

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From Despair to Hope: The Tihar Story

       Tihar Central Jail is the largest prison complex in Asia.  Earlier, it was considered one of the most notorious as well.  It was meant to house 2,500 inmates, but around 9,000 prisoners were incarcerated there -- and that included women and young children, some of whom had been born in prison and had never seen the outside world.  As for healthcare and education... well, they were non-existent.  One often heard monstrous tales of corruption and extortion both by guards and criminals inside the prison.  Besides, Tihar was filthy.  It was lawless, and violence was a way of life there -- the gang wars, the drugs, and the inhumane living conditions made Tihar a hell on earth.  A place where all hope was lost.

       On 1st May 1993, when I was appointed Inspector General of Prisons and assumed charge of Tihar, I was well aware that it was a 'punishment posting'.  That morning, I stepped out of the staff car and walked towards my new office at Tihar, with the strange feeling that I was walking on quicksand with a mountain on my back.  I was in charge of the place, but had no idea what lay in wait for me within those high walls topped by barbed wire.

       My office was claustrophobic, and the rats there apparently had the right of way.  And when I called my first staff meeting, I sensed that the staff were neither enthusiastic nor motivated -- merely curious to find out what my agenda was.  And whenever I asked a question they looked at one another through the corners of their eyes, and gave me guarded, non-committal answers.  One did not have to be psychic to realise that the task ahead would be an uphill one.

       My mother would always say, 'Do everything with passion and purpose, and help others.  That's the only way to live.'  It had become a way of life with me -- my mission, in fact -- and I was determined to do just that.  Ever since my early days as police officer, I had believed that the purpose of prison should not be to punish offenders but to rehabilitate and reform them.  I believe everyone (if given a chance), will try to change, and I wanted to give them that chance.  Now, it had become possible for me to translate that desire into action.  I was confident that we -- the prison staff, the prisoners and I -- would, in due course, find ways of working together as a team, for collective growth and reform.  The prison would somehow be transformed into a humane place where the convicts could pick-up the skills to live productive lives and stay away from crime, even after.

       I had joined the police force because of the power it gave me to change 'the system', and nudge things in the right direction.  But how did one do that in a place such as Tihar?  I was all too aware that I was venturing into the unknown... walking the razor's edge, as it were... and no, it would not be easy.  My spiritual beliefs, however, have always been an enormous source of strength and comfort to me.  So I decided to follow the call of my inner voice.  I wanted to do more.  I wanted to share more.  I wanted to create more.  I wanted to give more.  And transform Tihar -- which was now a training ground for more criminals -- into an ashram.

       The first time I set out on my rounds of the prison wards, I saw faces, and more faces with all sorts of expressions -- angry, anxious, bewildered, despairing, blank ...  They were in dire need of help, but first I had to find a way to reach out to them and earn their trust.  The question was: how?

       I paused, and suddenly, I felt I had the answer, 'Do you pray?'  I asked.  Payer is something that remains internally with me.  If things have been good for me, I thank the Almighty and my circumstances.  If I face a challenge and don't have the answer, I pray.  When I asked the prisoners whether they pray, I was basically asking them whether they were seeking help.

         No one answered.  The prisoners looked confused and turned to the warders who looked even more confused.  I repeated the question, and this time there were a few hesitant nods.  I knew instinctively that prayer would prove to be the big break through, but it would take a little time.  And I needed something right then that would help me connect.

       Did they know the popular song, Heh malik tere bande hum?  Yes, of course, they did!  I asked them to sing it with me, and at the end of the song, I felt as if they had begun to respond to me.  It was a small beginning, but an encouraging one.

       Quickly, I chalked out a simple routine -- every day, I went around the prison, chatted with the prisoners, listened to their problems, got their feedback, sang, joked and laughed with them.  And made sure that they got wholesome food as well, not the usual burnt chapatis and watery dhal.  For me, spirituality is clean thought, clean mind, clean action, and clean human being.  So, one step at a time, we climbed the mountain -- from the problem of drug addiction to healthcare to vocational education and sanitation, we tackled them all.  Nothing is impossible, no target unachievable; we just have to try harder and harder ... focus on the present and do our best.

VIPASSANA MEDITATION

       You can't  steal or kill someone without generating an incredible amount of anger and hatred.  So for any positive transformation a person must cultivate a moral mind first.  It was evident that the prisoners needed more holistic solutions.  The change had to come from within them, and touch them on a spiritual level as well.  I found the answer in vipassana meditation.  Why vipassana?  Well, like the Tihar Jail, my temple has all religions in it.  It is the power of spirituality that I worship, not the form.  and vipassana is not a religion, or a mantra.  It help us understand the true nature of reality and ourselves, by exploring the deepest levels of the mind.  And, most importantly, in a place like prison where there are people of all faiths who hold rigidly to their views, vipassana works well because we can enter the realm of the spiritual without praying to a specific deity.

       Tihar harboured hardcore criminals and was rife with feelings of the revenge, anger and hatred.  Yet, when vipassana meditation was first introduced, it proved to be a success and there was a distinct transformation in the men who attended the course.

       In April 1994, a more ambitious vipassana meditation programme was held in Tihar, this time for over 1000 prisoners (charged with crimes from drug dealing to robbery to murder and terrorism) and staff from various religious backgrounds.  With the productive and cooperative spirit now prevailing in the prison, the inmates drug drainage ditches, laid pipes, weeded and levelled a large area and helped erect a huge shamiana.  To put over one thousand prisoners together in a tent such as this was a high security risk.  Yet, as always, I felt that there was an invisible hand protecting me and I was grateful.  At times, when I could have been killed or hurt, something has always protected and stayed with me.  To me, it is a special spiritual grace.

       In the early hours of the day during one of the vipassana courses, a sudden storm struck, and the shamiana collapsed in the rain and wind.  Everything was soaked and the place was wrecked.

       After breakfast, the weather began to clear, and a large team of prisoners pitched in to put things in order.  They dried the cushions and carpets outside, redid the wiring and baled out the water.  It was a massive cooperative effort, and the tent was ready for the first discourse, on time!

       During the course, the men battled their personal demons.  On the closing day, many prisoners expressed their joy at their 'self-liberation'.  Also, the prisoners and the jail staff began to interact much more harmoniously.

       The meditation had such an effect on the prisoners that, later one convict actually went on the stand confessed to his crime!  Another accused of murder begged forgiveness from a victim's family.  And that year, two girls from the victim's family tied rakhis on his wrist.  'Today, I look after them as if they are my own family,' he says.  There were more tales to remorse and gratitude ... and redemption.  I could not think of a better way to return human beings to humanity!

       And my own journey...?  Vipasana helped me look at my work from a clearer perspective  taught me to police myself before policing others; seek forgiveness and forgive, thus making me more effective ... and leaving me with a lighter heart!

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Source: Excerpts from the book on Chicken Soup for the Indian Spiritual Soul" article written by Kiran Bedi.
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The Science of Kriya Yoga

Mahaavatar Babaji

Lahiri Mahasaya

Sri Yukteshwar Giri

Sri Paramahansa Yogananda

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 Infinite through a certain action or rite.” A yogi who faithfully follows its technique is gradually freed from karma or the universal chain of causation.

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 clarified 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, “is a revival of the same science which Krishna gave, millenniums ago, to Arjuna, and which was later known to Patanjali, and to Christ, St. John, St. Paul, and other disciples.”

Kriya Yoga is referred to by Krishna, India’s 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 quieting the heart, the yogi learns life control.”

Krishna also relates that it was he, in a former incarnation, who communicated the indestructible yoga to an ancient illuminato, Vivasvat, who gave it to Manu, the great legislator. He, in turn, instructed Ikshwaku, the father of India’s solar warrior dynasty. Passing thus from one to another, the royal yoga was guarded by the rishis until the coming of the materialistic ages. Then, due to priestly secrecy and man’s indifference, the sacred knowledge gradually became inaccessible.

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.”

St. Paul knew Kriya Yoga, or a technique very similar to it, by which he could switch life currents to and from the senses. He was therefore able to say: “Verily, I protest by our rejoicing which I have in Christ, I die daily.” By daily withdrawing his bodily life force, he united it by yoga union with the rejoicing (eternal bliss) of the Christ consciousness. In that felicitous state, he was consciously aware of being dead to the delusive sensory world of maya.

In the initial states of God-contact (sabikalpa samadhi) the devotee’s consciousness merges with the Cosmic Spirit; his life force is withdrawn from the body, which appears “dead,” or motionless and rigid. The yogi is fully aware of his bodily condition of suspended animation. As he progresses to higher spiritual states (nirbikalpa samadhi), however, he communes with God without bodily fixation, and in his ordinary waking consciousness, even in the midst of exacting worldly duties.

“Kriya Yoga is an instrument through which human evolution can be quickened,” Sri Yukteswar explained to his students. “The ancient yogis discovered that the secret of cosmic consciousness is intimately linked with breath mastery. This is India’s unique and deathless contribution to the world’s treasury of knowledge. The life force, which is ordinarily absorbed in maintaining the heart-pump, must be freed for higher activities by a method of calming and stilling the ceaseless demands of the breath.”

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 man’s 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 sufficiently 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: 365,000 years of evolution in one year. In three years, a Kriya Yogi can thus accomplish by intelligent self-effort the same result which nature brings to pass in a million years. The Kriya short cut, of course, can be taken only by deeply developed yogis. With the guidance of a guru, such yogis have carefully prepared their bodies and brains to receive the power created by intensive practice.

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 Infinite Goal.

The body of the average man is like a fifty-watt lamp, which cannot accommodate the billion watts of power roused by an excessive practice of Kriya. Through gradual and regular increase of the simple and “foolproof” methods of Kriya, man’s body becomes astrally transformed day by day, and is finally fitted to express the infinite potentials of cosmic energy—the first materially active expression of Spirit.

Kriya Yoga has nothing in common with the unscientific breathing exercises taught by a number of misguided zealots. Their attempts to forcibly hold breath in the lungs is not only unnatural but decidedly unpleasant. Kriya, on the other hand, is accompanied from the very beginning by an accession of peace, and by soothing sensations of regenerative effect in the spine.

The ancient yogic technique converts the breath into mind. By spiritual advancement, one is able to cognize the breath as an act of mind—a dream-breath.

Many illustrations could be given of the mathematical relationship between man’s respiratory rate and the variations in his states of consciousness. A person whose attention is wholly engrossed, as in following some closely knit intellectual argument, or in attempting some delicate or difficult physical feat, automatically breathes very slowly. Fixity of attention depends on slow breathing; quick or uneven breaths are an inevitable accompaniment of harmful emotional states: fear, lust, anger. The restless monkey breathes at the rate of 32 times a minute, in contrast to man’s average of 18 times. The elephant, tortoise, snake and other animals noted for their longevity have a respiratory rate which is less than man’s. The tortoise, for instance, who may attain the age of 300 years breathes only 4 times per minute.

The rejuvenating effects of sleep are due to man’s temporary unawareness of body and breathing. The sleeping man becomes a yogi; each night he unconsciously performs the yogic rite of releasing himself from bodily identification, and of merging the life force with healing currents in the main brain region and the six sub-dynamos of his spinal centers. The sleeper thus dips unknowingly into the reservoir of cosmic energy which sustains all life.

The voluntary yogi performs a simple, natural process consciously, not unconsciously like the slow-paced sleeper. The Kriya Yogi uses his technique to saturate and feed all his physical cells with undecaying light and keep them in a magnetized state. He scientifically makes breath unnecessary, without producing the states of subconscious sleep or unconsciousness.

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, the yogi’s body and brain cells are electrified with the spiritual elixir. Thus he removes himself from studied observance of natural laws, which can only take him—by circuitous means as given by proper food, sunlight, and harmonious thoughts—to a million-year Goal. It needs twelve years of normal healthful living to effect even slight perceptible change in brain structure, and a million solar returns are exacted to sufficiently refine the cerebral tenement for manifestation of cosmic consciousness.

Untying the cord of breath which binds the soul to the body, Kriya serves to prolong life and enlarge the consciousness to infinity. The yoga method overcomes the tug of war between the mind and the matter-bound senses, and frees the devotee to reinherit his eternal kingdom. He knows his real nature is bound neither by physical encasement nor by breath, symbol of the mortal enslavement to air, to nature’s elemental compulsions.

Introspection, or “sitting in the silence,” is an unscientific way of trying to force apart the mind and senses, tied together by the life force. The contemplative mind, attempting its return to divinity, is constantly dragged back toward the senses by the life currents. Kriya, controlling the mind directly through the life force, is the easiest, most effective, and most scientific avenue of approach to the Infinite. In contrast to the slow, uncertain “bullock cart” theological path to God, Kriya may justly be called the “airplane” route.

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 five sense telephones of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Attaining this power of sense-disconnection, the yogi finds 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, there’s no more dying then.

The life of an advanced Kriya Yogi is influenced, not by effects of past actions, but solely by directions from the soul. The devotee thus avoids the slow, evolutionary monitors of egoistic actions, good and bad, of common life, cumbrous and snail-like to the eagle hearts.

Referring to yoga’s sure and methodical efficacy, 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!”

The actual technique must be learned from a Kriyaban or Kriya Yogi; of Yogoda Satsanga Society/Self-Realization Fellowship.  Here a broad reference must suffice.

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Source: Excerpts from  the book on “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda.
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Yoga Nidra Techniques

Introduction

       Yoga Nidra is one of the most powerful methods, not only for inducing deep relaxation in a minimum amount of time, but also for reawakening the degenerated brain nuclei and centers. One hour of yoga nidra is equal to four hours of sleep.  The practice of yoga nidra is not only for those who are physically mentally exhausted.  It is also for those who tired of taking rest and those who have little interest in life.  Yoga nidra will rejuvenate and revive the physical, mental and emotional personality.  It will help those with tamasic nature by inducing and extra influx of blood and energy.  The practice of yoga nidra is particularly recommended for spiritual aspirants who suffer from fear, tension, anger, greed and other imbalances.  It is also for those who want to develop greater awareness and mental clarity.

       In the borderline yoga nidra state, between sleep and wakefulness, you make contact with the subconscious and unconscious mind where all your past memories are stored.  Those experiences that were particularly negative or painful have been pushed deep into the unconscious, beyond conscious recall. 

      It is recommended that, for the first few times, you practice yoga nidra is a class environment with a teacher to give directions.  Then you will understand the purpose of the technique more fully and will be better acquainted with the method of practicing each stage.  If you do not have access to a yoga teacher, try to obtain a class recording.

       In yoga nidra, you do not sleep.  You must remain aware throughout the practice and try to follow all the instructions without intellectualizing.  Of course one can also use yoga nidra as a prelude to sleep.  If one practises for 20 or 30 minutes before sleeping the quality of the sleep will be greatly improved.

Sankalpa

       During yoga nidra  a resolve or sankalpa is made.  It should be something of immense importance to you.  Repeat it mentally three times with feeling and emphasis.  It is best if your sankalpa has a spiritual objective, but you can also make a resolve to break a habit or to improve some aspect of your personality.  In yoga nidra the resolutions and decisions we make and the thoughts we create, become potentially powerful.  They go into the depths of the subconscious and in the course of time they will definitely become realities.

Techniques

Preparation

Get ready for yoga nidra.  Lie down in shavasana, the dead man's pose and make yourself as comfortable as possible.  Keep your feet apart and let them fall a little to the sides, arms slightly away from the body with the palms of the hands facing upwards.  Make sure your position and clothing are comfortable so that you will not need to move during the practice.

Close your eyes and do not open them at all until the practice is completed.

Make any final adjustments to your posture and clothing now.

During yoga nidra you must try to remain aware.  Do not allow yourself to sleep.  Say to yourself mentally, "I will not sleep".

Now take a deep breath and as you breath in, feel calmness spreading throughout the body.  As you breathe out, let your whole body relax completely.

Relaxation

Become aware of your body lying on the floor in total stillness.

Awareness of the whole body from the tips to the toes to the top of the head.  Let each part of the body relax completely.  Make sure there is no tension anywhere.

Awareness of all the parts of the body which are in contact with the floor.  Awareness of the arms, the hands and the floor, the elbows and the floor, shoulder blades and the floor... Awareness of the legs, the heel in contact with the floor, the calf muscles and the floor, back of the thighs and the floor, buttocks and the floor...  Awareness of all parts of the back which are in contact with the floor.  The head resting on the floor...  Awareness of every part of the body which is in contact with the floor.

Feel that the whole body is becoming very heavy.  Awaken the feeling of heaviness in every part of the body.  The whole body is feeling so light that it seems to be floating away from the floor.  Awareness of heaviness.

Experience the feeling of lightness in the body.  The whole body is feeling so light that it seems to be floating away from the floor.

Experience this lightness.

Resolve or Sankalpa

Now is the time to make your resolve.  You must find a resolve for yourself and repeat it mentally three times.  Repeat it to yourself when emphasis ad feeling.  Remember that the resolve you make in yoga nidra is bound to come true.

Rotation of consciousness

Rotate your awareness to all the different parts of the body.  As each part of the body is named, without any physical moment, take your awareness to that part.  Your awareness is to jump from point to point as quickly as possible.

Become aware of the right hand thumb.  The right hand thumb, second finger, third, fourth, little finger, back of your hand, palm, wrist, lower arm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder, armpit, right side of the chest, right side of the waist, the right hip...

Become aware of the left hand thumb.  The left hand thumb, second finger, third, fourth, little finger, back of the hand, palm, wrist, lower arm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder, armpit, left side of the chest, left side of the waist, the left hip...

Become aware of the right big toe.  The right big toe, second toe, third, fourth, little toe, top of the foot, sole of the foot, heel, ankle, calf muscle, the knee, thigh, the right buttock...

Become aware of the left big toe.  The left big toe, second, toe, third, fourth, little toe, top of the foot, sole of the foot, heel, ankle, calf muscle, the  knee, thigh, the left buttock...

Awareness of the right buttock, the left left buttock, the whole of the back, lower portion of the back, middle portion of the back, upper portion of the back, the right shoulder blade, left shoulder blade, the whole of the neck, the back of the head, and the whole of the face...

Awareness of the chin, the lower lip, upper lip, right cheek, left cheek, right ear, left ear, the nose, right nostril, left nostril, tip of the nose, the right eye, the left eye, right eyelid, left eyelid, right eyebrow, left eyebrow, the forehead, the eyebrow center.

Awareness of eyebrow centre...

(You can repeat rotation of consciousness once or twice more if you need to further relax the body).

Awareness of the whole of the right leg, whole of the left leg, both legs together... Whole of the right arm, whole of the left arm, both arms together...  Whole of the back, whole of the front, whole of the head...  The whole body together, the whole body... the whole body...

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Source:  Sure Ways to Self-Realization by Swami Satyananda Saraswati.

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