Kriya Tantra Yoga

Learn and Practice the Ancient Art From a Contemporary Master

Lecture: Mysteries of the Tantric Path

7:00 PM Friday 3 Aug; No Charge

Breath of Ecstasy Class begins at 9 am Saturday 4 Aug

Questions?  562 556 0390

Couples or Singles Welcome ! 

For a thousand years the core technique of Tantra, Bhairavi Kriya, has brought joy to tantric practitioners. In ancient days they were called heroes (Veera Sadhak) because they demonstrated the strength, discrimination and courage to embrace their sexual energy as a powerful tool in their path of merging with the Divine.  They overcame cultural bias and looked beyond societal mores in their quest for experiencing Satchitananda through the Divinization of every act of human experience.  Also known as Urdhvamnaya (Urdhvareta), and developed by the great Tantric Siddhas the technique is noted in both the Ramayana and Mahabharata

Your Instructor, Ayyappa Giri Maharaj has practiced and taught these powerful techniques for many decades.  (for information go to yoginiashram.com or blog.kalipath.com)

Location: Yogini Ashram, 14528 Leibacher Av. Norwalk Ca 90650

Bring your own Vegetarian Lunch.   Bring flowers and a fresh coconut. RSVP Please to Ayyappa108@aol.com . by 2 Aug or call 562 556 0390. Leave a contact number. Om Kaliani Swaha!  Om Shanti!

© E. Ayyappa 2012

Pilgrimage to Kailash, Tibet

Mount Kailash is the ultimate Holy of all Holy’s and emerges out of the Tibetan Plateau as a beautifully white snow capped Shiva Linga embraced by a most artful natural yoni of unimaginable beauty.  The sacred mountain is the most physically challenging and vitally powerful single pilgrimage destination in the entire world, especially sacred to those who have a relationship and experience with Shiva directly. The great Tibetan Yogi, Milirepa, performed many miracles here.  Along with Hindus and Yogis, mostly from western countries and Tamil Nadu, the Tibetans and other Buddhists from around the world can be seen on pilgrimage some stopping at the cave where Milirepa performed great Siddhis. Holy Kailash is the very abode of Shiva and Parvati, and Sathguru Babaji has established a seat of energy and performed siddhis here as well.  Other Siddhas have received diksha from Shiva directly at the holy site, particularly Nandi Devar and Thirumoolar. Some of the Shivite Saints (Nayanars) of South India are known to have miraculously been transported to Kailash. Shiva’s sacred Trishul and Dumaru are kept in the depths of nearby Lake Manasarovar, increasing the overall energy vortex. 

For many Centuries Yogis and Sadhus hiked over the Himalayas on the Kailash Manasorovar trail.  The trail skirts along the border of India and Nepal as it moves north and then eastward until it crosses the Tibetan border and reaches Burang, only 20 miles south of Lake Manasarovar. Although this pilgrim has heard of recent incursions of individuals by that route they are rare and dangerous as anyone not entering the region in an approved method is subject to arrest and imprisonment by the Chinese authorities.  Therefore there are no longer sadhus who make the trek through that route.

Circumambulation, or walking around the sacred vortex (seat of energy), has always had an important role to Yogis and pilgrims in both India and Tibet.  It is done in a clockwise direction, just as in the great temples of South India, and referred to as Parikrama.  Five days at the 15,000 foot elevation as the jeep safari moved across Tibet helped pilgrims accommodate to the relatively higher elevations at Kaliash.

The parikrama begins at Tarchen, generally considered base camp for the yatra, although jeeps shuttle pilgrims to a slightly higher elevation to begin.

Most of the pilgrims 7-hour trek to Dehara Puk on the 1^st day was accompanied by a severe snow storm which carpeted the trails and mountains and remained on the mountain at the 16,000 foot level with depth increasing as one approached the Dolima Pass, the highest point of the route at 18,458 feet.  With Shiva on the heart, pilgrims pushed through the hail and snow.  Yaks loaded with food and supplies move around the sacred mountain with the pilgrims.  Later in the summer the trek is easier (half of the south Indians, who are more sensitive to the weather, chose not to complete the parikrama, stunned by the bitter cold and ice).  Even those who had horses were not spared and the horses cannot be used in the presence of a narrow path, whenever the descent is icy, and when a cliff or ledge poses any manner of risk. 

Just beyond the Dolima Pass, pilgrims were slipping on ice as they began the descent, forcing them to slide down segments near the pass on their butts, which was the only way to avoid injury from slipping and landing upon rocks.  The author was particularly grateful for being challenged nearly to his breaking point and for the opportunity to face the fear of death and injury.

Half of the group which this pilgrim had left with on the first day choose not to continue on the second day.  A year of aerobics barely prepared this pilgrim for the experience, especially on the 2^nd day facing snow and ice.

Shiva’s Deer

During the pilgrimage, two small herd of deer were seen in the area, one even as we were bathing in the sacred waters of Manasarovar.  We were reminded of the ancient association of the deer with Shiva, which he holds firmly in one hand.  Like the mind, the Deer jumps from one place to another swiftly, similar to the mind leaping from one thought to another.  As the ultimate role model for the Yogis, His holding the deer indicates that He has attained maturity and firmness in the thought process.  Located in the western part of Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), southwestern Tibet, and at the center of the Changtang Plateau on the northern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Nagri Prefecture covers a vast stretch of land and has a sparse population. It is home to dozens of holy lakes and mountains in Tibet such as the Mt. Kailash and the Manasarovar (also known at Mapam Yumco by the Tibetans). The region still remains mysterious and untouchable for its high elevation and remote location.

Manasarovar Lake

In ancient times Brahma applied His spiritual power to form the Lake Manasarovar to offer his sons, who were acetics, a place to bathe following tapas on Mt Kailash. The cold water is certain to cleanse each and every weary soul. Puranas record that the waters of Lake Manasarova’s, like the Ganges, will cleanse sin and purify body and especially mind.   The lake (Sarovar) cleanses the mind (manas).  Lake Manasarovar is one of the largest high altitude lakes in the Himalayas.  Manasarovar is the source of the Sutlej River which is the easternmost large tributary of the Indus. Also nearby are the sources of the Brahmaputra River, the Indus River, and the Karnali River (Ghaghara R.), an important tributary of the Ganges River. On the northeast corner of Lake Manasarovar is the Sonam Dorje, or abbot of the Jiwu Monastery.  Padmasambhava did sadhana in the cave directly below the small temple at the monistery.  Due to Padmasambhava,

After a bracing bath in the glacier lake, the author used a yogic process to establish personal soul seat of power by the banks of the Lake.  There should be no doubt. A pilgrimage to Kailash is far more than an opportunity of a lifetime, regardless of any risk.

Dear Friends,

During the early 1970’s, My Adi Guru & Kriya Pranayam Siddha, Yogi S.A.A. Ramaiah (who spent significant time in the Kumaun Himalaya with the immortal Kriya Master-Avatar, Babaji) would on rare occasions lecture to us, his dormitory soul students, on the consciousness related to the chakras as the kundalini rose to the higher states.  Unlike current neo- tantrics who jabber on about the chakras and nadis with little or no actual experience other than what they learn in books, Yogiar had complete mastery of the nadis and could enter into the breathless state of Nirvakalpa Samadhi at will.  Once he delivered a lecture to a group of several hundred persons in Colombo, Sri Lanka while three physicians monitored his pulse and heart beat.  They were amazed themselves to report in real time to the crowd their observations: the quickening of his pulse on one side of the body simultaneous to the slowing of the pulse on the opposite side.  2 minutes later, while delivering a spiritual lecture, he had reversed the phenomenon.  By current medical understanding this is not possible.  I will share more on that event at a later time. 

On another occasion, He demonstrated the breathless state to a group of physician-researchers in Australia.  Even though they were forewarned that his heart would stop they obviously did not believe him, because as soon as it did stop, they panicked and gave him an injection to stimulate his heart.  He later said the doctors almost killed him.  He never again demonstrated Samadhi to physicians.

In 1971, I lived for in Sri Lanka at the behest of Yogiar.  One of my very beloved friends and Kriya Yoga Sadhak, Rajendram, gave me a photograph of Yogiar in Samadhi.  It was one of a kind and I have kept it with me for the last 40 years.  I have been in the presence of Yogiar when he emerged from that divine bliss.  A glimpse of his ecstasy as his eyes roll forward from his mergence is a powerful sight that even after decades, causes the body to tingle with electricity.  Concerned that Babaji may take me abruptly, I am publishing it now for the first time to share will all Kriya Yogis, practitioners and devotees. 

                                                                                    Jai GuruDev!…Jai Babaji!  Om Tat Sat!  

                                                                                    Ayyappa

"Just as wherever an elephant walks becomes a path so wherever a Kuala Yogi treads, there also is the path."

Kulanarva Tantra¹⁷²

The path of Tantra historically has four stages and several means of approach by which the spiritual aspirant seeks psychic opening.  Tradition has outlined the four stages; carya, Kriya, Yoga, and jnana. It should be noted that all of these terms have meanings other than describing the stages of spiritual growth as well.   Although there may be a natural progression in the development of an aspirant from carya to jnana there is also overlap at each and every stage.  Carya is the period in which the individual discovers an inner drive to seek and find a guru or teacher.  This is a period in which he or she seeks out holy men and women.  Daily worship (puja) is performed and the person develops the devotional approach (bhava) of a servant of the goddess.  The maturing carya derives great pleasure from spiritual service such  as cleaning the temple, helping devotees, and serving the teacher.  Through the practice of carya one achieves the stage of Kriya as the blossoming of heartfelt mature devotion and love for god or goddess (bhakti) is developed.  The Kriya practitioner (sadhak) metaphorically lives in the temple. With mature bhakti he or she develops an intimate relationship with Shiva or Shakti.  It is possible that rituals are sometimes felt to be merely externalized formalities which lack meaning.  An outright aversion to ritual is possible and the Kriya sadhak prefers the internalized experiences initiated by practical techniques such as meditation (dhynam) and breathing (pranayam).  As the Divine approach matures the sadhak reaches the stage of Yoga where god or goddess is seen rather as a friend or lover so intimate and at once transcendental that the object and the subject of love is occasionally interchanged.  Having reached the stage of connection  to the life blood of the path (Yoga) the need for teachers and instruction is past.  At this stage the sadhak does not go to others for he realizes that the way of freedom and bliss (moksha) lies within and he increasingly accepts that responsibility.  At this point he or she follows inner Guru, usually, but not always, based on the earlier training of Guru and increasing direct communication with the inner source.  He may practice karma, bhakti, jnana or a wide variety of Kriya Yoga techniques, often in combination but there are no longer questions in the mind about the direction of the path.  Satsang with others no longer involves personal need but rather enjoyment and service for this developing yogi who increasingly becomes a generator of spiritual power in his own right.  As the soul advances into the final stage (jnana) the sense of identity as separate from love and the Divine is lost.

Karma Yoga

Karma Yoga is the path of dedicated action.  "Engaged in dedicated activity of his life's duty (dharma), his mind as completely detached as the water on the lotus leaf, he should constantly strive to free his soul by the knowledge of divine truth".  Thus the Mahanirvana Tantra expresses the lofty goal of Kriya karma Yoga.  One of the Siddhas most striking characteristic teachings is their insistence that the Tantric practitioner need not renounce their trades and professions but rather should engage in their livelihood honestly, sincerely which would lead to liberation.  The authors Guru required all his student to work for a minimum 8 hours daily in a job or profession and do 8 hours of sadhana daily.

Jnana Yoga

Jnana Yoga is the process and path of discrimination.  The thorn of ignorance (ajnana) is removed by the thorn of knowledge (jnana).  Vijnana, by contrast, is transcendental knowledge.  On attaining vijnana both ajnana and jnana are discarded and becomes one of Direct Knowing.  Ramakrishna often said that a person who has merely heard of milk is ignorant, a person who has seen milk has knowledge, but that person alone who has drunk milk has been nourished.  One uses jnana to attain vijnana.  Jnana then is used to understand and discriminate between that which is real and that which is not.

Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion.  Love of God is of two levels.  The vaidhi devotee is limited by his nature to formal, structured, more external, devotion.  All devotees begin as vaidhi devotees.  They may count and record their actions as a miser keeps track of and revels in his money.  Such a devotee aspires to enjoy the fruit of their spiritual work and thus offers a conditional love to the cosmos with the expectation of some reward or other.  Through the maturing experience of incarnations, the raga devotee emerges and the aspirant becomes absorbed in a passionate unconditional love of god.  The vaidhi bhakti may enter and leave the path relatively like a comet but the raga bhakti maintains his connection to the Satguru and the inner spiritual reality throughout his life, and beyond.  Not that it is a difficult choice.  Once awakened, His aspiration and love of God would never permit him to lead a superficial, materialistic life.  God himself assumes responsibility for the raga bhakti.  Said Ramakrishna, "Those who are held by God have nothing to fear.  The son who holds to his fathers hand while walking along the narrow ridge of a rice field, may slip if he absent-mindedly lets go of the father's hand, but if the father holds the son by the hand there is no such danger."   How does one develop such divine love?  "Through restlessness", replied the master - "the restlessness that a child in distress feels for his mother.  The child feels bewildered when separated from his mother, and weeps longingly for her.  If the devotee can weep like that for God he can even see him."

"There are various qualities of bhakti", said Ramakrishna.  "The inferior devotee sees God as far away in heaven."  The mediocre devotee says, "God exists in all beings as life and consciousness."  But the loftiest devotee who has had the divine vision knows that "It is God Himself who has become EVERYTHING,  all that is seen is verily the form of God.  It is He alone who exists in and through all the universe."

Guru

The Guru provides the glue which attaches the aspirant to the appropriate path.  The syllable "gu" signifies darkness, "ru" is that which restrains it;  Thus the one who restrains the darkness of ignorance is the guru.  Kulanarva says, "Ga signifies wealth of knowledge, "R" illumination, and "U" identity with Shiva, the cosmic soul.  Thus he who contains these within self is Guru.  For the alchemy of transformation to work, the disciple must see the gifts of the guru as from God himself; and then accept responsibility for growth using the seeds planted by the guru.  This is achieved as a result of many lifetimes of spiritual discipline and through divine grace which descends to those who have prepare a fitting vehicle.

My diksha guru, Yogi Ramaiah, would say, "The first sign of greatness is to appreciate what is great in others."  Ultimately, spiritual greatness manifests for every sincere pilgrim and is often initiated through contact with the spiritual teacher, the guru.  Guru is the ultimate teacher since the ultimate goal of life is the attainment of spiritual knowledge.  One should see the guru as a reflection of the divine.  Success is assured for the devotee who sees the One operating through the guru.  The words of the guru are literally the manifestation of the cosmic wisdom for the disciple.  The divine literally speaks and works through the guru.  Thus the disciple is nourished.  Those who have reached the stage of being able to learn in this way understand it clearly.  The blind cannot lead the blind.  When the disciple is ready, the cosmic Mother arranges this great blessing.

 There was once a wise teacher who lived in a beautiful hermitage by the shores of a sacred river.  He had many disciples and on approaching his 100th birthday, plans were made for a great spiritual celebration.  The disciples who had lived with the guru for many years sent out invitations and announcements throughout the land so that even in the most remote areas persons who had come to know of this great teacher might hear of the spiritual celebration.  As the sacred day neared a sadhu was seen approaching from the other side of the river.  Great winds and rains appeared and the small boats tethered along the shore of the river lost their moorings and were sunk.  Maintaining his composure, the sadhu calmly sat down to meditate.  After some time he stood up and to the amazement of the assembled disciples, he began walking across the surface of the swollen and raging river.  When he reached the opposite shore he humbly knelt before the great teacher and thanked him for the empowerment of practical techniques given years earlier.  Some of the disciples who had lived with the guru for many years asked the guru in dismay why he had not so blessed them with these amazing Kriyas which had empowered the sadhu so.  They complained that the sadhu had come and gone in a week  and yet they had ceaselessly served the guru through the years.   The great teacher responded, "My beloved children, the Kriyas which this sadhu has received from me were precisely identical to the ones which I have given you.  The manifestation of powers (siddhis) lies in his exercise of great faith in the initiation and unswerving persistence in their practice."  Several of the disciples recognized the divine speaking through their teacher and after renewed effort they themselves achieved inner beatitude as a result of this inspiring example of faith in the gurus initiation and their own acceptance of responsibility to master the techniques.

It is curious that amongst egoistic practitioners of Tantra, many aspire for guruship, or even present themselves as teachers in various stages of "enlightenment", yet simultaneously display profound resistance to, or lack of acknowledgment of, their own guru or lineage.  This egoistic principle prevents them from recognizing the full greatness of such persons they encounter in their life.  Thus, in some measure, they are blinded to their own greatness.

Discernment is needed to understand ones proper role in life.  Surrender does not at all mean weakness.  Becoming a weak and mindless follower is not what is meant by discipleship and being obsessed with control is not what is meant by guruship.  The disciple must exercise discrimination to assure that he or she is not inappropriately dis-empowered.  If you find this in your life don't blame the guru.  Instead look toward yourself.  Accept responsibility for your life.  The author had once misunderstood the lofty ideal of surrender and service to the guru to be an obligation of blind obedience.  Fortunately for this disciple (sishya), the wisdom of gurudev filled the void.  In order to speak to me on this issue in a way which would reverberate in my consciousness and really effect a change in my being, gurudev remained silent throughout the day.  He often observed mouna Yoga, or silence, but this time, very much uncharacteristically, he did not announce it in advance.  It was an intensely spiritual experience being with the guru in the summer heat of his south Indian ashram at Kanadukathan throughout the day as we both observed silence.  At the end of the day he punctuated the energetic silence with a phrase that has stayed with me for a lifetime.  "Ayyappa", he said with a long pause, "The only person you can trust is the master within your self."   This was a statement which resounded with the ring of truth and the author has come increasingly over the years to understand its profound value.  Honor thy father, honor thy mother, and, more importantly, honor thy guru, but above all, honor the divinity within thyself which is the true guru.

Before one comes under the tutelage of a guru, one should visit dozens of spiritual teachers and carefully observe the character of both the teacher and the devotees.  The great treatise Kulanarva Tantra points out that the ideal teacher is of happy countenance with balanced personality who dissipates delusion, one whose gaze appears outward, but the attention is directed within. Such a teacher is compassionate to all and has conquered anger, greed, jealousy, and pride. ^{(p 248)}  This is not a person reflecting obsessive-compulsive personality traits and burdened with unresolved control issues.  Dear reader, If you hook yourself up with the Jim Jones’s and David Koresh’s of this world you have only yourself to blame for lack of discrimination.  And if in spite of all your research it happens, leave.

"Having once attained a guru who is endowed with divine features, who cuts asunder all doubts and gives knowledge excellently, one should not resort to another.  However, if one has a guru who does not possess the knowledge and always creates doubts there is no blemish attached in resorting to another guru."

Kulanarva Tantra

Although the guru is appropriately looked upon as God Himself (or the Goddess) there will come a time when proximity to the teacher and the teaching may limit one’s spiritual vision just as the brilliance of the sun obscures the emerging star.  In the end each one must find empowerment through their own distinct process.  Jung described this as individuation and Kalil Gibran counseled that  “alone and without its nest the eagle must fly across the face of the sun."

The literature of the great South Indian temple of Sri Rangam (Sthalapurana) narrates that the great Vaishnava devotee, Sri Ramanuja, became a saint when, flouting the injunctions of his own guru, he simultaneously initiated hundreds into the mantra "Om Namo Narayana", which had previously been spoken only in silence as a mental mantra.

For intellectuals, the typical challenge is the inability for the ego to acknowledge the divine working through those special divine human channels which may manifest in their life.  There is no substitute for the cultivation of love.  Seek the guidance of guru!  Accept spiritual responsibility and exercise bedrock faith in the evolution of the divine plan around you.  In the end your finding the true guru will largely depend on the work which you have done in the recent as well as ancient past.   Discover the energy and blessing of the Goddess working through the Guru.  Know that a great Satguru like Babaji can raise any number of saints out of dust using this instrument (the guru), with a look, a touch, or a mere wish and thus respond to the prayers of aspiring souls throughout the world.

With or without a guru, the consistent practice of the Kriya keys permits the absorption of the superficial consciousness into the broader OCEAN OF LOVE.  Plunge into the divine dark void of peace!  Experience the light in the inner sanctum!  Bathe in the power of God until the hair stands on end!  Beloved reader!  What is more joyful than bliss?   Babaji, the immortal Himalayan Kriya master knows no other consciousness than this in every plane of existence.  The path of Babaji's Kriya Tantra Yoga provides the practical techniques for the experience of this transforming consciousness.   Call Her Kali, Christ, Cosmic, or Babaji consciousness or whatever name you like.  The great sages counseled us to seek God to manifest God consciousness into every aspect of human existence.  The divine stands ready to provide guidance at every stage if we can but lay aside the ego in preparation for that great mergence.  The authors dynamic Kriya Yoga guru Yogi Ramaiah, often said; "Take one step toward Babaji; he takes ten toward you."  This is the eternal promise of Babaji, the immortal torch bearer of the Kriya light.

The previous age demanded lifetimes of adherence to a belief system populated with innumerable astral entities of both dark and light varieties.  As the new age dawns we are enabled to intuit, nay, KNOW our own divinity and its inherent unity with all of creation.  As our awareness of divinity grows within, our perception of the outer sanctity expands as well.  Babaji has said, "absorb what is good, that is wisdom".  Let us draw on the wisdom of the ancients to usher in that which is IMMEDIATELY RELEVANT FOR OUR AGE.  There is a vast difference between seeking life's solutions outside ourselves and experiencing the divine in our "externalized" consciousness.  Contact Babaji within yourself and you may be fortunate enough to experience him without as well.  It has been said that the first sign of greatness is to appreciate what is great in others.  We do not diminish our inner divinity one iota by observing it manifested "externally" through the noble and the great.  Nor, as has been sometimes misconceived, need we give up our "power"!  Actually, as our awareness of the luster "within" is increased it clarifies the inherent connection to the "outer" light as well and the illusionary distinctions between what is internal and what is external begin to dissolve.

Kriya Tantra Yoga demonstrates that dedicated selfless action, freedom, and mental-emotional peace and joy are inter-related!  If we don't find these our life, then we know that its time to break through the attachments and change our environment!  Dedicated action, persistence, and yes, fearlessness is required!  Kriya stands for accepting responsibility for our spiritual life and realizing its oneness with all "other" aspects of existence.   What is needed is the scientific art of yogic conscious breathing and other techniques to still the mind and plunge between the thoughts.  What is needed is consistent meditation until the receptors have been tuned to that cosmic radio station which we call Kriya Babaji.   Unbridled and unlimited faith and devotion to 1008 entities, astral or otherwise, is NOT a prerequisite.  All that is required is a mustard seed of faith and devotion toward the sanctity of the inner self.  Nurtured, that seed expands into a powerful aspiration for truth.  "Know thyself".  Fragments of illusion are but bread crumbs against the backdrop of our cosmic oneness!  Thus the Sages counciled; seek the divine and ye shall find.  That divinity is to be found within the greatest mystic symbol (Yantra) of all, which is none other than the human body.  Knock on the doors and locks of conciousness (chakras and grantha knots) and they shall be opened unto you.  Know clearly that Babaji, Christ, and the great masters continue to lay out a global plan for this very age.  If we are in tune with that plan we are in harmony with our deepest Self.   Take any door you like.  They all reach the same essence.  But don't think you can live on the surface as a weekend mystic and tap into that creative cosmic source!  Transformation is a full time job!  Let Babaji open your heart first.  A wild elephant is tamed merely by being in the presence of another elephant who has a peaceful connection with his mahout.  So also you can find peace, expand divine love, and absorb true knowledge by sharing energy in group spiritual practice (satsang) with those who have a significant connection with their inner power.  This book is not about giving a TEMPORARY spiritual lift to anybody.  Nor is it about catering to the limiting ego.  Those who can't get beyond reading books on mysticism would be better off robbing a train.  That noble truth, once expressed by Vivekananda, is worth meditating on.  Understand the limitations of the "I am god/goddess" obsession as well.  When the divine is experienced as "I" there is no one else around, including you and me, my friend!  The great indivisible Shakti energy & light alone is seen and when finally the "individual" entity merges with that light, an expression of the experience of "one who is experiencing" as separate from "that which is experienced" is ridiculous (full-blown avatars such as Babaji excepted!).  In the meantime the conception of inner divinity, albeit accurate, should not be a hiding place for ego which limits the comprehensive growth of consciousness.

"I sought Him in terms of I and You

 But He that knows not I from you

 Taught me the truth, "I" indeed is "you"

 And now I talk not of I and you."

Thirumandiram ^{v. 1441}