The Kriya Definition

July 31, 2002

CONCEPT OF KRIYA IN KUNDALINI YOGA AND HATHA

YOGA

You'll find the word kriya used frequently. Kriya yoga, Kundalini

Kriyas, and Kriya shakti. The root word kriya means action, but it has

very specific connotations. In Kundalini Yoga, Kriya shakti is the power

of the soul to manifest itself into each realm of experience: the realm

of the mind through proper thought; the realm of the body, through

proper movement, shape, form; and the realm of action through the power

of the will to manifest creativity that serves the Infinite. Kriya is

also often called tattva shakti, which is the ability of the great soul

of the universal self to create new categories, levels of manifestation

in mind body and in the world. Kriya is not just any reflex or action,

but an action that leads to a complete manifestation; that lets a seed

come to bloom, a thought come into actuality, a desire become a

commitment.

When you learn to act with kriya, then action becomes synchronous with

the larger pattern of the Self. We get into kriya by the removal of

blocks, attachments, blindness and ego that hold us back from acting

when we ought to act.

To act with kriya is a state of spontaneous flow. It's free of all of

the blocks. You apply great effort just when great effort should be

applied. You apply great relaxation just when great relaxation should be

applied. There is a perfect match between the inner and outer, between

the inner resources and the outer demands. There is no gap of doubt, no

hesitation, no partial support of the action by only one area of your

mind and not another. That sense of wholeness and appropriateness to the

action create a grace in your body, a central power in your thought, and

a projective ability in your mind.

Mastering kriya brings with it a sense of grace, power, and the ability

to

complete things. You act both timelessly and timely. Kriya is not a

random

collection of actions. As you put together a transmission in a car,

there's a

number of gears that have to be in place and they have to be there in a

certain

sequence and then the power that’s in the motor can be transferred to

the wheels

and you can go where you need to...Just so, a kriya in yoga is a

sequence of

postures, breath, and sound that are integrated together to allow the

manifestation of a particular state. When you do a Kundalini kriya, the

result of

its repetition is the access to, and mastery of a particular,

predictable and stable

state-a facet of your awareness.

>From the KY Teachers Training Manual

"Nabil M. Rizkallah" wrote:

> hi everybody,

> I am eager to know when yoga becomes kriya.

>

> i went through the 'yoga vedanta dictionary',

> it says:

> kriya = phisical action; particular exercise in hata yoga such as

> basti, neti, nauli.

>

> 1- kundaliniyoga offers kryias that are neither basti, neti nor nauli.

>

> 2- 'sri sri ravi shankar' offers a "grand kriya" (continuous breathing

> on different cadences for one hour)

> this is no basti, nor neti, nor nauli.

> 3- a lebanese reiki teacher sells a 'kriya yoga' that does not match

> with the above.

> 4- a lebanese woman hata yoga teacher defines kriya as simply 'the

> breath'

>

> i am confused !

>

> can an authority gives me the right definition of kriya.

> sat nam

> nabil

>

August 1, 2002