To anyone in the know here,:
Most of the Kriya Yoga available today appears to be derived from what Babaji gave to Lahiri Mahasaya.
I don’t feel drawn to the whole Babaji narrative, but I am drawn to the system of Kriya Yoga.
I feel like all the Babaji devotional stuff would get in the way for me.
[I]Is there any Kriya Yoga that isn’t based on Babaji?[/I]
Hello Triston,
Swami Satyananda Saraswati is a Tantric and Kriya Yoga Master and he never mentions Babaji in his books. I have two of his books on kriya yoga: A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya and Kundalini Tantra and there is not mention of Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, etc.
According to this website:
“Swami Sivananda taught kriya yoga to Satyananda, the Bihar School of Yoga informs. Satyananda writes in Early Teachings of Swami Satyananda [Ets], that Sivananda had learnt kriya yoga from Babaji in the mid-1920s, and that Sivananda one day in 1956 taught it to him in twenty-five minutes. "Swami Sivananda received initiation into kriya yoga from Babaji, but he did not teach these techniques to anyone himself. At the time I was leaving the ashram, however, he taught me all the techniques in not more than twenty five minutes [Ets 89].”
This must be the only mention of babaji by Satyananda. I couldn’t find any other reference on this topic.
In this link Swami Janakananda writes:
"[i]Swami Yogananda writes in his auto-biography that Kriya Yoga is consistently given to every new generation by an almost immortal yogi called Babaji. Now, there are countless people in India called Babaji, as the name, Baba, means father, and Babaji, honoured father - just as it can mean grandfather. The word is used to address holy men or priests, as we do in the west. Quite a few yogis have used this as a name after it became known through Yogananda’s book which Swami Satyananda once described as an “American novel written by a ghost-writer” when I mentioned it to him. He realised that I lived on dreams inspired by this book, and that these dreams prevented me from being present and experiencing the outer and the inner life, without expectations and ideals. Still, I must say that the book was once a great impetus for me to go on from ordinary yoga, which I had known for years at that time, to the more advanced yoga and Tantric meditation. So, surely, it was an inspiration.
That a person like Babaji can live for several thousands of years, both in a physical body and on the astral plane and create possibilities there for the spiritual development of his disciples, may be a trifle too strong for many. Especially if one experiences life from a ‘normal’ limited perception of reality. My teacher’s warning at the time was, therefore, justified: I should not live by such ideas, regardless of whether they are true or not, but act myself and go on with my life.[/i]"
Interesting.
Looks like the narrative simply takes a different flavor here.
Regardless, one can receive the practices without believing in the Babaji narrative.
And gain all of the benefits.
Kriya yoga is a progressive practice, by which I mean the performance of the kriyas provide all necessary feelings and perceptions. Even the most holy of shrines have traps for thieves and fools. Bliss and joy to all of you.
Kriya Yoga has been infused with all kinds of nonsense, superstitions, myths, etc. Ever since Yogananda landed on western shores more and more people have decided to jump on the Kriya wagon because they know it sells. There is no shortage of kriya teachers and each one is in the market to sell their techniques/ version of kriya.
Yogananda was the first one in America to hype up kriya yoga. Great marketing strategy. It paved the way for forming organizations based around kriya and opened the flood gates for wanna-be gurus and frauds.