Kriya yoga in the modern day world

Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, a spiritual and charitable organisation that encourages Kriya yoga, meditation and other spiritual quests recently commenced centenary celebrations.

Founded in 1917 by Paramahansa Yogananda, this organisation now has 500 centers across 175 countries and 200 are spread across India. over the past-centuary, the organisation has served communities and impacted the lives of millions of people. To celebrate this occasion, a series of events throughout the year have been planned for devotees of all races, cultures and creeds.

The teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda highlight using scientific methods of the Kriya yoga techniques towards self-realisation. The organisation endeavours to carry on with his teachings along with promoting harmony and oneness, across the globe. Speaking on the occasion Swami Shraddhananda Giri, member, board of directors of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, says “Meditation has always been in India but taken longer to recognise this; as in the last 20 to 30 years people wouldn’t practise meditation at home. But more and more people today have started adopting and practising mediation in their homes. This is a good thing as Paramahansa Yogananda’s mission was to initiate people in Kriya yoga as a way to self-realisation.” This has been the mission.

So even today, sanyasis in the organisation give Kriya yoga diksha to people, who are keen to take this path. These devotees are given few meditation techniques to start with, and some literature to read and understand the teachings of Paramhansa for around a year. Swami Shraddhananda Giri, further elaborates, “During this one year, we encourage devotees to try and know other paths of spirituality that may lead to self-realisation; and then decide if they wish to continue with the organisation’s path.” He also emphasised that if a person associates with the organisation, he/she doesn’t have to discontinue from his religious practises.

He emphasised that a person from any community or religion can join the organisation to initiate in the Kriya yoga techniques and even after the diksha is given, the devotee can follow and practise his personal rituals and customs of the religion that he belongs to. Former VJ and Indian-Canadian celebrity, Ruby Bhatia Dutta, who has been a devotee of Paramahansa Yogananda for 10 years now, says, “I had come to India in search of inner spirituality and to learn the truth and after reading Paramahansa Yogananda’s book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’, I realised that he was a man who knew the truth. That’s when I took the Kriya yoga diksha from the organisation, which sort of means a true commitment to the Guru.” She also added that she practises the meditation techniques when she took the Kriya yoga diksha; twice a day and it has helped her immensely.

Ruby’s experience is testimony to Paramahansa Yogananda’s mission of introducing India’s ancient philosophy of yoga and its scientific methods of meditation to the modern world. This has also been written and highlighted in his book, Autobiography of a Yogi, in which he emphasised that yoga is definite and scientific and is applicable to people at any time.

As a concluding message, Swami Shraddhananda Giri said, “With various things going around, the impression is that the world is going on a downward spiral, but that’s not the case. The earth is going through a cycle and it is going to get better than what it is now, in spite of the few clashes here and there. Conflicts and clashes have always been happening throughout time, and history says that too; but that will not stop the world from becoming a better place in the future.”