Anu

The above inspiring words of my beloved Guru Paramahansa Yogananda have stayed with me since I came on this beautiful path of self-enquiry and inner transformation.  Never did I fathom, I would be a ‘spiritual’ person and a ‘Kriyaban’ (one who receives initiation into Kriya Yoga) in my life considering how different I was in the past – impulsive, insecure, irritable, judgemental, and forever justifying my faults. 

The ‘change’ took place two years ago when I reached a breaking point in my professional life.  I began to notice that there was a certain unpleasant ‘pattern’ in the way things ‘ended’ with the Management when I moved out of an organisation. The episode also brought back the bottled-up memories of my past mental traumas and suffering in my personal life and relationships.  This realisation resulted in an intense feeling of despair and helplessness.

In spite of being under immense mental stress and confusion, the helplessness did more good for me as it gave me a great deal of  ‘time’ to myself and for myself.   Something I never had in the last ten years since I was working one job to another.  The timing was perfect and so were the people sent in my life.  I am indebted to two friends or should I call them ‘guides’ who inspired me and motivated me on my spiritual quest.  At the same time, I cannot explain how I started reading the book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ which not only shook the very foundation of my self-limiting beliefs but also awakened me to change myself. 

I started searching the internet to know more about Paramhansa Yogananda and the organisations associated with him. I came across Ananda Sangha founded by Swami Kriyananda and I immediately contacted them in Pune. I had the good fortune to attend two retreats at Ananda Retreat Pune and also to interact with people who were so different, from those I had been interacting all my life.  They were warm, caring, and ‘truly’ happy.  

I started meditating regularly twice a day and simultaneously enrolled for the Kriya Home-study course which I did from the comfort of my home but with constant support and guidance from my mentors. 

I noticed a number of positive changes in myself since I started meditating and practising Kriya Yoga.  It’s like your inner self gets a complete overhaul which in turn is expressed in how you deal with situations and people on a daily basis.  I started feeling more energetic, optimistic,  and things no longer affected me the way they did before.  The calmness and joy you feel in meditation are incomparable to any temporary joy of the world.  This reflects in your reactions, your relationships and how you deal with challenges. 

One of the most beautiful things about Kriya Yoga is that you begin to be your true self. You no longer need people or outward circumstances to make you happy, but you start feeling complete in yourself.  You have to experience Kriya to understand the hidden secrets of this beautiful yet powerful technique.

I will end with my Guru’s (Paramhansa Yogananda) words on Kriya Yoga from the Autobiography of a Yogi,  “May all men come to know that there exists a definite, scientific technique of Self-realization for the overcoming of all human misery”.

I am eternally grateful to God and Gurus for giving me such a precious gift that I cannot afford to give up ever.