Kriya Yoga Books

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Hi there, thought I'd recommend some books on Kriya yoga, which I found great, but which are not necessarily as well and widely known as all the books published by SRF.

What made me come to open this thread especially and in the first place is this set of three books, together named as



SPIRITUAL GITA (Link-1 ::  Link-2)

It is based on Sri Lahiri Mahasaya's commentary on the Bhagavad Gita which is given in the light of Kriya Yoga. Each verse is commented on in that very same universal light. So it is rather special in a way that it reflects spiritual truths given that apply to all mankind, and yet, it also delivers tremendous insights to any (advanced) practitioner of the Kriya yoga techniques.

Alongside Sri Lahiri babas commentary on each verse is an elongated explanation given by his latest teacher-disciple Sri Bhupendranath Sanyal. These commentaries are so powerful and tremendously enlightening that this book's value for any devoted Kriyaban just cannot be overstated.


👍 👍 👍  Highly recommended!

[guest608]

Regarding the aforementioned "Spiritual Gita", which by some is also known as "Sanyal Gita", here's the foreword of Vol. 2 from Swami Shantanada Giri (then) spiritual leader of YSS Dakshineswar Ashram:

Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda writes :
"My Guru and Paramgurus - Swami Sri Yukteswar, Lahiri Mahasaya, and Mahavatara Babaji - are rishis of this present age, masters who themselves are God-realized living scriptures. They have bequeathed to the world - along with the long lost scientific technique of Kriya Yoga - a new revelation of the holy Bhagavad Gita, relevant primarily to the science of yoga and to Kriya Yoga in particular.
Mahavatara Babaji, at one with Krishna in Spirit, through his grace intuitively transferred the true knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita to his disciple Lahiri Mahasaya - a Yogavatara, 'Incarnation of Yoga' - through whom he revived for mankind the Kriya Yoga science as the technique of salvation for this age. Lahiri Mahasaya himself never wrote any books, but his divine expositions of the scriptures were expressed through the writings of various advanced disciples. Among his greatest disciples, Swami Sri Yukteswar, Swami Pranabananda, and Panchanon Bhattacharya recorded his Gita explanations. The earliest small edition of the Bhagavad Gita with Lahiri Mahasaya's interpretations was brought out by Panchanon Bhattacharya, founder of the Arya Misssion Insitution, Calcutta. Later, my guru Sri Yukteswarji - a Jnanavatara, 'Incarnation of Wisdom' - in his elaborate unrivaled way, explained the most significant first nine chapters of the Gita according to Lahiri Mahasaya's interpretation.
After that, the great Swami Pranabananda, 'the saint with two bodies' (about whom I wrote in my Autobiography of a Yogi), brought forth an amazing interpretation of Lahiri Mahasaya's entire Gita. The eminent yogi, Bhupendranath Sanyal, whom I personally highly regard, also brought out a remarkable edition of Lahiri Mahasaya's interpretation of the Gita. I have had the blessing to be inspired in the greatest way about Lahiri Mahasaya's divine insight and perceptive method of explaining the Gita, which I learned first from my Master."

The present volumes of the Spiritual Gita are "the remarkable edition of Lahiri Mahasaya's interpretation of the Gita" by Bhupendra Nath Sanyal referred to by Paramahansa Yogananda in his introduction to 'God Talks with Arjuna', Yogananda's translation and commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. The original Bengali of Sri Sanyal is now rendered into English in a very lucid way by Smt. Chandrakanta Agarwala.

In Volume I of the Spiritual Gita, Lord Krishna introduces the sadhak to the spiritual and materialistic battlefield of his consciousness in the physical and mental body. One is made to understand and recognize the psychological, or thought, forces at play in his bodily and mental kingdoms. Then Lord Krishna elucidates the internal and transcendent nature of the Atman and how through the yoga of right action, the sadhak gains the infinite wisdom of Spirit. The Lord explains the nature of right action and right attitude and how they conquer the two-sided passion of desire and anger. He further explains the esoteric essence of yoga, His way of acting in creation, and the practice of yoga, the spiritual "fire" rite that consumes all karma. Freedom through inner renunciation of the objects of the senses by perseverence in yoga meditation on God and desireless activity are the ways to attain the supreme bliss of God.

In this present Volume II of the Spiritual Gita, Lord Krishna describes His creation, maya, the infinite manifestations of the unmanifest Spirit, and how He is to be perceived in creation. Lord Krishna concludes his Divine instructions to the devotee / sadhak in the final verses of Chapter Eighteen. His Divine promise : "Absorb thy mind in Me; become My devotee; resign all things to Me; bow down to Me. Thou art dear to Me, so in truth do I promise Thee: Thou shalt attain Me!" represents the ultimate consolation to the sadhak so that through unrelenting practice of yoga he knows he will surely attain the supreme bliss of Spirit ever-residing in his own self or Atman.

Through the sacred Kriya Yoga as mentioned in the Gita and fully elucidated for all sincere seekers of Truth by Mahavatara Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, and his chief disciples, one of the greatest of which is Bhupendra Nath Sanyal, we may all be blessed to merge into Sat-chit-ananda (ever existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss), the highest consciousness of Lord Krishna and His children as Unmanifest Spirit.

The English-speaking peoples of the world owe a great debt of gratitude to Smt. Chandrakanta Agarwala for making available the divine teachings of the Bhagavad Gita as expounded by Lahiri Mahasaya through Sri Bhupendra Nath Sanyal to them. May the Blissful One bless us all who practice in daily life the teachings of the Gita.

Swami Shantananda Giri

Yogoda Satsanga Math

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Thanks Uwe. 

[guest608]

Next book:

Purana Purusha - Yogiraj Sri Shama Churn Lahiree: A Complete Biography



( Link-1 :: Link-2 )

This biography about Lahiri Mahasaya was written by Dr. Ashoke Kumar Chatterjee, an eminent disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya's grandson Satya Charan Lahiri. It is based on Lahiri Mahasaya's own spiritual diaries and largely enriched through tales told by the Lahiri family members with whom the author conversed deeply and extensively over many years ( Link ).


Highly recommended for any Kriya yoga practitioner!