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www.CSEcenter.org

Living Kriya Yoga:  

An Integrated Spiritual Practice

A

lthough the philosophy and practices  

of yoga for Self- and God-realization 

have been available for centuries, many 

people are newly discovering yoga’s depth 

dimension for metaphysical insight and its 

practical application for personal growth and 

fulfilled living. Yoga means “oneness” or “union.” 

It refers to both the method and the goal of 

unifying our attention and awareness with our 

essential spiritual nature. There are many 

different forms of yoga, but all have the same goal: spiritual realization. To realize 

something is to accurately comprehend it as well as know it through direct 

experience. The disciplines of yoga favorably arrange conditions so that this 

experience is possible and our innate knowledge emerges. 

In the West, people are most familiar with Hatha Yoga as a practice for physical 

well-being. Yet Hatha Yoga is also a spiritual discipline. The central purpose of 

Hatha Yoga is to prepare the body and mind for meditation, deeper spiritual 

insight and ultimate realization. 

So many names and types of yoga are advertised today that it can be a chal-

lenge to understand what is offered. There are basically four main paths of 

yoga, although the variations and names for these paths are endless. The main 

branches, or paths are: Bhakti Yoga; Karma Yoga; Jnana Yoga; and Raja Yoga. 

Bhakti Yoga is the way of devotion, discovering the essential Self through 

divine love and worship. Karma Yoga is the path of selfless service, awakening to 

the true Self by releasing the sense of “I,” ego as the doer of works. Jnana Yoga is 

the path of wisdom and discernment that reveals the true Self through contem-

plation and direct insight. Raja Yoga is a step-by-step method for meditation that 

uses techniques to support realization. So where does Kriya Yoga fit in? 

Kriya Yoga is a generic term, used to describe many forms of yoga. The word 

kriya simply means “action” and it refers to intentional acts of discipline and 

purification in support of Self-realization or to the spontaneous quickening of 

spiritual energy that facilitates higher consciousness. The path of Kriya Yoga 

taught at CSE is a comprehensive practice for Self- and God-realization. It offers 

lifestyle guidelines, spiritual practices and philosophical concepts integrating 

components from all of the major yoga systems. Its methods are universally 

applicable for seekers of truth.