An essential aspect of Kriya Yoga is meditation. Without a consistent meditation practice it is virtually impossible to wake up to our identity in God or to stabilize our spiritual realizations. Practiced with devotion, meditation allows our interior consciousness to rise up and become a stream flowing into the spiritual world which elevates us above instinct, habit, and karma. “Kriya Pranyama,” the powerful technique of meditation given during Kriya initiation, works in this way according to direct disciple Norman Paulson:
“As you turn the wheel of meditation, the Breath of Life begins to heal and dissolve thought-forms, your seeds of karma from this life and past lives. You begin to clear your temple out, opening up all of the inner-dimensional doors to the healing light of the Divine… As you meditate and draw nearer to God, all the seeds of your past actions and desires are transmuted, fulfilled, or burned up and dissolved in the Breath of Life. The road to heaven indeed becomes a highway; your spiritual evolution is quickened.”
We must not forget that the goal of meditation is not to have fantastic experiences; even when we have them, they never last. Most crucial in meditation is stillness or silence. This silence does not necessarily mean quiet, but the very presence of the Divine which stills our thoughts and quiets our desires. In this sacred stillness is the pure presence of God beyond thoughts, words, and categories. As well, the silent presence of God will lead us to the solutions for all our problems. Yogananda tells us, “When you have achieved absolute silence and stillness, keep going deeper. In silence you will receive from God the answers to the problems of your life.”
My breath
Is the Breath of Life.
Which will lead me
To silence, stillness, and solutions.
