Vanisha Uppal’s Kriya Experience
I am into Kriya yoga practice since 5 years and organizing kriya retreat for Master Per at different places in India. Let me tell you that I have never read any book on kriya yoga. And I thank God for it. I started my practice without much expectations, my first experience was that I felt good, peaceful and strongly connected to my inner self. And I wanted this totally.
Whatever I experience thereafter, is my own first-hand experience with my constant practice. That helps me to grow with my own inner understanding.
Often I meet people in the retreats with the strange expectations. All the books written on Kriya yoga may inspire people to learn it, as it provides effective mediation techniques to realize the truth(God). Yet many misinterpret kriya yoga.
People are fascinated by miracles and magical stories mentioned in the Kriya books. They think it is a short cut to attain some magical powers.
What does magic means to you? Levitate and fight tigers? control the mind of others?
It might be magical but how many tigers you encounter every day? How long the joy of flying may last? Controlling others mind will not improve anything in you.
After practice and constant guidance from my kriya Guru, my definition of magic has completely changed.
Every difficult situation in life demands a lot of energy and a constant push to react immediately. The eagerness to solve it somehow complicates the whole situation to the worse. It is almost impossible not to react and stay calm in bad circumstances. After much experience, it is very clear to me that our restless mind does not have the ability to handle the difficult situation.
I wondered, is it possible to handle the difficulties without being effective? Is it possible to stays calm in the middle of much responsibilities and work? Is it possible to maintain softness and innocence yet all the work is done without being hard on others and self?
If that could be possible; it would be a real magic. Some days I am much inside due to consistency in practice, suddenly something disturbing comes up out of nothing. It does affect me but not in the same way as when I am restless. I come out of it in a few hours, sometimes a day or two. Rather the same difficult situation turns into my favor without taking away my energy, softness and sweetness. This is indeed a magical experience to me. I love that part of myself.
Other times I fail to maintain my inner silence, immediately restlessness takes control over me. My over confidence; losing my practice turns me back to my old habits of being bossy and restless. I feel hard inside; I lose my inner softness.
Then I run to the master for his help. He reminds me of my own poem “how a bird builds her nest again and again”. That takes me back to the practice. He also reminds me “look at me; I am practicing since 30 years. Don’t be too demanding and hard to yourself. Just keep practicing and silence will be your inner property”.
Life itself is the true magic and a few are aware of it. In kriya practice one is building more awareness day by day, month by month and year after year – awareness is limitless. The awareness is the result of inner silence.
There are no short cuts, imagine how much hard work is done to become Olympic champions – here we are talking about the highest; to realize the truth.
Kriya yoga does not teach escapism either, running away from daily life and its struggles. We come to a retreat, spend 7 to 15 days in intense practice, and go back to our daily life to practice the same with all the up and downs in the life.
God is not something other than life itself; this is what one realizes through Kriya practice. Yoga means unification of daily activity and meditation.