Kriya Yoga: 
              Synthesis of a Personal Experience
                       Ennio Nimis
                       2018 Edition
                 Illustrations by Lorenzo Pentassuglia 
                                                                     
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                       CONTENTS
        PART I: MY SEARCH OF ORIGINAL KRIYA
        1 Decision to start the practice of Pranayama   p.3
        2 From Ujjayi Pranayama to Kriya Yoga p.19
        3 Breathlessness   p.46
        4 In search of ''Original Kriya''   p.57
        5 My last teacher  p.64 ends 86
        PART II: METHODOLOGY AND TECHNIQUES OF KRIYA YOGA
        6 Lahiri Mahasaya's Kriya Yoga – first part   p. 87
        7 Lahiri Mahasaya's Kriya Yoga – second part   p.102
        8 Lahiri Mahasaya's Kriya Yoga – third part   p.116
        9 Lahiri Mahasaya's Kriya Yoga – fourth part  p.128
        10 Kriya Yoga in the vision of Swami Hariharananda   p.141
        11 Discussions with students of PY's correspondence course   p.161
        PART III: ESSENTIAL PRACTICE
        12 A good way of experiencing the beauty of Kriya Yoga   p.181
          
        PART IV: HOW TO AVOID FAILURE ON THE SPIRITUAL PATH
        13 The value of Japa and the Prayer of the heart   p.211
        14 The Kriya of the cells   p.226
        FINAL APPENDICES
        App.1 Definition of Incremental Routine  p.236
        App.2 Can the practice of Kriya produce negative moods?   p.241
        App.3 Some spiritual paths worth studying p.248     
        App.4 Fictional Kriya   p.266
        App.5 Wrong attitudes toward the Spiritual path   p.269
                                                                          
        Glossary    p.282
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        PART I: MY SEARCH OF ORIGINAL KRIYA
                       CHAPTER 1
            DECISION TO START THE PRACTICE OF PRANAYAMA
        My spiritual search began at age 15 after I bought an introductory book on 
        classical Yoga.  I don't remember the title of that first book, but books of 
        B.K.S. Iyengar followed and then finally the autobiography of an Indian 
        saint, where I found the term Kriya Yoga. But first things first...
        In primary school, unlike my peers I borrowed esoteric books from my 
        parents' friends and I loved those books. I remember that the first one I 
        read from end to end was on occultism. Knowing the book was considered 
        unsuitable for my age, I was proud to be able to read and understand it. I 
        turned a deaf ear to any persuasive advice to dedicate myself to more 
        formative readings. I wasted a lot of time on worthless books and stacks of 
        specialized esoteric magazines with tantalizing titles and idle fancies 
        designed essentially to impress, and which were impossible to distinguish 
        in advance between fact and fiction. 
        I also came into contact with the main themes of occidental esotericism 
        with short digressions into phenomena like hypnosis and spiritualism.  I 
        continued these readings until I was about 11 years old. In the end, I felt I 
        had traveled through an indistinct chaos and thought that perhaps the most 
        precious secrets were hidden in other books which I had not been fortunate 
        enough to find. 
        I saw the word "Yoga" for the first time in a postal catalog of esoteric 
        books among my father's correspondence. I was entranced and inexplicably 
        spellbound by the person pictured on the cover sitting in the "lotus 
        position." However, I couldn't persuade my father to buy the book for me.
        When I was 15 and in high school, the esoteric flame was rekindled for a 
        while in a particular way: a friend told me he had a detailed textbook 
        containing different Pranayama techniques, and added: "These exercises 
        are used to obtain inner transformation...."  I was deeply intrigued by his 
        words: what internal transformation was he talking about? Surely my 
        friend didn't mean the attainment of a particular state of relaxation or 
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        concentration, or how to integrate the oriental vision of existence with our 
        lifestyle. He must be referring to some intense experience that left a lasting 
        psychological mark. Pranayama was something I had to learn as soon as 
        possible. But my friend would not lend me the book. 
        A few days later at the train station newsstand, I spotted a simple Hatha 
        Yoga manual and bought it forthwith and read it in its entirety. Although I 
        thought I was searching for physical and mental control, my spiritual 
        search had in fact begun.
        This book had a long philosophical introduction that did not stir up 
        anything spiritual. It was neither impressive nor thought provoking (Jiva, 
        Prakriti, Purusha...). The author’s goal seemed to be solely to give the 
        reader   the   impression   of   serious   authority.   Even   concepts   like 
        Reincarnation, Karma, Dharma, and Maya, the understanding of which in 
        the future would become so important in my life, remained unfathomable, 
        hidden in a tangle of Sanskrit terms. Pranayama was only hinted at by 
        explaining   how   to   do   a   complete   breath   –   dilating   the   abdomen, 
        diaphragm, and upper chest during inhalation and contracting the same in 
        reverse order for a calm exhalation. That was clearly an introduction, 
        nothing else. 
        I was sure that the ancient art of Pranayama was not intended simply to 
        train   the   chest   muscles,   strengthen   the   diaphragm  or   create   peculiar 
        conditions of blood oxygenation, but was also meant to act on the energy 
        present in the psycho-physical system. It was common knowledge that the 
        inharmonious state of that energy could be related to conflicts and 
        disharmonies within. 
        I was frustrated about the lack of in-depth information about Pranayama. 
        The author concluded by saying that Pranayama should be learned from an 
        experienced teacher but instead of adding a precise indication (the title of a 
        book, the name of a school...), he remained vague about exactly how to 
        find him, maintaining that we find the Teacher when we are ready to learn.
        As for Asanas, the book explained the name of each posture (Asana), gave 
        a brief note on the best mental attitude for practicing it, and explained how 
        each   exercise   stimulated   certain   physiological   functions   (important 
        endocrine glands, etc.). It was taken for granted that these positions were 
        not to be seen as simple "stretching work-outs"; but were a means of 
        providing  a global stimulus to all the physical organs to increase their 
        vitality.  The satisfaction I felt at the end of a session spoke to their 
        effectiveness. 
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