The Kriya Yoga Podcast Ryan Kurczak

Self-realization is an unqualified, aware, present state of being. It is a synonym for enlightenment, nirvana, atma[1] jnana[2], etc. Self-realization occurs when one is awake and aware of one’s timeless essence, free of identification with any thought, emotion, memory, perception, object, or feeling. Self-realization is evident when these vrittis[3] (activities in consciousness) have subsided. The system of Yoga[4] was developed to encourage a repeatable procedure to experience Self-realization. 
The central practice of Yoga which provides a route to Self-realization is samadhi[5]. Samadhi is cognitive absorption. It is a state of consciousness where one focuses attention to a point, such that one is aware of what is focused on at the exclusion of all else. Repeatedly accessing samadhi, in a conscious way, results in an experience of timelessness and freedom from identification with a sense of limitation. 
Samadhi is the culmination of a structured approach to meditation which results in sustained, one-pointed focus. This structured approach is called Sanyama[6]. Sanyama is described in The Yoga Sutras, Chapter 3, verses 1-3 states, “Dharana[7] is a fixation of the field of consciousness within a focal point. The single directionality of thought towards the chosen focal point is meditation. When the field of consciousness reflects the chosen focal point alone, as if empty of its own form, there is cognitive absorption.” 
[1] Atma Defined: The Self. Transcendent being.
[2] Jnana Defined: Knowledge. Not data, but wisdom/knowing.
[3] Vritti Defined: Fluctuations in the field of consciousness.
[4] Yoga Defined: A formal practice with the intention, structure and purpose to cultivate repeated experiences of spiritual experience that result in absolute soul-freedom.
[5] Samadhi Defined: Cognitive absorption.
[6] Sanyama Defined: Sustained focus on a chosen object of awareness that culminates in Samadhi.
[7] Dharana Defined: Focusing consciousness an a chosen object.
--
Your host, Ryan Kurczak, is a Kriya Yoga meditation teacher and author. He was authorized to teach Kriya Yoga in 2005, by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct student of Paramahansa Yogananda.
If you would like to participate in online live sessions consider becoming a member of The Kriya Yoga Online Patreon Community or applying to the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Program.
For continued inspiration and instruction, please read my new book, An Essential Guide to Kriya Yoga Practice. Now available in hardcover and softback on Amazon.  Also, now available Understanding the Holy Science: A Theoretical and Experiential Study Guide to Sri Yukteswar's Kriya Yoga Practice.
For more information about Kriya Yoga events, courses and online classes please visit:
A community of Kriya Yoga practitioners engaged in supporting this work.
https://www.patreon.com/KriyaYoga
Blog posts, books and information on the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Course.
https://kriyayogaonline.com/
A Year Long Kriya Yoga Introduction Course
Kriya Yoga Online Ashram (teachable.com)
Hundreds of hours of videos related to Kriya Yoga and spiritual growth.
https://www.youtube.com/user/KriyaYogaOnline-

Today's guest is Ray Booker, Kriya Yoga teacher and student of Roy Eugene Davis. Ray has been engaged on the Kriya Yoga path for many decades. He is an accomplished musician, student of Sanskrit and an Ayurvedic expert. During our talk Ray shares stories of his time with Roy Eugene Davis, from their trip to India, to times spent together in Georgia.  Mr. Booker reveals simple and effective ideas to encourage success on one's spiritual path.
Ray works with students all over the world, and he can be reached through his website: https://vibrationalayurveda.com/
--
Your host, Ryan Kurczak, is a Kriya Yoga meditation teacher and author. He was authorized to teach Kriya Yoga in 2005, by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct student of Paramahansa Yogananda.
If you would like to participate in online live sessions consider becoming a member of The Kriya Yoga Online Patreon Community or applying to the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Program.
For continued inspiration and instruction, please read my new book, An Essential Guide to Kriya Yoga Practice. Now available in hardcover and softback on Amazon.  Also, now available Understanding the Holy Science: A Theoretical and Experiential Study Guide to Sri Yukteswar's Kriya Yoga Practice.
For more information about Kriya Yoga events, courses and online classes please visit:
A community of Kriya Yoga practitioners engaged in supporting this work.
https://www.patreon.com/KriyaYoga
Blog posts, books and information on the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Course.
https://kriyayogaonline.com/
A Year Long Kriya Yoga Introduction Course
Kriya Yoga Online Ashram (teachable.com)
Hundreds of hours of videos related to Kriya Yoga and spiritual growth.
https://www.youtube.com/user/KriyaYogaOnline

During our March 2024 Equinox retreat, we discussed the two phases of Kriya Yoga Meditation practice.  Phase one includes arranging your life, consciousness and schedule to support super-conscious meditation.  Phase two is the consistent experience of super-conscious meditation.
Your host, Ryan Kurczak, is a Kriya Yoga meditation teacher and author. He was authorized to teach Kriya Yoga in 2005, by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct student of Paramahansa Yogananda.
If you would like to participate in online live sessions consider becoming a member of The Kriya Yoga Online Patreon Community or applying to the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Program.
For continued inspiration and instruction, please read my new book, An Essential Guide to Kriya Yoga Practice. Now available in hardcover and softback on Amazon.  Also, now available Understanding the Holy Science: A Theoretical and Experiential Study Guide to Sri Yukteswar's Kriya Yoga Practice.
For more information about Kriya Yoga events, courses and online classes please visit:
A community of Kriya Yoga practitioners engaged in supporting this work.
https://www.patreon.com/KriyaYoga
Blog posts, books and information on the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Course.
https://kriyayogaonline.com/
A Year Long Kriya Yoga Introduction Course
Kriya Yoga Online Ashram (teachable.com)
Hundreds of hours of videos related to Kriya Yoga and spiritual growth.
https://www.youtube.com/user/KriyaYogaOnline

Today's guest is Harald Reiske, Kriya Yoga teacher and student of Roy Eugene Davis. Harald has been engaged on the Kriya Yoga path for over 40 years, and joins us today to share his wisdom and experience.
Questions Answered:
How did you discover Kriya Yoga?  And what was your experience like learning from Mr. Davis.
What advice would you give to a new Kriya Yoga practitioner to help encourage success on their Self-realization path?
What does Self-realization mean to you?

As you look back over the years of your own dedicated practice and working with students, what is a very common obstacle most students have trouble with, and what advise would you give to resolve that obstacle?


When you reflect on your time studying with Mr. Davis, what memories stand out as being most meaningful or impactful on your own spiritual development?


Do you have any final thoughts for our listeners?

Harald and Marlies Reiske are the spiritual directors of Kriya Yoga Center in Germany. https://www.kriya-yoga.de/ Harald and Marlies host seminars, offer regular publications and have translated Roy Eugene Davis' Kriya Yoga books into German. They are an invaluable resource for those of you closer to their part of the world.
Your host, Ryan Kurczak, is a Kriya Yoga meditation teacher and author. He was authorized to teach Kriya Yoga in 2005, by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct student of Paramahansa Yogananda.
If you would like to participate in online live sessions consider becoming a member of The Kriya Yoga Online Patreon Community or applying to the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Program.
For continued inspiration and instruction, please read my new book, An Essential Guide to Kriya Yoga Practice. Now available in hardcover and softback on Amazon.  Also, now available Understanding the Holy Science: A Theoretical and Experiential Study Guide to Sri Yukteswar's Kriya Yoga Practice.
For more information about Kriya Yoga events, courses and online classes please visit:
A community of Kriya Yoga practitioners engaged in supporting this work.
https://www.patreon.com/KriyaYoga
Blog posts, books and information on the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Course.
https://kriyayogaonline.com/
A Year Long Kriya Yoga Introduction Course
Kriya Yoga Online Ashram (teachable.com)
Hundreds of hours of videos related to Kriya Yoga and spiritual growth.
https://www.youtube.com/user/KriyaYogaOnline

On this episode of Season 2 of The Kriya Yoga Podcast you will be listening to a class on the final chapter in Roy Eugene Davis' book Absolute Knowledge That Liberates Consciousness. During the final half of 2023, I sent a class, once a month, exploring Absolute Knowledge to members of our Kriya Yoga Online Patreon Community. After completing the final class on Chapter 7: Infinite Life, I decided to release the entire course for free on Teachable. If you enjoy this podcast, you can download the entire course at: https://kriya-yoga.teachable.com/courses/
It is my wish that this discussion serves as inspiration for you on your own awakening path.
Your host, Ryan Kurczak, is a Kriya Yoga meditation teacher and author. He was authorized to teach Kriya Yoga in 2005, by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct student of Paramahansa Yogananda.
If you would like to participate in online live sessions consider becoming a member of The Kriya Yoga Online Patreon Community or applying to the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Program.
For continued inspiration and instruction, please read my new book, An Essential Guide to Kriya Yoga Practice. Now available in hardcover and softback on Amazon.  Also, now available Understanding the Holy Science: A Theoretical and Experiential Study Guide to Sri Yukteswar's Kriya Yoga Practice.
For more information about Kriya Yoga events, courses and online classes please visit:
A community of Kriya Yoga practitioners engaged in supporting this work.
https://www.patreon.com/KriyaYoga
Blog posts, books and information on the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Course.
https://kriyayogaonline.com/
A Year Long Kriya Yoga Introduction Course
Kriya Yoga Online Ashram (teachable.com)
Hundreds of hours of videos related to Kriya Yoga and spiritual growth.
https://www.youtube.com/user/KriyaYogaOnline

Welcome back to Season 2 of The Kriya Yoga Podcast. Kriya Yoga teacher and psychoanalyst David McGrath (https://www.davidmcgrath.ie/) and I explore the benefits of counseling and psychotherapy as a way to accelerate one's spiritual growth process. Over the last 25 years, I have had significant shifts in capacity for meditation by engaging with a counselor, when needed, to help address psychological blind spots and complexes, and have seen outstanding progress in students of Kriya Yoga who remained steady in their meditation practice and supplemented their spiritual growth procedures with effective guidance from a skilled psychological professional.
If you have been practicing for a while, and are curious why your spiritual awareness is not deepening or expanding, the topic of this podcast could make a big difference in your appreciation of the spiritual path.
In this discussion we talk about my own experiences moving through difficult internal dynamics as well as the difficulty finding a helpful guide on the path to psychological harmony.  Yogananda was known to have said that 90% of the spiritual battle is psychological, and after that, it tends to take care of itself. In the Bhagavad Gita, the allegory is one of profound inner growth and resolving the tendencies of confusion, doubt, fear, etc.  For those on an advanced path to spiritual realization, consideration of the themes within this podcast will be of great benefit.  You can also explore episode #95 from season 1, Healing Blockages of the Heart Chakra to deepen your understanding of this discussion. 
Your host, Ryan Kurczak, is a Kriya Yoga meditation teacher and author. He was authorized to teach Kriya Yoga in 2005, by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct student of Paramahansa Yogananda.
If you would like to participate in online live sessions consider becoming a member of The Kriya Yoga Online Patreon Community or applying to the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Program.
For continued inspiration and instruction, please read my new book, An Essential Guide to Kriya Yoga Practice. Now available in hardcover and softback on Amazon.  Also, now available Understanding the Holy Science: A Theoretical and Experiential Study Guide to Sri Yukteswar's Kriya Yoga Practice.
For more information about Kriya Yoga events, courses and online classes please visit:
A community of Kriya Yoga practitioners engaged in supporting this work.
https://www.patreon.com/KriyaYoga
Blog posts, books and information on the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Course.
https://kriyayogaonline.com/
A Year Long Kriya Yoga Introduction Course
Kriya Yoga Online Ashram (teachable.com)
Hundreds of hours of videos related to Kriya Yoga and spiritual growth.
https://www.youtube.com/user/KriyaYogaOnline