In the Western world it is not considered very important to use our hearts. I think underneath we would all like to be more able to love, and be loved, but we have learned to use our heads. We have been educated, not only in our educational system, but also in our society – as a whole cultural way of proceeding – to use our heads. It has brought us a certain degree of material success, but it has not succeeded in giving us the happiness, the peace, the consciousness and the love that we all want. The teaching of Natural Yoga, the way of natural union with God, which I learned from my spiritual teacher Master Kripalvananda, is a method of opening your heart, of surrender. This is not to say that knowledge is a bad thing, because it is not. But it is not enough. For that matter, just to open your heart is not enough either. But we are so much further ahead in our heads than in our hearts that what we need to learn is to open that heart and surrender. But surrender to what? If we just surrender, will we not be done in and overrun by life, by other people‟s neuroses if not our own? Therefore in Natural Yoga one surrenders to the Truth. Another name for the Truth is God, and another name for God is the Absolute. Another name for the Absolute is Perfection, and another name for Perfection is Truth. And if you have never experienced any of those things, other than intellectually or in books, then it makes it difficult to know what all that is about. This is what Natural Yoga is all about – surrender to God.

This book is meant above all for someone whose primary goal is to be completely liberated from illusion, united with one's true self, and totally open in one's heart to the true self of each other individual. It is also meant for someone whose primary goal is to be successful in life – more honest, healthy, creative, wealthy, and loving. Which of these two separate goals is one's primary one determines how one reads this book and how one approaches the practices it describes. The approach of a reader who seeks a successful life is to learn selected techniques from the book and practice them until he or she becomes a master at using the will to focus the attention and channel the energy of life. The mental stillness and physical ability thus achieved allow such a master to fulfill his or her ethical desires in life. However, the mental stillness produced through this willful approach is not complete. This is because the life energy

Dieses Buch ist vor allem für jemanden gedacht, dessen vorrangiges Ziel es ist, völlig von der Illusion befreit zu sein, vereint mit dem wahren Selbst und total offen im Herzen gegenüber dem wahren Selbst eines jeden anderen Individuums. Ausserdem ist es für jemanden gedacht, dessen hauptsächliches Ziel es ist, erfolgreich im Leben zu sein, d.h. ehrlicher, gesünder, kreativer, reicher und liebender. Wie man das Buch liest und wie man dabei an die darin beschriebenen Praktiken herangeht wird davon bestimmt sein, welches von diesen beiden unterschiedlichen Zielen das Hauptziel von einem ist. Die Herangehensweise desjenigen Lesers, der ein erfolgreiches Leben sucht wäre es, ausgewählte Techniken aus diesem Buch zu lernen und zu praktizieren, bis er oder sie zu einem Meister dabei geworden ist, den Willen dazu zu benutzen, die Aufmerksamkeit zu konzentrieren und zu richten, und die Energie des Lebens zu kanalisieren, zu lenken. Eine auf diese Art und Weise erreichte geistige Stille oder Unbewegtheit und körperliche Fähigkeit erlauben es solch einem Meister dann, ein ethisches, gesundes, kreatives, erfolgreiches und angenehmes Leben zu führen. Doch eine durch diese willensmässige Herangehensweise erzeugte geistige Unbewegtheit ist nicht völlig stabil.

Swāmī Kripālvānanda has devoted his whole life to the determined quest for truth and liberation. Maintaining a rigourous discipline for the past twenty-eight years, he has spent ten hours a day in meditation while keeping silence for the last eighteen years. Having mastered all previous stages of yoga, he has finally reached the highest transcendental state of nirvikalpa samādhi. Through his progress in meditation, he has rediscovered the ancient eight-fold path of yoga. Upon meeting Swāmī Kripālvānanda, Beloved Bāpujī (Dear Father) as he is affectionately called, or studying his life, one is immediately struck by the truthfulness, fearlessness, and long-suffering compassion of a man who has overcome great obstacles. He is a sensitive devotee who has had to make great efforts at discipline and detachment.

Yoga, meditation and sādhanā (spiritual practice) are practically synonymous terms. By properly understanding their meanings, forms, uses and purposes, there is every possibility of resolving a seeker’s problems about spiritual progress. Wise men and women have identified the path of worldly pleasures as the path of bhoga (pleasure-seeking) and the path of spiritual elevation as the one of yoga (union with God). The former path is meant for the worldly person aspiring for material well-being and the latter one is meant for the renunciate aspiring for spiritual well-being. Only that person who has detached himself from all worldly concerns is capable of treading the path of yoga.

The main objective of meditation is to bring steadiness to the mind, which being very sensitive, usually remains disturbed. A disturbed mind is not capable of finding a solution to any problem. On the contrary, it may even confuse the problem further. A person with a disturbed mind makes little or no sense of his situation and embraces failure everywhere. Whether one is male or female, young or old, rich or poor, learned or foolish, devotee or atheist, ascetic or undisciplined, righteous or sinful, he is invariably in need of mental peace. That is why one always makes every possible effort to attain it. A person who does not have mental peace knows full well that the main cause for their unrest is his desires. These desires, however, are usually so strong that in spite of such awareness on his part, he is unable to give them up.

A renunciate seeker, one who desires liberation would prefer to meditate in a solitary place like the peak of a mountain, a cave, or a river bank. Practice of meditation becomes steadfast with less effort if one meditates in a place which has natural beauty and is very quiet and suitable in all seasons. How can one imagine the existence of flies or mosquitoes in such places? Even if such a place is available, one will have to leave it or reject it if one finds difficulty in procuring food and bare necessities. Finding no such difficulty, one should establish a small hut there, keeping only the minimum requirement of things. If, by chance, more than one seeker is inhabiting that place it is all the better because they will have the opportunity to discuss scriptures and exchange their experiences with each other.

What is known as śaktipāta in Tantra is called anugraha (grace) of God or guru in the Bhakti and Yoga paths. An able guru can give śaktipāta to many aspirants at a time if he or she so desires. Traditionally, śaktipāta is given to only the deserving ones. This does not mean that those who are unfit or who are not qualified as ‘deserving ones’ will not receive the benefits of the guru’s grace or śaktipāta. The guru’s grace is very generous, and like the rain, it falls equally on all. However, according to their degree of fitness, some aspirants derive its benefits quickly and completely, while others are benefited slowly and to a lesser extent. Rain nourishes the seeds of the banyan tree and an okra plant equally. The okra plant grows, but it will never become as big as a banyan tree, no matter how much nourishment it receives. Likewise, the river may flow uniformly over a jug, a water pot and a barrel, but each will be filled with water according to its capacity. This natural limit of capacity or ability is called adhikāra (fitness).

To better understand what happens immediately after receiving śaktipāta initiation, the personal narratives of recipients of śaktipāta will be presented.1 The various kinds of gross and subtle manifestations which take place in the body and mind of the seekers can be classified into four broad categories as follows: (1) Perception of light, various colors and different figures. (2) Visual perception (darśana) of Gods, Goddesses or scenes of nature. (3) Expression of inner sentiments through laughter, crying, chanting of mantras, singing, roaring, etc. (4) Various physical activities such as trembling, swaying, āsanas and mudrās. Under each category the seekers’ experiences will be narrated in their own words and a scientific explanation of the subtle processes underlying the seekers’ manifestations will be made.

One could liken yoga to a temple comprised of eight floors, of which the yamas and niyamas would constitute the basement and ground floors, asanas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana and dhyana would constitute the first, second, third, fourth and fifth floors respectively. The sixth floor would be savikalpa samadhi, and nirvikalpa samadhi would be the seventh floor. Worldly seekers as well as renunciate seekers enter this temple of yoga in order to reach the highest floor. But seekers with worldly desires cannot reach the sixth and the seventh floors because their desires do not permit them to progress. They may have to be satisfied with the experiences of the lower stages such as tandra (yogic drowsiness), nidra (yogic sleep), and murcha (yogic swoon). However, the sages lead them towards the fourth and fifth floors and encourage them to make all possible efforts to reach them.

The existence of citta (mind stuff) depends on the existence of kriyā (activity) and vāsanā (desires). If either one of the latter two disappears, the other also disappears. They are like two ends of a line. If the line is erased, the two ends also disappear automatically. In Yogavāsistha, Sage Vasistha says to Lord Rama, “There are two causes of citta: prāna vibrations and vāsanā (desire). When one is destroyed, so is the other.” The mind is always full of thoughts and desires. Therefore, in order to render it desireless, one has to take recourse to viveka (discrimination) and vairāgya (nonattachment). In Hathayoga Pradīpikā it is said: “When the vital air becomes active the mind also becomes active, and when the former becomes steady the latter also is stabilized. When the yogī attains steadfastness of mind, the activity of the vital air also ceases.’’1

Patanjali, in Yogadarsana, discusses two main aspects of yoga: the means or techniques of yoga and the manifestations or attainments of yoga. The former is discussed in Sadhanapada1 and the latter in Vibhutipada2. Sadhanapada includes yama and niyama, asanas, pranayama, and pratyahara—these five embodiments of yoga are considered external. Vibhutipada includes dharana, dhyana, and samadhi—these are the internal aspects of yoga, and these alone enable one to enter into the important spheres of yoga. However, only through the mastery of the techniques of yoga is the mind fit for the attainments of yoga. The body is the medium for asana, pranayama, and pratyahara, while the mind is the medium for dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. Only after the purification of the body does the purification of the mind really begin. In Goraksa Paddhati it is said, “A seeker should practice dharana only after mastering asana, pranayama, and pratyahara.3”

Dharana is the seed; dhyana is the tree, and samadhi is the fruit. These three are inseparable, constituting an integral whole. Sage Patanjali has termed this trio samyama (constraint). Samyama is the direct means; in the practice of yoga, while the preceding five steps, including yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, and pratyahara are the indirect means. However, in comparison with the highest state of nirbija samadhi, even samyama is considered to be an indirect means for mastering yoga. Having withdrawn the mind from the sense organs, the seeker, through samyama, has to focus his attention on an object of contemplation and concentrate his mind on a presented idea so that nothing but that exists in his consciousness. During the practice of samyama, the seeker’s mind passes through various states before reaching the state of dhyana or perfect concentration, and finally attaining perfect knowledge through samadhi or super consciousness.

Samadhi is the eighth step of yoga. The great Sage Gheranda says, “There is no yoga without samadhi. None is so fortunate as the person who attains samadhi. Samadhi can be attained by devotedly serving the guru and securing his grace.”1 in this statement an important doctrine, full of truth, is laid down. Since in samadhi one has to achieve the constraint of the mind by stopping its fluctuations, the sage has said that there cannot be yoga without samadhi. The end product of any yoga can only be this. It matters little by what name we call it. Another doctrine laid out in the above statement is that the state of samadhi is not attainable without the grace of a realized guru. Only a lighted candle can light an unlighted one. The truth of this cannot be negated simply because some inexperienced people do not agree with it. In Hatha Yoga Pradipika it is said, “As salt dissolves in water, so the mind dissolves into the soul and becomes one with it. The unity of soul and mind is called samadhi.”2 Yogi Yajnavalkya says, “The union of jivatman (soul) with paramatman (God) is known as samadhi. The state in which the jivatman establishes itself in the paramatman is the state of samadhi.”3

The major fruits of samadhi are five: 1) prasada (purity of the spirit), 2) rtambara prajna (the highest wisdom or pure intellect), 3) divya sarira (divine body), 4) siddhis (miraculous powers), and 5) moksha (liberation). Through the practice of samadhi both the body and the mind are purified, resulting in the complete purification of the spirit. This, in turn, unveils the pure intellect, unfolds the highest wisdom, and transforms an ordinary body into a divine one. Intellect purified through the practice of samadhi becomes sattvic buddhi (pure intellect) or rtambara prajna (the highest wisdom or pure intellect). The body burned or purified in the fire of yoga through samadhi becomes divya sarira (the divine body). Thus prasada (purity of the spirit) has mental as well as physical aspects leading to the highest wisdom and the divine body, respectively. These yield miraculous powers and finally lead to liberation.

Of the three paths, jnana (knowledge), karma (action), or bhakti (devotion), one should choose one which suits one’s nature. No one of these paths is superior or inferior to the others. It is sheer ignorance to consider one’s own path to be superior and those of others to be inferior. The follower of the path of knowledge begins practicing meditation through intellect, the devotee does so with the heart, and the yogi begins with the body. In society there are very few intellectuals, but those believing in God and duty or action (karma) are found in, large proportions. Under such circumstances it is natural and appropriate that those involved in worldly affairs take recourse to either the path of devotion or that of action. Followers of the path of knowledge study books on philosophy. Devotion to God does not interest them. They do not even practice yoga for they believe that action results in bondage. In ancient times such people were known as sanyasis (renunciate of worldly life). Devotees (bhaktas) are not as interested in philosophical discussions as they are in God. This group still leans towards worldly enjoyments and hence vairagya (the spirit of non-attachment) is lacking. Nonetheless, they are certainly capable of performing yoga (withdrawal from possessions and social activities). They also do not consider knowledge or action to be worthless.

Bapuji on Kripalu Yoga - The Yoga of Chitta and Prana explores the profound relationship between the mind (chitta) and life energy (prana) within the practice of Kripalu Yoga. Rooted in the ancient traditions of Ashtanga Yoga, this discourse describes how mastery over the body, senses, and breath leads to deep meditation and spiritual realization. The text differentiates Kripalu Yoga from other forms, emphasizing its integration of physical postures (asana), breath control (pranayama), and meditative absorption (dhyana) in a seamless, natural progression. Unlike rigid, segmented practices, Kripalu Yoga fosters an organic unfolding of spiritual experience, allowing the aspirant to develop control over prana and chitta simultaneously. For the advanced meditator, the text provides an intricate analysis of how prana governs the body's energy and how its awakening leads to the transformation of consciousness. It explains the subtle balance between Hathayoga and Rajayoga, showing how mastery of the senses and mind must develop in tandem. Beginners will appreciate its structured guidance on discipline, self-control, and the progressive unfolding of yoga, making higher states of awareness more accessible. Ultimately, Bapuji on Kripalu Yoga presents a path that bridges effort and grace, showing how sincere practice leads to a harmonious integration of body, mind, and divine energy.

Victory to God is a deeply spiritual discourse delivered by Yogacharya Kripalvananda, blending philosophy, devotion, and ethical action into a cohesive path for spiritual growth. The text explores the significance of ethical action, emphasizing that true progress in life stems from virtue, discipline, and a commitment to both engagement with society and inner renunciation. Kripalvananda provides a nuanced understanding of human evolution, contrasting worldly accomplishments with the pursuit of liberation, and highlighting the role of ethical living in both individual and collective advancement. He stresses the importance of chastity, self-control, and the refinement of one's mental and physical energies as essential steps toward spiritual realization. For the experienced seeker, the discourse offers profound insights into the balance between engagement in ethical action and the deeper path of renunciation, including the transformation of life energy through yoga. The text illuminates the necessity of steady mental discipline and surrender to a truth teacher, demonstrating how systematic practice leads to liberation. Beginners will find accessible wisdom in its teachings on ethical conduct, devotion, and the role of love and tolerance in daily life. Ultimately, Victory to God serves as a guide for all levels of aspirants, providing both philosophical depth and practical techniques for self-realization and the fulfillment of divine purpose.

The Road to Liberation by Yogeshwar Muni is a profound guide to spiritual awakening, offering both beginners and advanced meditators a structured path toward true liberation. Rooted in direct experience, the book explores self-realization, dharma, energy mastery, and the transformative power of surrendering personal will to the Ultimate. Yogeshwar Muni explains how our conditioned perception of life keeps us trapped in cycles of struggle and repetition, and he provides practical steps—such as self-awareness, ethical living, and meditation—to break free. For the seasoned practitioner, the book delves deeply into the dissolution of karmic tendencies, the refinement of energy, and the role of an enlightened teacher in guiding the aspirant beyond conceptual understanding into direct experience. Beginners will appreciate its accessible approach, which integrates spiritual progress with daily life, emphasizing that liberation is possible even for householders. Through anecdotes, metaphysical insights, and practical techniques, the author presents a path that is both rigorous and attainable. He warns that the journey is long and requires persistent dedication, yet the reward is the end of suffering and the realization of one's divine nature. Ultimately, The Road to Liberation is a call to transcend illusion and embrace the truth of who and what we truly are.

Swami Kripalu was arguably the most accomplished kundalini yoga master in modern times. He revived an ancient form of yoga taught to him by his guru, whom he later discovered was Lakulisha, the 28th incarnation of Shiva. He called this yoga sahaja, or natural yoga, which is also known by many other names, including surrender yoga and kundalini yoga. Kripalu practiced natural yoga for over 30 years, 10 hours a day without fail. In the end, he achieved nirbija samadhi, the highest goal of yoga. The hallmark of natural yoga is that it is spontaneous. Once the practitioner surrenders to the Divine and the life energy is awakened in the body, asanas and mudras, pranayama, sound and song, dance, thoughts and feelings all arise on their own. The practitioner merely observes what is happening. After the life energy has been awakened, the kundalini awakens by the grace of God or guru and travels up the spine, systematically piercing and evolving all the chakras. By this means, body and mind eventually become completely pure.

The Transmission of Truth, A Manual for Enlightenment Masters was based on the talks given by Charles Berner at the first Enlightenment Master’s Training Course in 1977. A slightly revised version, published in 1981, was used for the training of en lightenment masters since then. In 1977 Berner gave up giving Enlightenment In tensives and devoted himself to meditation. In the years that followed, a deeper and clearer understanding of what enlightenment is emerged from his contemplations on the nature of Truth, and he realized that The Transmission of Truth contains some errors about enlightenment and how Enlightenment Intensives should be conducted.

1. Discipline The key to self-growth is the Grace of God. Such a grace becomes accessible only to one who has become predisposed to faithful observance of disciplines. Indeed, such faithful observance must become second nature to a yogi. In fact, the discipline itself is like a yogi, and a yogi is synonymous with his disciplines. There is no essential difference between the two. Lack of discipline is in the nature of a bhogi (a pleasure-addicted person). Indeed, it is synonymous with a bhogi and vice versa. The spiritual journey which takes one from the base of an undisciplined life to the highest peak of disciplined life is variously called the journey of yoga (yoga-yatra), the journey of the conscience (antar-yatra), the journey of the soul (atma-yatra), the journey of divinity (deva yatra), or the journey of the eternal truth (brahma-yatra). This is not a straightforward journey, but a very intricate and uneven one. It is virtually an uphill journey all the way. (In this journey), it takes a long while to establish one’s foothold after taking every step. One is never certain at which moment he will lose his footing and slide into a deep ravine, losing his very life. (FORMATTING HAS BEEN CHANGED)

This interpretation is based upon the Bardo Thodol, translated by Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup, as edited by W. Y. Evans-Wentz. The purpose of this book is to provide a manual for guiding newly deceased persons through the after death experience, in terms familiar to the Western world. There has been no attempt made to carryover the beauty of the original translation. Instead its beauty has been sacrificed to the cause of clarity. Great liberty has been taken by the interpreter, based partly on his own subjective reality on after death experiences, and the responsibility for this interpretation lies on the interpreter. The attitude with which the person who does the reading approaches the act of guiding the just dead person by using this manual should be one of dedication to helping the deceased. Persons who are familiar, before having died, with this Guide will experience self-liberation more easily than those not familiar with it. However, persons of usual ability, even though unfamiliar with the work will benefit greatly, if not completely achieve the state of self-liberation.

This book is meant above all for someone whose primary goal is to be completely liberated from illusion, united with one’s true self, and totally open in one's heart to the true self of each other individual. It is also meant for someone whose primary goal is to be successful in life – more honest, healthy, creative, wealthy, and loving. Which of these two separate goals is one's primary one determines how one reads this book and how one approaches the practices it describes. The approach of a reader who seeks a successful life is to learn selected techniques from the book and practice them until he or she becomes a master at using the will to focus the attention and channel the energy of life. The mental stillness and physical ability thus achieved allow such a master to fulfil his or her ethical desires in life. However, the mental stillness produced through this wilful approach is not complete. This is because the life energy, the power at the root of the mind and body, cannot be completely controlled by the will.

Yoga is known as Brahmavidya (knowledge of the supreme spirit). This great knowledge is ancient and extremely difficult to attain. For its accomplishment, many lifetimes are required. If it were evaluated objectively, it would be defined as the supreme religion, the global religion, the universal religion, the human religion or the eternal religion. It is true that India is the land of its origin, but the entire world has equal claim to it. For its accomplishment, the grace of a guru versed in yoga is necessary. This yoga is included in the six philosophies. Two approaches are prominent in the world: that of knowledge and that of action. Thus yoga, too, can be of two types: jnana yoga (yoga of knowledge) and karma yoga (yoga of action). Bhakti yoga (yoga of devotion to God) is included in both jnana and karma yoga, because knowledge and action are useless without devotion.

This little volume is a collection of guidances given by Dharmacharya Swami Kripalvanandaji Maharaj to his students over a period of time in 1971. It was first published in his native tongue, Gujarati, under the title Guru Vachanamrit; later an English edition was published in India by the Kayavarohan Tirth Seva Samaj. The translation from Gujarati into English was done by Gauri Modi. Here, Yogeshwar Muni has placed the text into the American idiom. Darshana Shakti Ma has done the final edit; Tapasvini, Joyce Hawkeye and Kali Shakti Ma the final type; and Narada Muni the printing supervision. To all these, we offer our appreciation. Special thanks to Yamuna Carsen, whose financial help made this edition possible.

The title of this historical Bhajan is Prakatya (Re-manifestation of Shri Lakulish). I have called it historical because one historical fact is shown in it. The murti ['form,' a statue or sculpture of a God or Goddesses] which appeared is Dadaji. [Editor's note: Dadaji is a name Bapuji used to refer to his guru, which means "dear grandfather."] Really the truth is covered by an untruth. This mūrti is that of my beloved Gurudev. We can say historically he appeared on this earth about 2,000 years ago. According to the Puranas his appearance was as far back as 5000 years ago. In the woods, in the place of natural beauty of ancient India, the study and practice of yoga was done by one individual in such a depth and detail and in a way not done anywhere else in the world. This great master was a great Maharishi, a great yogi: later on he was recognized as an incarnation of Shiva himself. The last incarnation of Shiva was the 28th incarnation -- Dadaji, Bapuji's Guru.

In Krpalupanisad, Svami Krpalvananda has given us the basic knowledge necessary for the practice of yoga. Krpalu means grace. Upanisad means sitting near. Through this scripture we are able to receive the grace of Svami Krpalvananda's profound wisdom, born of over twenty-five years of intense meditation and thorough study of yogic scripture. This combination of yogi and scholar makes Svami Krpalvananda's work particularly valuable for the seeker of Truth. It is rare to find a master of the yogic literature who can bring his own depth of experience to bear upon it, who lives the truths contained in the scriptures. A native of Gujarat, India, Svami Krpalvananda has practiced Sahaja Yoga meditation ten hours each day for the last twenty-eight years, while also working on humanitarian projects, teaching, and writing. With the blessings of his guru, Bhagavan Lakulisa, he has rebuilt the ancient spiritual center of Kayavarohana, located near Baroda in Gujarat. He now resides in America, where he teaches his disciples and continues his meditation

1. Introductory : Many sadhakas have asked questions directly or indirectly regarding the topic of conjugal sadhana during the last five or six years. Due to lack of time, dearth of proper scriptures, and my limitations as a sanyasi (renunciate), I have answered them very briefly. I decided to write a critical appreciation of one of the following scriptures: Sivasamhita, Gherandasarhhita, or Goraksa Paddhati and include elaborate answers to all the relevant questions, but I have not been able to do so yet. As I have been directing research for two years in the fields of yoga and music, it is proper that I provide the answers to the sadhakas’ questions. It is not correct that only complicated problems are put forth in the scriptures; the solutions to these problems are also given. It is true that these solutions cannot be understood logically. Logical reasoning would only make the problem more confusing. The solutions to the problems are obtained through regular sadhana (spiritual practice). In ancient times when the sadhaka (spiritual seeker) faced a problem at any stage of sadhana and could not find a solution, he would run to his Gurudeva (beloved teacher) and get a solution to his problems. This was the ancient way. This is correct, because when a mystery is revealed at the proper moment, the interrogator’s doubts are allayed. I have answered the questions of a few sadhakas hesitatingly, because if my opinion differed from that of their Guru, they would be on the horns of a dilemma. I have always first advised the sadhaka to seek his solution from his own Guru. Yet when they have insisted on my answer, I have given itto them. The answers to the problems I have put forth are the solutions to the problems in this article. I have obtained them by my sadhana, study of scriptures and the guidance of my Sadguru. You may accept and respect them only if you find them to be true according to your own experience.