Lessons in Kriya Yoga

Step 1: Complete Paramahansa Yogananda’s Basic Series of YSS Lessons for Home Study

Yogoda Satsanga Society of India makes the advanced spiritual techniques that it teaches available only to students of the YSS Lessons, a home-study course for which all interested persons may apply. It is an ancient tradition in India to approach a spiritual teacher with sincerity prior to receiving instruction; and by applying for the YSS Lessons, the seeker after truth is stating that he or she is sincere in wanting to take the first step toward learning the Kriya Yoga science of meditation taught by Paramahansa Yogananda.

The Lessons provide step-by-step instructions for learning to meditate, as well as guidance on living a spiritually balanced and successful life. The basic series of the Lessons consist of 18 Lessons, which are mailed to students every two weeks. The basic series includes instruction in three powerful techniques taught by Paramahansa Yogananda — the Hong-Sau Technique of Concentration, the Energization Exercises, and the Aum Technique of Meditation — as necessary components in the comprehensive spiritual science of Kriya Yoga.

This gradual introduction has a purpose. As a mountain climber seeking to scale the Himalayas must first undergo the necessary conditioning and acclimatization, so the seeker needs this initial period to acclimatize his or her habits and thoughts, condition the mind with concentration and devotion, and practise directing the body’s life energy.

After approximately eight months of preparation and practice, those students who have completed study of the 18 basic Lessons are then eligible to apply for initiation in the technique of Kriya Yoga and formally establish the time-honoured guru-disciple relationship with Paramahansa Yogananda and his lineage of enlightened masters.