Kriya Yoga Acharya - Nityananda

Acharya Nityananda in Spain - Profile

I was born in Valencia, Spain, the third of five brothers. My father was a dentist. I spent my childhood happily fighting with the rest of my brothers; any excuse for it was welcome. My mother was a very spiritual person; she etched on me the words of Saint Augustine: “"Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you". I studied in a Catholic school for boys until I was eighteen, where religion was of the most importance. I’m very thankful for some teachers I had there. I remember one of them who gave very inspiring classes of religion, telling wonderful spiritual stories in such a way that time stopped and our hearts vibrated with the desire of being good and being with God.

I got a degree in Communication Sciences (Journalism) in an ultra-catholic college. There I met a woman who later became my wife, and I think that there ended my interest in being a good Catholic. At that time I discovered Jung and his dream interpretation; it opened a new world for me, as I could interpret my own dreams – I dream a lot – and discover spiritual and personal messages behind them, which questioned everything I had learned so far.

After college I worked in a newspaper and in several mass media firms. Very soon I lost my interest in being a famous journalist, when I saw the state of consciousness of the people who worked in the main local newspaper: some of them addicted to alcohol, others didn’t have any personal life except living in the editorial office. So there started my spiritual quest. I’m very thankful for my training as journalist, as I learned to question and analyze every discourse that was offered to me in my search for Truth. After trying every kind of strange things that the local spiritual market offered, I started my sessions of Rebirthing and I discovered that there was an ashram of Haidakhan Baba in Valencia. He is a saint of India, whose followers think that he is a manifestation of Babaji. I was absolutely happy all the time I was there, and for the first time in my life I felt at home, in the middle of the fire ceremonies, chants, mantras and the practice of Karma Yoga. I felt that Haidakhan Baba was my guru. Following the purification practices, I kept my head shaved during nine months. When I walked on the street some people thought that I was a skinhead, and ever since, some former friends from the Catholic school think that I am still in a strange sect. Shaving my hair is one of the best things I’ve done in my life, as I broke with all the expectations that people had of me. A kind of social suicide that liberated me.

When the ashram of Haidakhan Baba was closed I understood that I needed a personal spiritual discipline to follow, not relying on groups. I looked for masters of Kriya Yoga, inspired by the book “Autobiography of a Yogi”. At that time a person gave to my wife a copy of the English language Yoga Journal magazine.. There was an ad of Marshall Govindan and the Kriya Yoga of the 18 Siddhas – I wondered what it was, I didn’t have any idea about what were “the 18 Siddhas.” So I write to Govindan to see if he could come to Spain, and he answered very kindly. I also wrote to Daya Mata and lately to Yogi Ramaiah, who invited me to go to India. Finally I received a Kriya Yoga initiation from Self-Realization Fellowship of Yogananda, as it was the more available option for me, and, moreover, I lost the letter of Govindan.

After some years being in the Yogananda group, I felt that my spiritual practice and my life were stuck. There was a divorce between my spiritual life and my daily life, and I felt that it was not healthy being like that. I found again the letter that Govindan sent to me, and after some steps, in 1995, we were able to organize a first level initiation in Valencia with him. In my dreams I was told that Govindan “was like Babaji”, so the omens were good.

I enjoyed so much the first lecture of Govindan in Valencia about Kriya Yoga, it was the “pure spiritual common sense” I was looking for. The techniques seemed so simple for me (maybe I was a journalist looking for amazing esoteric revelations), but I said to myself that I would give the techniques a chance, I would try them and see the results.

So I continued with them until receiving the training of the Third level seminar. I have been practicing Kriya Yoga since them, with some ups and downs, as I was also attracted to the traditional Kriya Yoga of Lahiri Mahasaya. In Govindan I found a teacher with spiritual realization, honest and generous – something quite unusual in the spiritual market so far as I knew. And with the teachings he gave me I started integrating my spirituality with my daily life.

The Yoga of Jesus

It was Govindan who suggested to me to write a book about the teachings of Jesus. In the beginning I was surprised because I wondered: “what could I say about Jesus that has not been said yet?” He told me just to take a quote from Jesus and meditate on it using the Kriya Yoga Dhyanas, and later I could write the insights that came.

So I dedicated myself to that, until I wrote the book “The Yoga of Jesus”. It was a very happy period of my life; I even received in meditation a mantra to connect with Jesus. Writing that book allowed me to be in peace with the past, with my society, with a part of myself. I found out that Jesus was a Siddha, a Yoga master, and that East and West speak about the same, sometimes even using the same words.

Later I saw that many students of Yoga had also the need of integrating the figure of Jesus with their practice of Yoga, so I believe that this book also helped them. I have met several people who found – to my surprise – that the book was for them a kind of spiritual catalyst. Sometimes I read again that book amazed of the energy that it has, which came not from me, but – probably - from being in an adequate state of attunement.

After ending the book I went to the North of India with M. Govindan. Before leaving I learned that in Rishikesh there was a cave where Jesus lived, according to saints like Papa Ramdass or Swami Rama Tirtha. I printed the description of the place, hoping to find it and to meditate there.

As soon as I was in India, a travelling friend gave a picture of Jesus, the same of the cover of my book. We hired a taxi in Rishikesh, in search of the cave of Jesus, outside the town. As soon as we arrived at the expected place, I took my maps from my bag… and there was an Indian man who spoke Spanish, and in two minutes they lead us to the cave. We meditated there; my friend started crying because of the energy she felt. It was a very familiar and close presence, directly linked with the heart… and I felt that the circle was closed, that Jesus, Babaji and India were perfectly united. I feel deeply thankful for the experience.

Aurobindo and the Mother

Another thing for which I am thankful to M. Govindan (and certainly there are many of them!) and to Babaji is my visit to the ashram of Sri Aurobindo in India, and Auroville, the city created by the Mother, his disciple and collaborator. I never felt a Divine Presence so evident and powerful as I felt there… it wasn’t a mystic and subtle presence, but something so tangible that you could touch it with the hand. Meditating in the Mother’s room, in the ashram of Pondicherry, I told her mentally “please come with me to Valencia” – and I had the feeling that she was laughing a lot with my wisecrack. Sometime later I wrote the book “Teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother”, and introduction to their yogic teachings, gathering several important texts that I translated for my private use. So the Mother came with me to Spain. Aurobindo and the Mother are for me an enormous help in my Kriya Yoga path, and it was my wish to share the inspiration and guidance that I receive from them.

Kriya Yoga

As time pass I’m amazed by the wonderful simplicity of the techniques of Babaji’s Kriya Yoga. I don’t feel comfortable with the public role of Yoga teacher (I am not that, I have my own problems and challenges), but I love sharing with others the teachings and techniques that have helped me. I also love the people that come to the seminars of Kriya Yoga, usually special people with interesting backgrounds to share. And certainly, the best of Kriya Yoga is that Babaji is behind, holding and supporting the students. His grace has all the possible forms.

I enjoy writing about Yoga and Kriya Yoga, publishing my articles in the web www.kriyayogadebabaji.net with the goal of helping the persons looking for Truth, sharing what I have learned. I also have the web www.yogaandchristianity.com, offering more free articles about Yoga and Christianity. Teaching Kriya Yoga is for me a form of Journalism: sharing a knowledge that is not mine, but making it available for those who are going to receive it, so they could understand it easily and benefit from it.

Maybe there will be more books in the future, if Babaji decides it. I believe that the ultimate lesson of Kriya Yoga is the openness of the heart. I would like to learn that, and, if it’s possible, to transmit it to others.

Nityananda

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