Kundalini.Tantra.by.Satyananda.Saraswati

the third is the oscillating mind, the fourth is the one-pointed mind and the fifth is the
controlled mind.
Now, if you belong to one of the first three categories, and most of us do, after
practising hatha yoga, you should take to kriya yoga. If you belong to one of the last two
categories, then after hatha yoga, you can take to kriya yoga if you want, or you can
follow the path of raja yoga or any other path which asks you to concentrate through
willpower. When you are at the sattvic level you can deal with the mind through the
mind, but when you are at the tamasic or rajasic level, if you try to deal with the mind
through the mind, you will cause a mental crisis.
In this world, there are very few sattvic people. Most of us have a very restless and
distracted mind, and we find it impossible to focus on one object or theme for very long.
You know what happens if you light a candle when the wind is blowing? The same thing
happens when most people try to concentrate. The fluctuations of the mind totally
annihilate the one-pointedness. So, the kriya yoga practices were designed for those
people who are unable to control, concentrate or stabilize their mind and for those who
cannot sit in one posture for a prolonged period of time.
Whether you are sattvic, rajasic or tamasic, the practices of hatha yoga should be
taken up first. A tamasic person needs hatha yoga to awaken his mind, body and
personality. A person who is rajasic needs hatha yoga to balance the solar and lunar
energies in his body and mind. And a person who is sattvic by temperament needs hatha
yoga to help him awaken kundalini. Hatha yoga is for everybody. And if you have been
practising asanas, pranayama, mudras and bandhas consistently for two years or more,
then you are ready for kriya yoga. Hatha yoga is the basis of kriya yoga.
The practices
There are many kriya yoga practices, but a combination of 20 is considered very
important and powerful. These 20 practices are divided into two groups. One group is to
be done with the eyes open, that is the first 9, and the other group, comprised of 11
practices, is to be done with the eyes closed. For the first group of practices, the central
instruction is, 'Do not close your eyes.' Even though you feel very relaxed and have a
tendency to go within, you must not close your eyes. You can blink, you can rest, you can
stop the practices for a minute, but each practice must be done with the eyes open. This is
a very important instruction for kriya yoga practice.
The first practice in kriya yoga is called vipareeta karani mudra. Vipareeta means
reverse, karani means action, so vipareeta karani mudra is a method for creating a reverse
action. In Hatha Yoga Pradipika and in the tantric texts, there is a wonderful statement
regarding this reverse action:
"From the moon the nectar emanates. When the sun consumes the nectar, the yogi
becomes old. His body decays and he dies. Therefore, by constant practice, the yogi
should try to reverse the process. The nectar which is flowing from the moon (bindu