Is Sudarshan Kriya Safe?
One of the recurring themes across these blogs concerns the safety of Sudarshan Kriya, the breathing technique which is the centerpiece of Art of Living’s Basic Course.
Through their teachers and through information on various websites which they control, Art of Living make a great many claims as to the benefits that Sudarshan Kriya purportedly gives, and in fact all too often they try to sell it as a panacea, something which is effective in curing nearly all illnesses.
Some of the specific claims that Art of Living has made about SK include that it can cure cancer and AIDS, be used as a treatment for drug addiction, treat depression, improve sleep, improve focus and concentration, and that it is effective in reducing stress.
Of greatest concern to many people following these blogs is not so much the benefits, if indeed there really are any, but rather the dangers associated with practicing SK. Indeed, whilst Art of Living take pride in flaunting the various alleged benefits of Kriya, they do very little if anything to warn prospective practitioners of any of the risks associated with practicing the technique. In fact, not only do they not warn participants that they may experience adverse side effects, they actually go so far as to deny that these side effects even exist. The following was taken directly from an Art of Living website, and in fact is what most people in Art of Living are led to believe:
Is Sudarshan Kriya Safe?
Sudarshan Kriya is completely safe and side-effects (if any) are only positive.
Throughout these blogs there have been hundreds of comments left by those who have practiced Sudarshan Kriya and who have reported that they suffered various ailments including headaches, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, fatigue, abnormal changes in blood pressure and blood-sugar levels, development of various allergies, uncontrollable muscle spasms, and feeling faint to name but a few.
The following are a small handful of comments left by various contributors which particularly concerning:
https://aolfree.wordpress.com/secret-aol-knowledge/sudarshan-kriya-notes/#comment-4729
i was a teacher. i have had a student pass out during sk. as adviced by aol, i made her smell the flowers that are offered to ravi’s picture. this is said to revive them. it did not happen. then as instructed, i placed a shawl that ravi had given me, as that is also divine, since ravi had been wearing it all day, before giving it to me. i was relatively new teacher at that time….i was told not to panic as grace will work it’s magic ( cant imagine that i was that dumb). anyway, we did all that and the student never came around. almost an hour later, she stirred and finally got up. i did have to call the doctor, who arrived after she had woken up. that incident really freaked me out. this was the severeist incident, with many smaller ones, which had people react abnormally. this was all karma clearing. so i do not beleive sk i for evetone.
https://aolfree.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/what-is-spiritual-abuse/#comment-3858
I did the kriya for several years. I also taught. I developed allergies which I never had, to dust, mites, pollen. I began getting bronchitis very often, and even had pneumonia twice (when I was teaching)! I no longer do the long Kriya, and rarely do even the short one at home because of my lung difficulties that came from the practice. If I get a cold, it immediately goes to my lungs. I’ve seen a pulmonary specialist as a result (I’m way too young for all this junk to be happening, btw) and he tested me and said “you have lungs 15-20 years beyond your age….” and showed me all sorts of awful looking stuff on my xray. I know my lungs were normal before because I had a mandatory health physical for work before learning the Kriya, and was told I was in excellent health. It included a chest xray. I have a cough that never goes away, now, and sounds deep and hollow. The doctor has recommended an inhaler, and stated that I have asthma (didn’t have it before the Kriya). So go figure. I think Kriya is bad for health, especially if one is a teacher and does more long Kriyas.
https://aolfree.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/what-is-spiritual-abuse/#comment-3858
A very knowledgeable yogi, whom I met at the ashram (he was visiting), observed the SK and later told me this:
He had not seen such unhealthy looking people as those doing the practices. He said that this type of breathing practice is indicated for those living in pristine, clean environments, such as the Himalayas, and living a particular, austere lifestyle, which no worldly people would be interested in living. Otherwise, he said, these SK would cause health problems of all sorts, in his opinion, and his observations of the group, he felt, supported his opinion. I stopped the SK after that conversation, and did leave AOL. My health improved immediately, slowly returning to normal after about a year of not doing SK.
https://aolfree.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/is-sudarshan-kriya-safe/#comment-4989
The heart palpitations started a week after I started doing the sudarshan kriya and unfortunately I never thought it was due to this practice and continued this practice. I never had any pre-existing conditions and being 24 years of age I have always been in good health. I later came to know that it was a direct result of doing this so called wonderful technique. The aol teacher had no clue about this always spoke some rubbish about cleansing and grace and negativity.
After three months of practice my health only worsened and became eractic. One day I fainted at work and was adviced bed rest. When I went through the treadmill/ECG my heart condition did not show any abnormality. The doctor who was very perceptive asked me about my work and other activities. When I told him about all and even the breathing practice that I do, he suggested maybe I should rethink and stop doing it. It was at that time I realized the actual causal relationship between sudarshan kriya and the heart palpitations. Whenever I stopped this practice for a couple of days the palpitations and discomfort in the heart area reduced.
I fortunately met some very good yoga teachers from the Bihar school of Yoga who made me understand the dangers of practicising improper Pranayama like how they teach in AOL. I was provided a tailored yoga sadhana routine which made me come back to normal and back in to good health. I was able to clearly see how my body got abused due to the AOL pranayama and kriya practice. And the other thing I clearly saw was how the AOL teachers were clueless, insenstive and even subtly abusive towards any one who do not corroborate their false claims of the benefits. I was also surprised to find in internet blogs that anyone who questions AOL gets abused by AOL trolls like yourself. When I first encountered this blog a few days ago I felt that I should share my experience in this post that more people become aware of these dangerous and help them deal with the suffering which can come to them due to AOL as it happened in my case.
There are many comments of a similar nature to these across the blogs, and I have added some links to various useful posts at the end of this post. Yet Art of Living have to date not publicized a single issue that an individual practicing Sudarshan Kriya has experienced. They do nothing to warn practitioners of any dangers related to the practice, and in fact generally tell those who report unpleasant side effects as a result of Kriya that toxins are being cleansed/released from the body as a result of the practice, and even that “bad karma” is being removed, and as such they should expect to feel slightly unpleasant experiences.
Hyperventilation
Many have actually noted the similarities between the fast breathing cycle of Sudarshan Kriya and hyperventilation, and in fact looking at the effects produced by hyperventilation (see here) the similarities between the two are striking. It is especially worth noting the tingling sensations and muscle spasms which result from hyperventilation, as many people experience this during Kriya and are led to believe that it is actually the flow of prana moving towards their fingertips and feet.
One Art of Living devotee posted a link on this blog (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10708840 ) detailing some very rudimentary medical research which had been done on SK to treat depression. The Abstract of that report clearly states that “Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) is a procedure that involves essentially rhythmic hyperventilation at different rates of breathing.” So clearly this confirms that it is in actual fact a type of hyperventilation.
The effects and dangers of hyperventilation are well-known and well-documented, so why aren’t Art of Living making any effort to warn the public of the dangers of practicing hyperventilation? Why is it in fact that many teachers go so far as to deny that Sudarshan Kriya even is a form of hyperventilation?
Lack of Consistency
We have come to realize that Sudarshan Kriya is taught differently by different teachers. Some emphasize quiet, gentle breathing, whilst others teach a more forceful breathing. It is very concerning that there is no consistency in the way this technique is taught, which casts further doubts as to how safe it really is. Most people will have noticed that during Long Kriya follow-up sessions, each participant is practicing the kriya in their own way, and the teacher does nothing to correct anyone on their technique.
Traditional Pranayams
Traditional pranayams which in some cases are thousands of years old are taught by teachers who in many cases have spent years studying and practicing yoga, and who are aware of all risks associated with practicing these pranayams. They are taught to look out for various signs that a practitioner is having difficulties, and if they feel it necessary they will advise that practioner to cease practice completely, especially if they believe that a particular pranayam is not suited to them.
In particular, the teachers of traditional pranayams are taught about any contraindications associated with each pranayam, conditions which if present in the practitioner would indicate that they should avoid practicing that particular pranayam. They are also taught to tailor particular practices to each individual, ensuring that they understand the needs of the individual before recommending certain practices.
In Art of Living, however, teachers spend only 3 weeks in TTC which they can take in as little as a year after their Basic Course, and by all accounts hardly any of that time is spent in learning how to teach Sudarshan Kriya. They are certainly not taught about any of the dangerous side effects or contraindications, nor are they told to advise participants to discontinue practicing the technique if they encounter any issues with it. On the contrary teachers actually tell participants that Sudarshan Kriya should be practiced even when the participant is suffering from illnesses, especially colds. Teachers of traditional yoga pranayams, on the other hand, will warn practitioners to avoid practicing any pranayams when they have a cold as they generally tend to aggravate the cold.
Indeed when one Basic Course participant who complained to the teacher that they had a cold and were feeling nauseous and as such felt that practicing bhastrika would exacerbate their condition, the teacher insisted that on the contrary it would help them. That individual’s condition dramatically worsened overnight and their cold ended up lasting several weeks. That bhastrika helps colds and flu is something which many teachers believe, and it is just plain wrong.
One further thing is that of the traditional pranayams, many of these are only suited to advanced practitioners who have spent years preparing their bodies to practice these particular pranayams. They certainly aren’t techniques suited to beginners. And just as was mentioned in the final comment quoted above, practitioners of these techniques are told to only practice them in suitable environments such as the Himalayas where the air is suitable for the specific practice. Traditional schools such as Sivananda and Bihar offer advanced courses, usually for their teachers, in conditions such as these. They also warn their participants not to practice the techniques when they return to their everyday environments, especially if they live in big cities where pollution is abound.
Lack of Research
Sudarshan Kriya may have some benefits, however very little independent research has been carried out to verify exactly what these benefits are, as well as to determine all its side effects and contraindications. Drug companies spend millions of dollars on research before a particular drug is allowed on the market, and in particular long term effects of usage should also be adequately researched. This is another issue with Sudarshan Kriya, as a great many people who practiced the technique for many years actually found that their health deteriorated considerably. After seeking medical advice and being told to stop their practice, it was only then did that their health began to improve again.
Stopping the Practice
Many who have stopped practicing Sudarshan Kriya have also reported improvements in memory, concentration and energy levels, which ironically are the very things which Art of Living claims SK can help with. It is quite possible that many of the benefits which practitioners believe they gain from SK actually come from the preparatory exercises such as the 3-stage pranayams, bhastrika, the mudras as well as the Sahaj Samadhi meditation.
If you are having any issues with your practice at all, please consult a doctor about it. Don’t just accept the standard Art of Living response that you are detoxing, but rather listen to your body as it is most likely trying to tell you that you may be suffering and that you should seek a professional opinion. If required, it may actually be worth you stopping the practice altogether and see if this makes a difference to your health.
Reason for Concern
All of these things are extremely concerning, especially for anyone who practices this technique on a regular basis. Moreover for those who are Art of Living teachers, not only is it important that they be made aware of these risks for their own safety and well-being, but also because they have a moral obligation to warn each and every person they teach this technique to of all the side effects of practicing the technique. Failure to warn participants of the risks can result in them coming to great harm, and as such in many countries the teacher can be held directly accountable for this and can even be prosecuted. Depending on whether or not the teacher has a contract with Art of Living, the organization may actually be indemnified from any liability.
Other Concerns
One more thing which needs to be mentioned here concerns the manner in which the Uddiyana bandha is taught during the Advanced Course. Traditional yoga textbooks all teach that this technique should be practiced by first exhaling and then contracting the stomach muscles. However during the Advanced Course participants are actually taught to first inhale and retain the breath, and to simultaneously contract their stomach muscles. This is very strange indeed as the diaphragm has already expanded outwards and downwards when the breath is retained, so contracting the stomach muscles is actually creating a counter force against the diaphragm. This actually makes it extremely difficult to retain the air, puts undue pressure on both the diaphragm and the stomach muscles, and can produce symptoms such as lightheadedness and dizziness when combined with the other locks. It is highly recommendable to do as much independent research on these bandhas as you can, and find others who teach them to see the differences in how they are taught, especially as practicing them incorrectly can lead to irreparable damage.
This also adds to a common belief that various techniques taught by Art of Living including Kriya are actually done with the intention of inducing a high in its practitioners, and may not after all be yielding any benefits whatsoever.
Myths Surrounding the Kriya Tape
Basic Course participants are led to believe that not only will the tape not work at all in the absence of a teacher being present to conduct the Kriya, but also that various “bad things” have happened to those who have tried playing it on their own. Additionally, those who sign up for TTC are told that one of the main purposes of TTC is to prepare the participant to receive “Guruji’s Grace”, and that it is actually “Guruji’s Grace” which is channelled through the teacher when they conduct the Kriya session and which is responsible for the benefits which those who are present receive.
Many of us who are not teachers have tried the Kriya Tape in the comfort of our own homes with no teacher present, and have discovered that we have the same experiences irrespective of whether or not a teacher is actually present. In fact, it is far more convenient to practice this in one’s own home as they don’t need to waste any time in travelling to and from their local Art of Living center.
We have also noted that nothing bad has happened to any of us as a result of trying the tape out on our own. These things have led us to believe that everything Art of Living tell people about the Kriya Tape is a complete lie, and is most likely done to protect the tape and to make people repeat long kriya sessions by creating a dependency on the tape and ultimately on Art of Living, and so that they can be marketed further courses. And of course to market the Art of Living TTC course to those who believe that they will earn the tape if they are successfully chosen at the end (not everyone who does TTC is chosen to become a teacher.)
Summary and Conclusions
The intention of this post is not to put people off from doing Kriya altogether, but rather to raise awareness of the various issues which those who have practiced kriya have experienced in the past and to give people a more balanced view of the effects of Kriya, something which once again Art of Living don’t want the public to know about.
It may be true that Kriya does actually have some benefits, or at least that the practices around the Kriya give practitioners various benefits. Indeed across these blogs, many have commented that they did in fact derive benefits from their practice, at least initially. It was only after carrying out their practice over long periods of time that many reported the various side effects noted above.
The main issues surrounding Kriya are that Art of Living doesn’t warn the public of the potential health risks they may suffer if they practice it, teachers aren’t made aware of these risks and instead are made to believe that unpleasant experiences are the result of detoxing and are to be expected, they are also led to believe that “Guruji’s Grace” will take care of everything in case anything does go wrong, they misinform practioners who have various illnesses that practicing bhastrika or kriya will help them to heal, insufficient research has been done into the effects of practicing kriya, especially in the long term, and that there is no consistency in the way the kriya is taught by different teachers.
That a single breathing technique can be a cure for everything is extremely unlikely, and even more unlikely that it is suited to all practitioners, especially as no pranayam can make this claim. The fact that no traditional pranayam is the intellectual property of any one single school of yoga or other institution is also noteworthy here. Art of Living effectively have a monopoly on Sudarshan Kriya and keep the technique a very closely guarded secret.
We really have to question, are these things really what one would expect of a benevolent organization interested in removing stress from society, and in putting a smile on everyone’s face?
Further Reading
Benefits of Practicing Sudarshan Kriya
Published Research on SKY (aolresearch.org)
Sudarshan Kriya Benefits (artofliving.org)
Dangers of Practicing Sudarshan Kriya
Further Evidence of The Dangers of Sudarshan Kriya
20-40-40
Sudarshan Kriya: FREEING or FRYING the mind?
Stupid or Relaxed? Part 1
Stupid or Relaxed? Part 2
So Ham, So Fake
Long Kriya – Home Version
Does Kriya Cure AIDS?
Heart Problems Caused By Sudarshan Kriya
Refuting “Scientific Research” on Sudarshan Kriya
Trackbacks
- Heart Problems Caused By Sudarshan Kriya « Beyond The Art of Living
- Refuting “Scientific Research” on Sudarshan Kriya « Beyond The Art of Living
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Beyond The Art of Living 
“One Art of Living devotee posted a link on this blog (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10708840 ) detailing some very rudimentary medical research which had been done on SK to treat depression.”
I read the abstract and noticed something very curious in the last paragraph titled discussion. It reads:
“DISCUSSION: Within the limitations of the design (lack of double blind conditions)……”
Notice the disclaimer “LACK OF DOUBLE BLIND CONDITIONS”. Anyone even slightly familiar with scientific research knows the real place of a research done without double blind conditions- it belongs to dustbin.
It is almost impossible to do a true double blind study on SK or on any other meditation technique. The reason is that the participant in the study knows he/she is doing something – such as breathing or meditating – thus it is not blind. For a study to be double blind means that the administrator and the participant do not know that they are giving or getting a procedure/medicine. For example, both parties are ‘blind’ to whether a certain person is getting the sugar pill or real medicine.
That being said, it doesn’t mean that techniques like SK or meditation can’t be put to scientific study. They can and it can be very rigorous scientific study. To do that would take a lot of time, money and other resources. It is not surprising that SK hasn’t had extensive research done on it. Even an organization as big as AOL would be hard pressed to do extensive and thorough scientific studies on SK. That is why we have small studies here and there, though research studies are getting bigger and better as the years go on.
@DW
“It is almost impossible to do a true double blind study on SK or on any other meditation technique. The reason is that the participant in the study knows he/she is doing something – such as breathing or meditating – thus it is not blind. ”
The participant knows that he is doing something but he does not have to know whether the technique taught to him is the one under testing or not. For example, you tell the group that some of you will be taught a breathing technique called SK without telling them what SK is. Afterward you take them individually and teach some of them SK and others a random cycle. How would they know if they have been taught SK or anything else?
I come from a background when I went into Holistic healing in 1998. I used to be a Reiki 3A practitioner and a Pranic Healing Advanced practioner before AOL happened to enter my journey. Prior to AOL I had also done the Vipassana School and the TM school (Their levitation/Yogic flying included). The similarity in rhythms between SKY and the the Yogic flying of TM did strike while I was in the practice. Post this I also investigated many machines such as the Bio-resonance machines (such as the one that Dr Bernadette used to use in the Ashram). This is just a pre-qualifier to suggest to readers my background and where I make my inferences from.
After a couple of years of SKY I realised that I couldn’t do it anymore (thats 10 years back). Apparently this same experience (ie unable to do SKY) happened literally at the same time with 2 other friends and batch mates (part-1) of mine. However, at that time, I had become a teacher and this is something that I would/could not discuss too openly with anyone. Hence I did not find this our until recently. While the meditations were deep and easy….I just couldn’t do the SKY…and it was not lack of discipline or anything like that….my body just refused the process. I honoured the feeling and stopped it. The Padmasaashana was more rejuvenating for me. It was only much later that I found the similarity with my friends. The interesting thing is, at that time, all 3 of us had been sincere seekers for a quite a while. AOL was not our first foray into spirituality.
Now, its for the reader to make their conclusions on what was working here.
In my surrent level of understanding the single biggest important factor in any healing exercise is
1. The person’s readiness
2. Trust
3. Belief system
4. Commitment to getting well
The person’s environment (work, home…other), readiness, present mind set, openness, confidence, intention, are extremely critical, continuity and disciploine (ie not slipping back into old thinking patterns/addictions).
I have had since 1998 some really remarkable stuff happen through me in many instances and result in terrific healing experiences (mental, emotional and physical). I realised that at the very bottom of this are just 2 things we must focus attention on
1. Do whatever it takes to bring the mind to the present moment as much as you can on daily basis without burdening the senses. (I say this because a quick and easy way to get to the present moment is to EAT stuff with a present mind. And indiscriminate feeding causes the body much harm).
2. Raise body prana and move prana to the specific body parts that need it most. The body intensely maps to the mind and hence multi purposes get resolved when this happens. This is the very essence of Pranayama.
To me a process such as SKY is just an excuse. It is neither harmful or harmless. Its like Electricity….you can use it for anything you want….and if not used in a safe manner it can also give you a shock. The safety is in the preparation and knowing the dangers in advance (gloves, insulated shoes, safe devices and so on).
The same healing process can happen if the person commits to any discipline that can keep their attention to the present moment
1) 1 hour in the gym (ideally without the walkman or watching a television screen ….just focused on what is happening in the body)
2) Body work (such as sex)….you cannot but be in the present moment. However, this can create a burden on the touch senses. I know off some very good Tantra trainers that help educate people on the power and creative regeneration that can happen through this process.
3) Tennis, TT, Squash, badminton, cooking, gardening, painting, music (singing and playing….for most of us the 100% listening just does not happen) can also have hugs positive impact. You are in the present moment for a long time…and this helps greatly and has much positive effects on the body.
3) I found SKY good for the beginner on the path as focusing in the breath with a little bit of counting (kept them alert) and brought them a lot into the present moment. However, I also realised the need for deliberate bodywork and hence laid much emphasis on stretches and Yoga (at the minimum some alert and present Suryanamaskaar).
As we become more stable and peaceful with our practices and have much less stress levels compared to our earlier ways and while our Prana levels go higher one also starts to notice that its takes lesser time from intent/thought to manifestation of anything. Hence it becomes even more imperative than before to hook onto the right thoughts while you are such a state (hence our current belief system and the right application of natural laws/knowledge is vital at every given moment).
So, a regular SKY practitioner according to me will see positive or negative results according to their mind set. In my opinion if the person has much deep conflicts (which actually do happen once you start volunteering for the AOL organisation), this internal conflict is what destroys any positive outcome that can happen out of SKY.
Hence for me its too simplistic to label Sudarshan Kriya as harmful or not harmful. It TOTALLY depends on the whole lot of factors that I listed above.
Every positive thing that Sudarshan Kriya claims, Nick Ortner Co also claim (The Tapping Phenomenon). Do invest some google time to study this. When you do the tapping it brings you back to the present moment and this is what is initiating the healing….sheer presence rather than the wandering mind.
The harmful bio chemical and toxin generation caused by a wandering mind are very beautifully captured in “What the Bleep do we know” the movie. This is the very root of all disease. Please do watch. http://www.whatthebleep.com/
If you are interested, you will find more fascinating info not available with mainstream education/media at at http://mirrors.wordsforgood.org/educate-yourself.org/be/index.html
The Science behind how healing happens ?
Likewise the science behind how healing is initiated (Spontaneously) by changing your belief system is illustrated by one of the planet’s foremost Biologists today on Youtube. His name is Bruce Lipton. Do see his videos….very uplifting and revolutionary.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bruce+lipton&aq=f
Side Interest : The other interesting angle when you learn energy healing methods is something called as a “miasm”. An advanced practitioner or a Tantric can leave book marks in your Chakra for easy identification on a later date. I understand that some practitioners do resort to this method. Typically this happens during initiation. This is a very interesting practice as it then allows the practitioner to secretly identify their supporters in a room full of people. These people with the bookmarks will emit a certain similar energy/field. I believe that 20-40-40 is something similar. For many of us that have been in the movement for a long time….its easy to spot a SKY practitioner (there is this little extra we tend to feel and see over and above the dress code, the plastic smile, the glazed eyes and the resounding Jaigurudevs)
Bottomline : Intent, Gratefulness, surrender, Acceptance, readiness and commitment to oneself are all very important aspects of making it work. SKY is just a small factor. Whether SKY works or not has got very little to do with any amount of exposition you can do on whether its hyperventilation related / more oxygen into the brain and so on. Importantly, everyone of our bodies / mental and emotional makeups are unique in heir own ways based on all the baggage we bring…and not just form this particular journey as well. Its not a one shoe fits all situation. Hence we cannot really compare 1 to 1. Some amount of generalization can happen. But it stays there. Its not really that scientific anymore.
My view is that this debate as to whether SKY is good for you or not will have as many unique answers as there are the number of respondents.
This is one of the great responses over here with a holistic approach. I liked your comments on how these practices help in the improving well being. ya I observed in AOL they just teach on what to do, but how the practices work and why only these practices are the chosen ones are never ever discussed. Questions about them are shunned away
Hi , I am a student and I just started doin SK. My only diffence I believe SK has brought about in 4 days of practice is that I sleep on time (11pm) but on the other hand I wake up at different times sometime 1 am ,2 am or 3 am without any alarm( though I put an alarm for 4am. I wanted to ask you is it normal…. ????? Earlier to doing I didn’t follow any specific timings and slept and woke up according to my convenience…. some time slept in the morning @7am but never before 2 am…. And one more thing when I did SK in asharam post kriya my enery levels were very high and positive but that is not the case when I do SK in my hostel room with my roomi sleeping….
@ANON: You have just proved that you are just an idiot. Do you know what double blinding in a clinical trial means? How can you double blind a person , if you were testing SK? To double blind a person would mean that he is doing SK without knowing that he is doing SK. How can someone do that?
@Harshal:
It is you who are showing your idiocy again and again. There is no test which cannot be done as double blind test.
If you want to test SK in double blind condition all you have to do is to teach the control group a random breathing rhythm and teach the test group SK, without telling who is using what and then analyze the results. Setting up a double blind test for SK or any other such pranayama technique is not a rocket science.
“teach the control group a random breathing”- do you think this will pass your ethics committee?
“There is no test which cannot be done as double blind test”
This is BS. Most of the surgical clinical trials cannot be double blinded. Similarly the studies in which the intervention is as obvious as a breathing practice/meditation cannot be double blinded.
The more I read this blog, the more I am convinced that some of you guys are paid to do this. Especially the doctor..
If you can find someone who would actually pay us for writing these things, I’m sure we would all really appreciate it. But I can assure you we’re all doing it on a purely voluntary basis. In fact, I’m pretty sure we’re actually the world’s largest volunteer-based Art of Living critic blog out there. 😉
@Harshal:
“teach the control group a random breathing”- do you think this will pass your ethics committee?
Your concern for ethics committee passing a random breathing technique is indeed touching. I am sure before prescribing all and sundry to do SK, Ravi must have got it cleared from ethics committee.
Have you guys seen this ?
Click to access Depression%20Summary.pdf
Not sure whether this is endorsed by NIMHANS.
And also it seems Karanata govt is endorsing SK with allowing art-of-living courses in college.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/140243/govt-launches-art-living-colleges.html
oops.. the link is already posted and discussed on this blog !
Its a well known fact inside the Art of Living that the so called “scientific research” as a lot of other things are a complete scandal. I have talked to many teachers with a scientific background who have been privately very disturbed by the non existing scientific standards and the complete lack of respect for these. Only the nutcase from Norway seems ready to sacrifice his personal concisions and scientific training, in order to please she she.
Who on earth is “the nutcase from Norway “?
nutcase from norway = farhaat saatciouglu
screw you doctor. You want to post anonymously here, but you want to know everyone else’s name?
You talk about ethics but you don’t respect other people identity and keep checking their IP address to see where they are posting from. Shame on you.
Let’s get this straight Harshal:
It has been suggested that someone in Art of Living is being unethical in their scientific evaluation of a technique which has already caused many people a great deal of harm, and because I’m curious as to who they are, now I’M THE ONE BEING UNETHICAL?!?!?!
Seriously, Harshal, you need to take a good look at yourself and especially question what exactly it is you’re doing here. I’ve written a very detailed post above on the dangers of Sudarshan Kriya which I notice you haven’t posted a single response to. It seems obvious that you have absolutely no way of refuting anything in that post because you know as well as I do that I have only made statements of fact, otherwise you would have raised some objections by now or challenged something in the post. But instead, you are doing what you usually do in this sort of situation, and that is that you are trying desperately hard to clutch at anything you can find to discredit me
as a person. And this is the best you can do?!
This has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with ethics, nor does it have anything to do with people’s rights to remain anonymous. If someone is being unethical or abusive in an organization, especially if it is something which affects the health and safety of many people, the world needs to know about these things.
And as for checking IP addresses, which is a completely irrelevant tangent on your part and just goes to show that you can’t deal with your frustrations very well, that doesn’t actually give us much information other than an individual’s location. To get their identities, we would need some sort of court order to do that, just like a certain cult we all know are trying to do right now. 😉
@ Doctor
Are you not glad you’ve stopped doing SK? Your reactions and responses would have , otherwise, been as abusive as ha-ha’s.
@Harshal
Good Seva ! …you are my hero 🙂
Swapnil: I am not doing any seva and dont make me your hero. As you would know most of the AOL teachers will not approve of my tone and demeanour here. They are nice and humble people silently doing their work and ignoring these idiots. They should be your heros.
I have a different approach in dealing with these pseduo-intellectual crooks. Have you heard of the marathi saying ” vinchu devharayshi aala, tyasi painjanacha mara” ?
Harshal you are so humble. For this yeoman service you certainly deserve the ‘2011 – Web Seva Medal of Honor’ from the lotus hands of Guruji. You should get an additional stay of one week in the ashram in addition to the current three days free stay in ashram for teachers. And an additional free enema along with panchakarma in sri sri spa. Swapnil please join me in nominating your hero Harshal. Let’s send mail to guruji and other great revolutionary spiritual leaders of aol like Bawa, Dinesh, Suryapada, Vinod, Arun, Maneesha. These great efforts should not go unnoticed, unlike other great teachers harshal has been subjecting himself to the negativities of this blog and giving them equally negative responses. You have made us all AOL people so proud.
As you would know most of the AOL teachers will not approve of my tone and demeanour here. They are nice and humble people silently doing their work and ignoring these idiots.
Sad, but true. Many aol teachers are indeed nice and humble people silently doing what is told of them – this has been discussed in this blog itself a lot. Those good souls get manipulated by higher ups and power hungry newcomers. *Sigh*, thats AoL for you!
@Harshal,
Aside from repeatedly calling everyone here an “idiot”, making a fool out of yourself, and making Art of Living look bad, what exactly is it that you are doing here? And how effective do you think your “approach” has been so far so good? The only reason I ask is that I honestly have no idea at all what you are doing here, and it’s obvious to anyone reading your comments that whatever it is you believe you’re doing you are only causing damage to Art of Living. But we’ve been down that road before and yet you still seem to persist in your “approach”.
I have seen many youth in the Ashram with dark circles and graying hair – I really think it is a side effect of the Sudarshan Kriya!
The dark circles are mainly due to lack of sleep due to improper breathing. Doing too much of energizing breathing causes lack of sleep. Grey hair may be due to old age. Maybe like guruji they should all start dyeing hair.
single response? you are an idiot doctor. There are atleast 10 peer-reviewed papers on SK all of which found beneficial effect of SK and none of them reported side effects. I have myself seen couple of them which are not yet published and show tremendous benefits. And you want me to respond to and unqualified idoit like you based on the crap you have collected here? What are your qualifications? Do you think you deserve a response?
Now Mr.Harshal, if you are not interested in dialog, what are you really doing here? Do you believe you can scare aol devotees away, who have come here with doubt? Or do you believe that you can intimidate the posters here with you hate speech?
You constantly underline that Aol and you see it as a duty to go in dialog with the surrounding society, being transparent about its action nor answering the questions of critics. There by you clearly demonstrate the difference between the aol and normal humanitarian organisations, that feel responsible to the civil society the operate in by their very nature.
I really dont think that your anger and irrational hate speech can change the course of any individual, whose critical faculties and personal self esteem has awaken. The moment that one critical thought is allowed the person is freed of the organisations deathgrip.
So from a strategical point of view it seems like your master have sketched out the only respons available, and that is to ignore the critical voices. Anything else is lethal for the cult state of mind.
As for you, you just seem to illustrate how painful it is to be mentally overtaken by the rigid doctrines of the Aol. You have my complete sympathy.
When they cannot give a logical response, some people resort to name calling and abusing, proving themselves to be the greatest idiots. Our friend here is a typical example. He epitomize a SK practitioner.
Dayalu
Keep your Daya (compassion) flowing.
One day, Harshal will awake from his current zombie state of mind and realise that he was wrongly following *Hollow and Empty* persona of SSRS. He is on a path to leave AOL soon.
In his heart, he knows this and the prime reason of his tracking these blogs is to re-confirm all his doubts. He is doing this in spite of HIS HOLINESS emphatic advise of *Not to visit that Blog*.
True. Harshal will recover if he continues to hang around this blog. He’s even said so himself that what put our attention on grows, so he will leave AOL soon. Good point about how he can’t stop coming here because deep down he knows something isn’t right about AOL. If he was so sure, he wouldn’t be checking this blog all the time.
In other good news, it appears the US courses with SSRS are not filling up very fast this spring. Two very expensive courses are happening soon and both are not sold out yet. A good sign. Now, if only I could save my friends that are still stuck in this destructive cycle…
Now, if only I could save my friends that are still stuck in this destructive cycle…
You really hit a raw nerve. I really feel for my friends who are stuck in AOL. The whole tragedy is that the ones who are most sincere, earnest, and straight get hurt the most.
I hope they get fed up of making cold calls and passing out flyers in the name of seva and ego busting. What a waste of human talent – seen so many people go go being, bright, intelligent, and successful to cold calling salesmen and doing menial jobs in the name of ego busting. It teaches you nothing – despite what AOL teachers may say, seeing other people run away from you and reject you is very bad bad for your confidence and self-esteem.
Your mindset is that you are doing things for service of humanity, but the world rejects you because they see you for the salesmen you have become. This denial is so strong – AOL teachers and volunteers fail to acknowledge it, choosing to blame the world and withdrawing more and more into the cocoon of AOL. Volunteers need to wake up to the fact that AOL is not a public service organization – but rather a for-profit educational organization run by and for SSRS and his family. Adding non-profit volunteering, and guru shishya parampara to the mix does not alter this key fact – in fact these masks hide the basic truth, that is obvious even to the most casual observer.
If only there was genuine introspection, and willingness to look beyond staple answers provided by other AOL folks…
RS”s guru Maharishi has been “publishing” papers on crazy theories like “Maharishi effect” for years. Even though they have published so much on supposed benefits of meditation, most of the studies have been debunked by serious scientists as false and/or manipulative, and are only published in obscure journals with low impact factors. The studies on Sudarshan Kriya are not much better.
All the studies are short term studies, which measure some parameter just after doing sudarshan kriya for a few weeks. No study exists which measures long term impact. And even in short term, measurement of few parameters will not give you complete picture. Similar “research” exists which will tell you that marijuana will cure all your ailments. At one time, LSD was pushed by serious psychologists as a wonder cure for all ills and ailments, as well as a tool for societal transformation. Many people still swear by it, claiming that it is completely safe and free from any side-effects – yet it remains a controversial drug, and it really is not as safe as the proponents claim.
In this case doubt is a good thing, and the practitioner is advised to trust his experience, instead of trusting AOL blindly.
Yes, but that is the core problem with Cults like Aol. They systematically try to undermine peoples ability to listen to themselves and there own experience and at the same time work to shut off all external sources of information. There by Aol can keep there members dependent and confuesed. The weird thing is that it is really hard to see it yourself, when your in it.
“I really feel for my friends who are stuck in AOL”
I am sure your friends are feeling for you too. You are so much stuck in your mind. Based on your small local group, you are free to pass comments on such a huge organization. Did you not say that no one listened to you when you raised your voice in your local sangha? Do you think you still have friends there? May be You are just the odd man out there, and no one wants you.
“stuck in your mind” – AoL brainwashing alert!
As long as a person is alive, he/ she is always “stuck” with their mind. Inspite of pretentions and beliefs to the contrary and promotion of (mind = thinking = EVIL) bulls**t.
@observer:
“As long as a person is alive, he/ she is always “stuck” with their mind”-
We can disagree on this, but remember if you disagree you would only be disagreeing with the many revered gurus like Ramana Jiddu K ,Osho etc. Most of the eastern philosophy has its base in freeing oneself from the clutches of the mind.
“Most of the eastern philosophy has its base in freeing oneself from the clutches of the mind”
But only in AOL do they ask you to drop critical thinking. And none of the above mentioned eastern philosophers lusted for publicity, none of them had propaganda machinery to recruit members, nor did they lie to the public.
Surrendering your “mind” (which means thinking, decision-making etc also, in AoL speak), to some other person/ entity/ organization under the guise of getting you “unstuck” from your mind- is what AoL does. This is NOT what all the great gurus whose names you have mentioned, meant. (As far as my humble understanding goes).
On the contrary, I/We have always maintained that AOL is full of nice people who are/have been manipulated, in ways do not fathom. This is especially true of many who volunteer sincerely, in this case their earnestness works against them, because the god they worship is false. Clearly I was not the only one stuck this way, there are many more who remain stuck.
This is true in any cult, not just AOL.
“He’s even said so himself that what put our attention on grows”
Observer jr: I challenge you to show me where I said that.
@harshal – Do you actually realise what you are saying
“I am sure your friends are feeling for you too. You are so much stuck in your mind. Based on your small local group, you are free to pass comments on such a huge organization. Did you not say that no one listened to you when you raised your voice in your local sangha? Do you think you still have friends there? May be You are just the odd man out there, and no one wants you.”
So this is the group philosopy of AOL – because someone raised their voice and spoke up, they no longer have friends in there and they are the odd man out and no one wants you”
so much for accepting this person as they are, so much for caring and concern . Harshal, before you post, may i suggest you do a meditation, to clear your mind and be able to articulate what it is you are truly trying to say. You know this blog is about raising awarness and having healthy debate.
Your presence here puzzles me, as it seems you are on the defensive and unaware of how you come across, unaware of the inconsistencies of what you are saying, and truly deluded.
For your sake, and for your affiliations sake, think before you write.
Your voice is here is heard, maybe it is unheard in your local sangha. Maybe in your local sangha people think you are the odd one out and will not give you constructive criticism to improve your debating skills, but here, we care, here we speak, and here we do not shun people.
We will always converse with you unlike local sangha’s even if you come across as the odd one out.
@freeagaiin: I suggest that if you find it difficult to understand my posts you stop reading it . It was meant for PW, apparently he got it, and gave some crap reply.
Anyways, I have no intention to have conversation with a idiot whos username happens to be -‘freeagaiin’…what are you free of? most probably your idiocy …its not something to be proud of..
Thanks for this blog. I did aol course last november in bangalore. I am a gym instructor and in extreme good health and wellness and cheerful bliss most time. I practise a combination of tai chi,power yoga and cardio. I wanted to explore sudarshan kriya. After practising for three days, I felt sick and energetically congested after doing sudarshan kriya. never felt the same kind of centering and groundedness i get if i practise yoga or tai chi. I felt something is wrong with the technique because it is poorly designed. atleast this kind of breathing is not for me. Maybe some people benefit from it but personally i havent seen many doing that. Most people in my class had bad experience of kriya but were very polite and civilized to not tell it very openly in the class to the teacher. This is my 0.02 cents.
“I am a gym instructor and in extreme good health and wellness and cheerful bliss most time”-
Are you sure? Why did you go to Bangalore then? Unless there is a ‘lack’ somewhere, the desire to fill in that ‘lack’ with something doesn’t arise. even though you are doing tai-chi, power-yoga and cardio , you still feel the need to explore something else? Why is that ? Obviously you are not satisfied with your tai-chi, power-yoga and cardio and were not satisfied with SK. I wonder what will satisfy you?Pehelwan, what else you want to do?
Why did you keep coming to this blog then? Unless there is a ‘lack’ somewhere, the desire to fill in that ‘lack’ with something doesn’t arise. Even though you are doing sudarshan kriya, you still feel the need to explore something else and insult people on this blog? Why is that ? Obviously you are not satisfied with your cult, breathing techniques and not satisfied with Guruji. I wonder what will satisfy you? What else you want to do?
What crazy logic this Ha-ha has!!!!! Why is ha ha so hell bent on making a fool of himself and his org is beyond me!! On a public forum, when you want to be defending credibility, this is hardly the way to talk. Ha ha will just scare off potential candidates….not testimonials of other bloggers but haha/ corrector’s rants will put people off.
harshal is so undignified and crude, yucks!
Dear Harshal,
My responses below.
“Are you sure?”
You bet.Even as I am writing I am in bliss and have been living in ecstatic life. This does not make me a zombie and neither has it robbed me of my critical reasoning.
“Why did you go to Bangalore then?”
I didn’t go to Bangalore. I live here and run a Gym where I instruct people in Power Yoga, Tai chi and cardio. I have trained a lot of people through my vast experience and reportoire of techniques and spiritual technology. Not one shoe fits all is my motto. Of course I charge money as it is my livelihood and I have no pretence about doing any charity. But charity does happen through me in hindsight.
“Unless there is a ‘lack’ somewhere,the desire to fill in that ‘lack’ with something doesn’t arise. even though you are doing tai-chi, power-yoga and cardio , you still feel the need to explore something else? Why is that ?”
No that is not my way. My way is continous evolution and learning because that is the way of tao. From bliss to more bliss is my way. Mind you this is not sensationalism there is a subtle difference and discerning eyes can see that. Only dead people are completely satisfied with no ‘Lack’. Life is exploration. Many cults, including AOL do not like people like me because they feel I am beyond their grip. A living person is dangerous for them. The AoL teacher in my class derogatorily labbled me as a spiritual shopper. I of course in my charecterstic style laughed out loud from deep within my belly and my dear AOL guru was ruffled and shaken. Anyway, that is the standard party line response in AOL and many other cults and I bear no ill will towards him. Just pure love and compassion and also a silent prayer that he gets more insight into living life and not stop living and exploring this vast mystery.
“Obviously you are not satisfied with your tai-chi, power-yoga and cardio and were not satisfied with SK. I wonder what will satisfy you?Pehelwan, what else you want to do?”
Well I am extremely satisfied with Tai Chi and Power Yoga. I have been practising this for last twenty two years and still continue to practise. The practise has also evolved over time. The balance and grounding and flight is something I experience from this practise. Very difficult to explain unless you have experienced yourself. Not that I am suggesting you have not as I do not know you and your subjectivity. But it is true that it is difficult to communicate the taste of sugar for people who do not know it.
Like a honey bee I have created necter from several different sources and it has enriched me immensely. These are vast subjects and experential processes. I have done several courses like AOL before, I admit it is not unique. Regarding Sudarshan kriya, when I practised it, all it did was left me dazed and zombie like. I realised that it did not give me centering and the active silent awareness of my being became a bit clouded. Like as if an impurity is added into the pure concious state of my being. Well, that was my experience. That was also the experience of some of the people I know and several people in the class. But these people were very polite and did not express this to the teacher. Basically the group think was going on. The fear of public humiliation from the pretentious all knowing teacher is what I sensed made people from reporting the bad effects. But again you should clearly understand that I do not discount the good and benificial effects people have experienced from Sudarshan Kriya. I have heard lot of anecdotes and stories about such benefits and many such cases can be genuine.
“The only reason I ask is that I honestly have no idea at all what you are doing here”:
@ fakedoc: Your problem is that you either assumed things(just like you assumed that I was AOL teacher and later apologised) or you just dont know your stuff(just like you didn’t know that noble prize are given out in Stockholm). However, you are adamant. You brain simply doesn’t have the prior information to process the facts which can precede and follow the events in order to reach a logical conclusion. However you still apply it to understand things which are logically incoherent to your base level understanding thereby alienating you against the possibility of making sense to yourself about the sense which is apparent to many of your antiaol zombie ,co-colleagues . Rather than trying to understand the reasons behind a particular happening, if you were to understand the happening itself, you would have a better chance of knowing what you want to know. Got it?
tch..tch.. No ha-ha’s?
Looks like another bout of drinking – of his guru’s special nectar, naturally- going to ha-ha’s head.
“Got it?”
No I don’t, and I suspect neither do you, hence the reason for your incoherent diatribe!
Most of what you write is nothing short of nonsensical babble, and the only things you write that we can understand are the very things that end up causing damage to your organization and your guru, and make you come across as a complete hypocrite and somewhat disturbed.
I have absolutely nothing against this behaviour, because you are helping forward the mission of this blog by damaging Art of Living in this manner as I’ve told you on numerous occassions in the past. But no matter how many times you’re told this, you still don’t get it, and if you haven’t worked it out by know, you never will.
fakedoc:I am so happy that you didnt get it. Because it was gibbersh and was intended to deride your tenacity to understand someone else’s mind while you clearly havent made any efforts to understand your own!
@harshal – free again from the likes of you and AOL – what a representation you make of it..so full of anger, so bitter, so incoherant…btw your posts are hard to miss, you make such a hash of your arguments its a traversity! I don’t mind ha-ha harshal if you choose not to engage with me, its no big loss….i would rather speak to those who choose to think critically and debate healthily:)
“And none of the above mentioned eastern philosophers lusted for publicity, none of them had propaganda machinery to recruit members, nor did they lie to the public”
Really? Then how do you explain the criticism of Ramana by Paul Brunton, UG etc. How do you explain all the anti-osho blogs online? The thing is , as long as the Gurus keep coming, zombie mosquitoes like you will keep floating in the space trying to bite unsuspecting devotees.
@Harshal:
Did any of those gurus open their “tap” for their devotees to drink their special “nectar”?
Harshal, you’re totally off point baby, you did not respond to any of the points in the comment. But by now we know how your mind works and we are not at all surprised.
To respond to your argument though, only a deluded mind can compare the criticisms of Ramana Maharshi by Paul Brunton to the criticisms of SSRS in this blog. Laughable, but again expected of you. Osho was a maverik in this field but he never resisted criticism like SSRS does. And no one can call Oshal a hypocrite. He was known for calling a spade a spade. Moreover, you can’t put Osho in the same league as the other Vedanta masters mentioned above. Maybe comprehending these subtleties are beyond your brain. But we forgive you, just like your guru forgave his “shooter”.
@ prakash: how would I know . I never saw any of them. However your preoccupation with this suggests that you have had some ‘tap’- ‘nectar’ experience.
” how would I know . I never saw any of them”
You never saw them? dear.. dear. I thought it was your sacred religious obligation to drink it. Be quick. Before others get to drink all the stuff.
@Observer Jr
‘Why did you keep coming to this blog then? ‘
Yes there is a lack of something. That something is ‘entertainment’. I have made that clear earlier as well. however, I want to know why do you come here?
@ anon: I am not corrector. You can confirm that with your sneaky slimy stalker = fakedoc. He checks everyone’s IP addresses to see where they come from. Corrector was just someone who pissed on you and went away.
How is this blog entertaining to you? The only entertainment here is you. lol
Here are my reasons:
I come hear because I like to stay current with what is going on in the cult of AOL. I also like to read peoples personal experiences that you would never get to read on any pro-AOL site. This offers honest insight to what has and is going on behind the curtain of AOL. It interests me to see how people are recovering from a very destructive cult I was part of for 8 years. It also makes me happy to read peoples comments on how they were saved by this blog. Those are some of my reasons. I don’t come here to read your spamish comments and insults, although they do help keep people away from AOL, so that’s a positive.
Corrector was just someone who pissed on you and went away.
OMG!!! What language!!! Is this what assosiating with SSRS does? There’s absolutely no control on emotions? SK promises to help deal with stress/ anger by reducing stress levels. That is a false promise, going by your demeanor. This is also apparent with other AoL devotees. The language gets filthy, rage gets uncontrollabe, if they have to deal with a different point of view. These guys just cannot handle it. Check Shobhaa De’s blog from last year to see what I mean. All cults are bad, all these “godmen” are fake, but from among them all, the worst is AoL. They give crudity and crassness a whole new meaning. There is a total lack of dignity. Whether Harshal or Sad Swami, the traits they show are precisely why man turns to spirituality. To iron out such flaws. Obviously this has not happened with AoL practioners. Why would anyone pay for a technique which does nothing but is a failed technique. Instead of SK, these guys should take some anger management classes.
@ anon: don’t be too excited about my language. I was just quoting your blog buddy peaceful warrior who has made huge advances in the practice of meditation.
Peaceful Warrior
February 5, 2011 9:53 pm
Putting us down is an understatement – AOL lackeys keep coming here to take a piss – and live in the deluded notion that somehow that is to show us our face in the mirror
Corrector couldn’t stand the stink of his own p** and fled. But our friend here gets entertained by rolling in his own sh**
yes dayalu. I do get entertained here..human mind likes to indulge in gossiping,bickering etc and I am being honest about it.
This reason behind my presence here is more plausible than the reasons for your presence which includes ‘saving the world’, ‘healing yourselves’ ‘helping the innocents’ etc.
@thandesha: I am curious to know why the AOL teacher called you a spiritual shopper. How did she know? Obviously you must have tried to share you enormous ,gigantic spiritual cockiness with the group, just like you are doing here.
‘going from bliss to bliss’ ‘cannot communicate the taste of sugar’- been there, heard them all before…
Harshal,
But dont you feel that AOL is a cult ? I loved the AOL experience ( part 1 course which I did 2 months back), but felt it as a cult. After coming out I searched artof-living, fake and found this blog. Also found one blog post which I felt was similar to my exp – http://deepakvenkat.com/2009/05/art-of-living-and-yes-my-perspective.
But if feel AOL and SK are good for you its great. And you have a right to fight with these guys also.
But there are many who feel that AOL is a cult which better to be avoided.
“I don’t come here to read your spamish comments and insults” Then why are you reading them and replying as well?
@anoop: what is your definition of a cult? Can you tell me the exact number of people who you have met who think AOL should be avoided?
“Cult” is where people defend their right to drink their master’s dirty body fluids as part of their sacred religious duty.
whatever the comments and posts from dushyant’s and bawa’s blogs gives me that feeling.. Or in part1 the guruji stories during the course. I may not have given you a proper answer.
Regarding the people who I know have done AOL part1 – Nobody has followed it up. But they dont have any hate relationship with AOL.
Thanks Anoop. So you are saying is that you haven’t met anyone in person,who has had bad experiences with AOL and has asked you to avoid it?
Its just that i dont like these kind of blind devotion towards SSRS – http://bawandinesh.name/lipstick-on-the-mirrors/#comment-122691
But I agree that 80% of AOL part-1 course is very useful ( atleast for me ).
Dear Harshal,
“@thandesha: I am curious to know why the AOL teacher called you a spiritual shopper. How did she know? Obviously you must have tried to share you enormous ,gigantic spiritual cockiness with the group, just like you are doing here. ”
Let me allay your curiosity.
The teacher was a He and not She. During the dinner time on the second day all we participants along with our dear AOL teacher were having the wonderful raw food buffet we had collectively prepared, a fellow course participant asked me how come I am exuding this great deal of energy and serinity and whether I practice any meditation. I then talked about my profession as Gym instructor and my tai chi, yoga and cardio practise. He asked me if I have any gurus. I told him I have many gurus which includes persons, books, DVDs and I rather consider life as my Guru like my favourite deity dattatreya. Everyone laughed. The teacher also laughed, I would like to add a bit nervously though. No I did not go on and on. Just mentioned as a matter of fact. If I rememmber it did not take more than 10 minutes.
The next day the teacher was talking about the power of guru Ravishankar’s grace at some context pointed out to me and mentioned that spiritual shopper like me would not get grace and grace depends on surrender to the guru and spiritual shopping is like a disease. So that was the context dear harshal.
‘going from bliss to bliss’ ‘cannot communicate the taste of sugar’- been there, heard them all before…
Being an AOLite, I am sure you would have heard them as Ravishankar and most of the popular gurus and teachers use these cliches all the time. I also used these words for the same reason so that I can communicate to you more effectively in your own lingo.
@ Thandesha: everything is so clear now!
So much time I have spent with all these techniques, the tai chi, the power yoga and then I had so much spiritual progress, going from bliss to bliss, experienced of something which cannot be explained (aka taste of sugar). And then on the course someone praised the exudation of energy and serenity. Life was so good.
And then suddenly next day, this AOL teacher says that I am a spiritual shopper? That I will never get true grace if I do not surrender to a Guru? How can he say that? I am so advanced, what the hell does he know. This teacher is no good,this kriya doesn’t work this class is not good. Infact the whole AOL is not good.
Do you see how your mind is working?
What did the teacher say?
” grace depends on surrender to the guru”.
What is wrong with that? Unless you get the meaning of the words “surrdender” and ” guru” wrong there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
Surrendering means total and complete absence of ‘ego’. Just look back at what you have posted and see how many ‘I’ you have used in your post. Almost every line of yours has a ‘I’. What does that tell you?
and What does the word ‘Guru’ mean to you. To many it means ‘wholeness’ ‘unity consciousness’ . Have you surrendered to that? Have you been a part of that?
Some lesser mortals who are not as advanced in their spiritual quests as you or the peaceful warrior, cannot contemplate the idea of surrendering to the ‘wholeness’ or the ‘unity consciousness’ . Those poor people need a guru in a physical form so that they can surrender. But why should you care for them? You are always right and your path is only good. Everyone else who do not concur with your opinion is no good.
As I see , the only difference between the likes of you and taliban is that talibans are not as coward as you are.
@Harshal:
“What is wrong with that? Unless you get the meaning of the words “surrdender” and ” guru” wrong there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
Surrendering means total and complete absence of ‘ego’.”
Dear Harshal, why are you hiding the true meaning of “surrender” from him? Why not come clean on your “surrender through drinking dirty waters of Ravi”?
Are you afraid that knowing what “surrender” really means to hard core AOLite like you might scare away even the most receptive recruit?
Dear Harshal,
Your are misreading things. let me clarify and bring some light.
“And then suddenly next day, this AOL teacher says that I am a spiritual shopper? That I will never get true grace if I do not surrender to a Guru? How can he say that? I am so advanced, what the hell does he know. ”
Actually this is what not went in my mind at all. What went in was how can anyone with no knowledge of a person’s background be right way judgemental. What I sensed was that the teacher was playing a script, maybe from the basic course teacher manual. And also rememmber there are two aspects in communication – verbal and non-verbal. And in the non-verbal expression the teacher was highly uncomfortable and disturbed. And beleive me I was not hurt at all or even got angry. In my state of bliss it is difficult to get into these emotions although not impossible. Rather I found the whole situation funny and a spontaneous laughter ensued. This also lightened the whole situation and other participants laughed. But my only wish was even the teacher could have been part of it and loosened up a bit but unfortunately he was caught up in his mind.
“This teacher is no good,this kriya doesn’t work this class is not good. Infact the whole AOL is not good.”
No again you are mixing up things. I do not say the teacher is no good. He was good enough to get me laugh.
About Kriya, I am highly detached when I assess techniques and how it works on me. What I realized when I practised Kriya was what I wrote earlier. Just dazed, zombie like feeling with the clarity of perception reduced to a great extent. This has nothing to do with the teacher at all.
I have studied under very strict and even upright teachers but if I have found something good in what they teach I have adopted it. When I was learning yoga as a teenager under Pattabhi Jois in mysore, he even used to slap me when I did not get some things right. My tae kwon do master was even harsher. But what I was intrigued about the aol teacher was the script running in his head and play acting out of the script. I am not angry at all least of all hurt.
I do agree that some of the gyan and stress management techniques in AOL can be helpful for people going through difficult times. I have my reservation on Sudarshan Kriya though. In my experience it creates energetic pranic congestion. But that does not mean I agree with all kinds of pre conceived judgement which are tossed. I am sure the teacher’s intention was okay but there was no intelligence behind it is what I want to convey.
And on Guru’s grace and all that stuff, it was just typical personality cult and miracle mongering. The whole preaching was geared into creating dependence and crutch on grace of ravishankar. The teacher sounded as if the sun and moon rises because of him which is a whole load of bullshit.
“Surrendering means total and complete absence of ‘ego’.”
This is a far cry from what AoL teaches, which is that people need to surrender to SSRS, period. Don’t try and pretend that their teachings mean anything other than this when they clearly don’t.
“What does the word ‘Guru’ mean to you. To many it means ‘wholeness’ ‘unity consciousness’ ”
Again, in AoL “Guru” never means anything other than SSRS. The “many” whom you refer to are not in AoL, and you yourself don’t believe anything other than what AoL teach here.
@Thandesha
All Harshal is doing here is wasting your time. He is prodding you for more information so that he can find some little thing to blame you.
A common technique used in AOL to belittle people and to keep them ‘surrendered’.
Harshal-
What is your definition of grace and how do you know RS has any to give?
“I have my reservation on Sudarshan Kriya though. In my experience it creates energetic pranic congestion”
I had the exact same sensation over time. You’re lucky to have recognized this so soon.
@Thadnesha
This is very common – many AOL teachers and volunteers live under the deluded understanding that AOL dogma is the same as spiritual truth. Any sign of confidence in one’s own self, or pride in one’s achievements is seen as “ego”, which is obviously bad – better to have surrender to SSRS, which of course is the ultimate goal they are there to lead you towards. They will not rest till they find some fault with you and put you down in their eyes – unless of course you also acknowledge the divinity of SSRS.
If you had done that, then suddenly they would say – look at this guy – he has done so much sadhana in his life, but he has lot of reverence for guruji. Suddenly your ego would have been sublimated, and you become divine, maybe even a spokesman who can vouch for AOL and SSRS to newcomers.
Moreover, how is pulling yourself down in front of a master not having ego ? Advaita is about seeing divine in yourself and others – it is not about sycophantic devotion, but sadly so many teachers believe otherwise.
“They will not rest till they find some fault with you and put you down in their eyes – unless of course you also acknowledge the divinity of SSRS.”
Interestingly enough, this is EXACTLY what young Harshal appears to be doing on this blog.
Surrender in AOL type cults means do what ever Guru is saying without using your own mind or brain. If he says earth is square, say yes.
People like Harshal are no better than trained animals.
God has given us mind and brain to think rationally and not to lend some shrewed people who are black spot on Indian tradition of Guru’s.
Hey – please don’t insult trained animals. At least they obey their masters, whereas Harshal clearly doesn’t!
“In my state of bliss it is difficult to get into these emotions although not impossible”
This guys is just a total nut-case. I wonder I am talking to him.
“In my experience it creates energetic pranic congestion”
What on earth is that?phew…
“Just dazed, zombie like feeling with the clarity of perception reduced to a great extent”
This can happen to an enlightened master like Thandesha! wow that is amazing. SK must be really powerful.
“When I was learning yoga as a teenager under Pattabhi Jois in mysore, he even used to slap me when I did not get some things right”
Opps..now I see…. and your Tae whatever kando master was even harsher ? He went beyond slapping? Can you tell what all he did to you?
@ fakedoctor: If I am young , you must be what? 95?
Quite surprised that ” young harshal” is not that young, because the way he writes he sounds infantile
“the way he writes he sounds infantile”
or maybe senile
@ adyut
Progress in life, in the spiritual or any other realm is tied to the law of karma. Grace is something which can de-link these two. It is with grace that valya-the robber became valmiki, angulimal became an arahat.
Grace is a matter of belief, you can be graced by a rock if you believe in it. Everyone cannot do that though. Hence Gurus come. They form an object of belief which helps comman people.
There are some idiots though, who from time immemorial have been trying to take away the objects of belief from the people, leaving them miserable. You can see many of them on this blog.
what I felt is AOL encourages “Guru Worship”…
Harshal
If grace a matter of belief and not exactly from the Guru. Then it is unfair to call the people who question Ravishankar’s grace as idiots. They people here are bringing awareness to this falsity of guru grace especially in AOL where it is stage managed to control people.
@ just exploring: if you were to read my post carefully, I said belief needs and object which is why Gurus come. Any random person cannot become this object. These are all special people, who come with different physical’ moral ethical and mental attributes so that they can appeal to a wide range of people. Cant you see? osho, UG ,Jiddu, Ramana, maharishi,so different but all of them with huge following. Questioning the gurus takes away these objects from people and leaves them clueless and miserable.
If you see on the right hand side of this blog, they have posted a critique for every spiritual teacher in India from Amma to Prem rawat to Maharishi. And then the senile doctor claims they are not against spirituality or genuine well-meaning gurus.
All these Guru’s are charlatans? and you guys are all pure? Let us look at what we have got here
1) Fakedoc: he is most likely and old guy, who is by some accident has an internet access. Time is running fast for him and suddenly he has realized that he needs to save the world. Nothing much to do in life. So he has taken up the mantle from the original owners of the blogs who apparently have peeing in their pants because of the court case.
2) peaceful warrior: He is another old guy who thinks that he has made tremendous advances in his spiritual practises etc and now is trying to spread his enormous knowledge outside. His local satsang group got tired of him and has already disowned him because of his ‘know-it-all attitude’. So he vents his anger and frustration here.
3)then there are people like Thandesha who visit these blog. They think they are on a super-fast express to enlightenment and want to share their valuable insights from their own mysterious world of ether.
4) finally there are lots of anonymous with no balls to even have a pseudo-name on the blog and they keep barking like dogs for no apparent reasons. Some of them do not even know what AOL is. They are just anti-everything.
Notice how anyone who speaks with confidence about his realization is seen as an egotistical person in the eyes of an AOL follower, even though he does not know any of us. If one is critical of SSRS – then he/she has to be an egotistical person who is jealous of SSRS or a psycho.
This is endemic to AOL – it is as true of swami sadyojath, as of Mr. Harshal, and many others like them that form the organization. They use these sorts of ad-hominem attacks to ward of criticism – if you are sure of yourself, you are obviously egotistical and stuck to the little mind – only SSRS or his devotees have the divine right to speak authoritatively in matters related to spirituality. Forget about living with integrity, or for that matter living with awareness – all you need to do is become a spokesman for AOL, an by guru’s grace you automatically become an expert in spiritual matters.
While some criticism on this blog is indeed subjective opinion ( seeing SSRS as your personal savior, v/s just another person), many issues raised here are in the objective realm. Corruption is corruption, lies are lies – it does not matter who points it out.
5) Then there are fools like Harshal who are simply looking for attention because his current spiritual path doesn’t allow him any. Nothing much to do in life. His lack of ego results in him craving attention, so he comes to this blog to troll and insult others in hopes to gain private information from others posting on this blog. He’s tired of being ego-less in AOL and knows this cult will never allow him the attention he craves.
No Harshal, the majority of people here are against neither spirituality nor genuine, well-meaning Gurus.
But we are certainly against charlatans, who from time immemorial have been masquerading as real Gurus, wolves in sheeps’ clothing luring unsuspecting, vulnerable souls into their web of deceit, just as we have every reason to believe Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is doing in the world today.
Most people here seem to follow some spiritual path, but your black and white thinking has decided that just because we don’t accept your Guru as being genuine then that must mean we don’t accept any Gurus at all. Nothing could be further from the truth, as most people here will attest to. But you just can’t accept this simple fact.
If Sri Sri really had any grace to give, you certainly don’t seem to have received any of it judging by everything you’ve written on this blog. And what about “Guruji’s Grace” flowing through the teacher during Sudarshan Kriya being responsible for the effects, and not the technique itself? We’ve already debunked that theory previously when taking into account all those who played the tape with no teacher present.
I do actually believe in Guru’s Grace, I just don’t believe that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has any Grace to bestow on anyone.
Harshal lost his job, harshal lost his job……….Yeah, I know, you said harshal, you are now treating paranoid schizophrenics. So how is that going? Did you get some treatment to your Guruji yet? Let’s see. Today he thinks he’s Lord Krishna. Last month, he thought he was Lord Siva, and in a few days during Chaitra Navaratri, he’ll think he’s Devi, and then sometimes he thinks he’s Lord Rama. Or so he claims………Can you help him? And, again, please try to help him with the paranoid part — nobody is trying to steal anything from him, and he need not search visitors’ bags at the ashram when he has some personal item missing. Oh, and keep reminding him that even though he thinks that Kashmiri terrorists are shooting at him, it’s really just the old neighbor scaring away the dogs that bother the cows. I’m sure you are a great doctor and can treat him.
@Peaceful Warrior: the only thing I am noticing is how a pseudo-realized person becomes ultra-defensive even when someone anonymous person questions his spiritual credentials.
Calling yourself ‘Harshal’ means your identity is proved and you are brave-heart to disclose one’s identity?
What is difference if someone calling himself ‘Peaceful warrior’ ‘Tiger’, ‘Doctor’, ‘Observer’ or ‘Harshal’. Who knows what is your true name? if you are really Harshal, then are you The Harshal of India or World? There may be lacs of male and female having name Harshal.
Tiger_one: Your fellow anti-aol zombies have checked my ip address and they know where I am based. They have also posted my facebook profile and other things here. They also had my picture on the right side of the blog for a while(where you see skywalkers pic now) These sneaky hypocritical bastards only talk about ethics and all those things.So don’t jump to conclusions based on very little white matter in your cranium.
@Harshal – you were the one who came onto our blog which is clearly helping a great many people to recover from abuses they suffered whilst in the cult you are so religiously trying to defend. But rather than show any compassion or empathy towards any of these people, you have instead been nothing but highly abusive, offensive and downright vulgar since you showed your ugly face here.
You are such a disgusting, sick-minded individual that you actually get your kicks out of making fun of people who are suffering. Do you go into hospitals and poke fun at patients? Then why come here and do the same to those who have suffered from your cult?
You absolutely, totally and utterly deserve to be exposed together with your fake guru for the damage you are both doing. People here suffered enough whilst in Art of Living, they come here to find solace, comfort and a place of healing, and as such shouldn’t have to be subjected to more abuse from bigoted, fanatical hooligans like yourself.
And there is absolutely nothing unethical or hypocritcal about bringing your identity to light, so don’t for one second try and paint us with the same brush with which we have painted you and your guru. You won’t convince anyone here as most people already know you quite well by now and realize that it is you and the organization you represent that are the unethical hypocritical ones, not us.
@Harshal:
Ah! So all those “sneaky hypocritical bastards” exposing your identity was unethical? You yourself didn’t want to reveal your identity? So what was all your tirade against coward anons? Empty posturing?
Kudos doc, this fitting reply was about time.
@harshal – your ad-hominem attacks won’t work – being anonynous is not the issue – the issue is that you resort to senseless name-calling instead of arguing with facts.
This blog is not about me or about other people who post here. It is about the wrongdoings of SSRS and dysfunctional nature of AOL as an organization. But because you cannot reasonably justify the actions of SSRS, and AOL, denigrating critics is all you can do.
I have a feeling that something inside Harshal wants him to get out of AOL . He cannot suppress that voice of reason. That’s why he is still here reading, posting – claims of ‘just for the entertainment’ not withstanding.
@The Doctor: Your blog? Since when has it become your blog? You are just a mosquito which skywalker and co. have hired to run the affairs of this blog.
I don’t think anyone of you is suffering. You are just bunch of jokers and I enjoy your jokeriness…. ‘healing on a blog’ , ‘free again’ and what not. You guys simply have not taken responsibility for your own lives and are blaming someone/something else for your miserable conditions.
‘You’ were the one who went to AOL. ‘You’ were the ones who chose to stay with it. ‘You’ could have resisted any coaxing if there was any. But you did not. And now you are blaming AOL for your misery.
Not only that. You are a hypocrite. If you felt that my comments are hurting others you could have just blocked them(like you blocked the attempt to do a survey on this blog).But you still allow them to pass on.
You and your fellow mosquitoes stand exposed.
Since when has it become your blog?
So now you are going to pick on semantics ? I/We/Our here represents a community of ex-aol people, and yes it is our blog.
Do you have no other arguments that you stoop so low and start abusing people ?
I don’t think anyone of you is suffering. You are just bunch of jokers and I enjoy your jokeriness…. ‘healing on a blog’ , ‘free again’ and what not. You guys simply have not taken responsibility for your own lives and are blaming someone/something else for your miserable conditions.
Many of us are not suffering any more – but there are a larger number of people who come to exorcise AOL from their system and heal their trauma. Your response is so typical – denying the validity of other people’s negative experience and abusing them instead.
Attempting to heal oneself and taking the step to come out of the AOL trance is taking responsibility. Not taking responsibility is saying all iz well and guru grace will take care of everything in your life. Taking responsibility means not relying on any guru, but being responsible for oneself.
‘You’ were the one who went to AOL. ‘You’ were the ones who chose to stay with it. ‘You’ could have resisted any coaxing if there was any. But you did not. And now you are blaming AOL for your misery.
It is true. I made a mistake in being part of AOL, and giving a good chunk of my life to it. But that does not mean AOL was not at fault. If you get conned by a con-man, it is partly your fault, but also the fault of the conman – as they prey on the quirks of human nature.
If you felt that my comments are hurting others you could have just blocked them(like you blocked the attempt to do a survey on this blog).But you still allow them to pass on.
Then you would have accused us being hypocrites for not publishing negative comments. Either way, you would call us hypocrites.
The only person who stands exposed is you. Somehow the idea of people critiquing AOL and SSRS really upsets you, so you start to abuse people. My feeling is that you know the criticism rings true, and the person you are really trying to suppress is the one inside you that says the same thing. Of course “The Mind” is the enemy AOL teachers like to demonize – which is why they tend to be so conflicted. The mind after-all is also yourself.
“denying the validity of other people’s negative experience and abusing them instead”
Just like you deny the validity of– number of positive experiences with AOL completely and absolutely outweighing the questionable negatives.
Taking responsibility means not blaming others for your failures and misery, which is what you do here.
“Either way, you would call us hypocrites”
Why would you block the anonymous survey then? Just because that would have completely exposed you guys.
Your problem is that you are not sure if you did the right thing by leaving AOL. You know that you are on the wrong side of history spirituality and righteousness but you just want some sort of reinforcement to convince yourself that you are right …. also miserable people tend to support each other. Hence this blog.
Just like you deny the validity of– number of positive experiences with AOL completely and absolutely outweighing the questionable negatives.
Nope – we don’t deny that people have had positive experiences in AOL. What we say is that is not the complete picture, and unless you have a 360 degree perspective, you are gonna be used and manipulated by people in AOL.
Your problem is that you are not sure if you did the right thing by leaving AOL.
On the contrary, that is one thing I’m really really sure of. And I don’t need reinforcement to convince me that I am right. However, people who are caught up in AOL daze, and are taking baby steps to come out, do look for support. Like you said, they fear that they are on the wrong side of “spirituality and righteousness”, having been brainwashed to believe that SSRS is god.
To be on the right side of spirituality and righteousness is to stand up and speak out when unspiritual things go on in a supposedly spiritual organization – not to rationalize it by saying guru is always right or blaming your mind. How can an organization that does not operate with integrity and transparency with regard to finances be on the right side of spirituality and righteousness ? There are so many instances of money being raised in name of charity, but used without accountability. Isn’t spirituality about being open and honest, and more yourself, instead of being duplicitous and conniving like so many AOL teachers are ?
I don’t need to drive any of these points home – I’m not saying something non-obvious… people can judge from their own experience and decide. Why do you insist that everyone toe the official AOL line. I think it’s because AOL folks are paranoid that people might stray on being exposed to alternate facts. How about treating people as adults and not as kids who need to be shepherded and guided.
“we don’t deny that people have had positive experiences in AOL”
You deny that number of positive experiences with AOL completely and absolutely outweighing the questionable negatives.
” organization that does not operate with integrity and transparency with regard to finances be on the right side of spirituality and righteousness”
Give me just one valid proof. Not just accusations from anonymous people.
“Why do you insist that everyone toe the official AOL line”
Just like you insist on your viewpoint which is based on rumours , malicious and false information and vested interests of some people and no proofs.
You have yourself confessed that you were thrown out of your group. How can we know that they are all wrong and you are THE correct or vice versa?
You have yourself confessed that you were thrown out of your group. How can we know that they are all wrong and you are THE correct or vice versa?
Hah – I never said that I was thrown out. I said there were disagreements and they would not listen or act on some of the points I was raising. Few disagreements were not the cause of my leaving the organization – that came much later when my discomfort grew beyond a point.
Give me just one valid proof. Not just accusations from anonymous people.
Of course SSRS and family are good at hiding incriminating evidence – we don’t have access to accounts. But there are so many indications -Sri Sri’s family’s lavish lifestyle, and stakes in private companies like Sumeru Real Estate, Sumeru Software and Iniwex Pharma is proof enough. I’m sure the $$ from that did not come out of thin air. How about the fact that Care for Children does not publish it’s numbers publicly. It is pretty much the norm among NGO’s to be transparent and publish their numbers on an annual basis. But clearly, AOL is holier than thou, so it does not need to be either transparent or accountable to the general public. This kind of secrecy is a huge red flag – and only happens when creative accounting is going on. AOL is not likely to be any different.
And on top of that AOL says that money raised from courses goes towards so many good causes – except we never see any numbers. If I make strong claims like that, don’t you think I need to back it up with credible data that has been attested to be organizations of integrity. AOL demands you take all these things on faith in guru – that you don’t question and ask for proof that they are actually walking the talk, when on the contrary the lavish lifestyles and personal wealth of the founders indicate that the $$ is going into personal chests rather than actual charity.
And on top of that to do that in the name of helping the poor and underpriveleged ? Isn’t it so spiritual and righteous!
“Just like you insist on your viewpoint which is based on rumours , malicious and false information and vested interests of some people and no proofs.”
What an idiot.
I guess all these people who experienced health problems were just “rumors.” All those who passed out or suffered heart attacks after long kriya were just “rumors” and “false information.” I guess the rising costs of courses are just “rumors or false information.”
Are you seriously this stupid Harshal? Are you capable of replying to any one of the dozens of legitimate questions we have asked you?
oh he will just say that since people are anonymous their POV or stories have no validity whatsoever. Like people really have time and inclination to cook up stories about AOL. Everyone does not have the same twisted mindset as our friend Mr. H, but you are never going to make him even consider that it is possible for people to have bad experience with AOL.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so harsh on ol’ Harsh. After all, he probably deserves some compassion for the silent suffering he’s getting from AOL – just by looking at actions shows this.
I don’t know where he is getting this idea that we are dismissing AOL as all bad. I said many times in my own story that I continue to get benefits from the meditation and yoga I learned from AOL. I also think the satsang music is beautiful and fun.
It’s not all bad Harshal, but it’s not all good either.
junior observer: I will answer all your questions. However before that just show me one person,just one,who has had an heart attack after immediately after SK practise.
If you cannot prove your claim , your idiocy will be proved beyond doubt.
I can’t provide you with any proof, other than my own. Besides, you’ll never believe me anyway.
I suffered severe allergies, fatigue, concentration problems and dark eye circles from sudarshan kriya. All these problems miraculously went away within a few months after quitting sudarshan kriya. This was my own proof that it was damaging my health. Countless similar stories have been posted here.
Here’s my challenge to you Harshal: Give up sudarshan kriya for 1 month. Then come back here and tell us how much better you feel. I can even imagine you’ll become less angry and more compassionate to others on this blog.
Lastly Harsh, you wouldn’t even be here on this blog if you didn’t believe our stories were true. It bothers you so much that you know the stories on this blog are true. If you really believed this blog was lies, you would simply ignore it.
but you are never going to make him even consider that it is possible for people to have bad experience with AOL.
No, seva warriors are asked to agree that people can have bad experiences; its just that very few ppl hav ‘bad’ experiences with AoL (and even that is their fault, and its all exaggerated) and AoL is ‘overwhelmingly’ good….etc.
Also, never say never. I think the deeper people like Harshal get involved in aol, the sooner they are likely to resonate with experiences similar to those shared in this blog.
This Harshal seems to be follower of AOL singer and Rishi ‘N’. This Rishi is full of ego, arrogance and anger. His followers are supposed to do the same.
He sounds more like Bawa’s follower, incoherent, illogical and obnoxious.
Its good that Harshal comes and discuss here.
The blog will serve its true purpose only when core-aol followers come here and openly debate.
My sincere appeal to people. If you are having problems due to Sudarshan Kriya please stop immediately. it can worsen your condition if you do not heed the warnings and continue. This practise not suitable for all. It took me almost six months to recover from my three month practise of kriya. I did not have a heart attack as some one was mentioning before. but very strong heart palpitations due to kriya. the doctors warned me that I might even get some of the heart valves damaged.
Be very careful when you practise hotch potch techniques like sudarshan kriya. The teachers themselves do not know how this sudarshan kriya works or do not work. Ask questions to them and do not take their silly answers like guru’s revelation or grace. Otherwise you will suffer like how i suffered.
Thanks to real yoga masters who helped me come out of this dangerous cult practise.
Akshata – thanks for sharing your experience.
People should listen to their body and should not believe the ‘it’s just detoxification’ BS that AOL doles out.
Hello Akshita- Thanks for sharinng your experience. I will take it that your experience as genuine. I had done AOL Basic course. I must say I have gained immensely from this program. It would have been better if SK also had worked for me. I developed mild but irritating pain on the right hand side of the right leg mostly from lower leg RHS to feet. Before practicng SK I had not experienced this pain. It is not a lingering pain only occurs occassionally, but can be irritating enough to not let me sleep. If I walk instead of sitting or sleeping, the pain goes away. It returns as soon as I try to sit or sleep. Like you, I had initially failed to connect SK to this pain. But after I suspected of it and stopped SK, the occurence of this pain reduced considerably and would recur if I do SK again. My feeling is that, I proobably had some problem at that area of the body for long, but became obvious after practicing SK. I had done a Nerve conuction test (EMG), but did not find any problem there and the doctors I have shown to are clueless about the reason and remedy for this. Has any of you are familiar with this problem I am talking about. I sould welcome anny suggestions you may have on this.
@Observer Jr. : Are you in high-school?
I asked you to show me, atleast point someone , any second hand story, who had heart attack after practising sudarshan kriya. That is what you claimed. However, you reply to that by saying , ‘i had dark circles’. You are just a prototype of the personalities on the blog. Making allegations with no proof.
Then this another joker comes up. She has palpitations and an impending valve damage because of palpitations. This doctor should collect noble prize in cardiology from Stockholm.
SK it seems can cause anything from dark circles to palipitaions to strokes and what not!. I am just waiting for that one person to come up and say…
“as I started doing kriya I gradually started becoming pregnant, and as soon as I stopped doing it my pregnancy gradually disappeared. Thank god I stopped kriya, I was saved I got a new life or else I would have had a child without having sex. So I am warning everyone not to do kriya or you might get pregnant, because no one knows how it works, so it can do anything and I can claim anything. I am so thankful for this blog , this is a great healing place for people like me who became pregnant without having sex “
You are the proof Harshal. Your brain obviously damaged from kriya to the point that you think being an asshole is productive thing to do.
Observer Jr,
Harshal asked you, “are you in high school?”. Remember, you have to come down to the Kindergarten level to have a conversation with the likes of him who follow the footsteps of the “child who never grew up”.
hahaha
Harshal,
IT IS MY PERONAL EXPERIENCE corroborated by the doctors who treated me. So just bugger up and stop calling me a joker. Just for the sake of your cult propoganda I cannot deny my personal experience of the heart problems I suffered. I could have taken AOL to court, but I do not have the resources and time to do that. The AOL teachers had no clue and just like you made me sound like a joker when my medical reports suggested otherwise. You are so typical of the AOL cult zombies.
Akshata:
Can you confirm that the doctors told you the following: “SK is causing palpitations and palpitations(or SK directly) can damage your valves”
If he has, how did he reach on to that conclusion? Did he put you on a trademill/ECG while doing SK? If not, did you tell this to the doctor?
Did you ask him, what is the evidence for what he told you. Do you have any pre-existing heard condition or any other disease?
Harshal,
The heart palpitations started a week after I started doing the sudarshan kriya and unfortunately I never thought it was due to this practice and continued this practice. I never had any pre-existing conditions and being 24 years of age I have always been in good health. I later came to know that it was a direct result of doing this so called wonderful technique. The aol teacher had no clue about this always spoke some rubbish about cleansing and grace and negativity.
After three months of practice my health only worsened and became eractic. One day I fainted at work and was adviced bed rest. When I went through the treadmill/ECG my heart condition did not show any abnormality. The doctor who was very perceptive asked me about my work and other activities. When I told him about all and even the breathing practice that I do, he suggested maybe I should rethink and stop doing it. It was at that time I realized the actual causal relationship between sudarshan kriya and the heart palpitations. Whenever I stopped this practice for a couple of days the palpitations and discomfort in the heart area reduced.
I fortunately met some very good yoga teachers from the Bihar school of Yoga who made me understand the dangers of practicising improper Pranayama like how they teach in AOL. I was provided a tailored yoga sadhana routine which made me come back to normal and back in to good health. I was able to clearly see how my body got abused due to the AOL pranayama and kriya practice. And the other thing I clearly saw was how the AOL teachers were clueless, insenstive and even subtly abusive towards any one who do not corroborate their false claims of the benefits. I was also surprised to find in internet blogs that anyone who questions AOL gets abused by AOL trolls like yourself. When I first encountered this blog a few days ago I felt that I should share my experience in this post that more people become aware of these dangerous and help them deal with the suffering which can come to them due to AOL as it happened in my case.
“AOL trolls”. I like that.
Doctor, don’t you think Akshata’s comment is worthy of a post by itself?
Funny Dayalu, I had the exact same thought … Heart Problems Caused By Sudarshan Kriya
@ anoop: I dont think I am a usual prototype AOL guy. Those people are more humble, they are busy in seva activities and don’t have time for this blog.
Maybe he is the AOL goon type. His main job is to ‘silence’ AOL critics by any means.
Harshal – your prototype AOL people also read this blog a lot. This was evident from how quickly a complaint was deleted from a pro AOL blog once it was posted here.
why do you not do seva?
@Harshal:
“I dont think I am a usual prototype AOL guy. Those people are more humble, they are busy in seva activities and don’t have time for this blog.”
I am actually touched by your humility. If even years of SK and drinking that special stuff of your Guru could not make you a “usual prototype AOL guy”, what else will?
@ anon: I dont do seva because it is a very boring activity.
Why should I help others? I know that there are some people who are in such torments and misery that they become insomniacs and cannot even close their eyes. If not helped they will die. I know that if these people are taught meditations and pranayama their quality of life will be enhanced. But why should I care?
I know that that there are some people who lack any meaning or purpose in life and are totally lost are drug addicts and suffer. If they are brought in a company of nice spiritual people they might get a sense of purpose in their life. But why should I do that? it doesnt pay me anything.
Overall seva is rather a useless thing. I care only for myself and think only about myself. And in my spare time, I go on the internet, and if I find any organization doing good work,bringing peace to life of people, giving them support, teaching poor kids in slums I try to spread false information, rumors and throw baseless allegations against that organization. My policy is simple ‘If I cannot do any good why should I let others do good’?
@Harshal,
As well as personal experiences, many of which I agree are unverifiable, there are a great many incontrovertible facts contained in this blog and specifically in the above post. However you have chosen to completely ignore any of these facts and concentrate entirely on descrediting the authors of the personal experiences.
I asked you before if you could comment on the points made in the above post and you have as yet to successfully challenge anything written therein.
Let me give you two facts directly taken from that post now and see if you can provide an explanation to the contradiction they represent:
These statements are neither hearsay nor are they rumour, and both are completely verifiable. Yet they present a contradiction.
Can you please explain how it is possible that on the one hand Art of Living claim there are no negative side effects to the technique yet on the other hand teachers tell those who do experience negative side effects that this is to be expected?
There are many other such facts across these blogs which you and most other people from Art of Living have chosen to ignore, and my prediction is that rather than answer this you will launch into yet another one of your immature tirades, call me an idiot and do anything but provide any explanation to this contradiction .
Over to you now Harshal …
Harshal is borrrrrring snorrrring……….
Issue is this: AOL is not a charity. SSRS has lied to many people and mistreated people as evidenced by their reports here. Who cares about some guy named Harshal who says anyhow that he only cares about himself?
Back over to somebody who actually had some experience with AOL please.
Why is Harshal not answering these queries? Please Harshal, please address these allegations that appear in doctor’s post
He can’t / won’t simply because he knows that it negates everything he’s been trying to push on this blog about Sudarshan Kriya being completely harmless. He doesn’t have an answer, and so will ignore this just has he’s ignored all the other facts mentioned in this post and throughout the blogs.
@ doc: Please give me sometime to respond. I do other things in life 😉 unlike you whos only job seems to be monitoring this blog. Lucky you, you got something to do in your old age!
To answer your question- yes. SK has no proven side-effects.
What AOL teachers talk about (if you remember from your course) is -usually people have some headaches/light-headedness after doing pranayama/kriya. Any practice of yoga meditation , like kriya-yoga, vipaasaana can do it. The idea is that the body-physiology is not in a position to adjust to the rise in the prana levels because of the technique.
For example, look at you. you are some old, lonely person sitting with a computer , leading a miserable life somewhere. However, if suddenly you are sent to the Alps, with lots of fresh air and and a totally different, beautiful environment your body will need some time to adjust to it. Even though it is good for you, initially there is some physiological resistance. This “resistance” is what the AOL teachers talk about.
Did you know that same thing happened to UG Krishnamurthy? After what he suggests ‘the event’ which happened in his life(people call it enlightenment) he suffered from horrible headaches/migraines for a while. He would wake up in the night and would cry. Osho later on suggested that perhaps his physiology was not ready for the event.
So when the AOL teachers refer to side-effects, these are just some transient effect due to rise in the prana-shakti. I am pretty sure that in human beings SK cannot cause heart-attacks, valve damages, strokes, and other things mentioned on this blogs. This is because science has already told us what causes these things.
I am not a AOL teacher though, so you should directly ask a AOL teacher and confirm.
FYI.. Agyaatdarshan claims AOL changed its practices after the mistakes he pointed out. Can someone confirm?
He had pointed out this defect earlier at
If this is true, it just shows they didn’t know what they were doing before. How dangerous and irresponsible for an organization that stresses responsibility.
I find this very disturbing that they now tack this on. It’s as if they had no clue what they were doing before. They need to be more responsible with these powerful techniques that can obviously be very dangerous for some.
SK Miracle… 🙂
http://dushyantsavadia.net/2011/04/near-death-experiance-guru-grace-dushyant-savadia/
Good for him….my experiences have been different.
This is interesting, because it is one of the main controversies of AOL and other religious and spiritual groups. I’m not doubting this guy’s story that he was sick and got well. I also do believe the mind and emotions are capable of healing the body in what people would call miracles. But I would argue it was this mans doing, and no one outside of him, except for him and God. Even at the end of the story he describes how SSRS said “it wasn’t me, it was your one-pointedness.”
No No – That is not how it works. Whatever you get out of sadhna and your faith are because of guru – specifically SSRS’s grace. You need to be grateful for that and give your $$ and time to him and his organization – and please don’t ever ask any uncomfortable questions like how the money is used. That shows lack of gratitude, and the grace will leave you 😉
99.99% sure, the guy is making up the story. These kind of stories are needed for all kind of Gurus to flourish.
If Saibaba, Ravishankar all these Gurus had miracle powers then why cant they use it more lavishly ?
If it was really a miracle why are the doctors not speaking? let the doctors in the hospital hold a big press conference to discuss the case. release the case reports for medical scrutiny by all doctors worldwide.
Open challenge to AOL ….do it
More laughable than all of the miracle stories — in going to the ‘miracle’ link above, I saw, on the same site, something about the birthplace of Guruji. So I clicked on it and lo and behold! There is a sign, there is a house, it is the house of “the greatest Avatar, our Gurudev” it says. Ravi Shankar. Huh??? How can this be? He told me that his family had to move to Bangalore from Tamil Nadu because of the great floods that washed away his and others’ homes at that time, and many many people had to leave that area. So they moved to Bangalore? Then how is that house there? Did he just make up the story about the floods? Or did they make up that being his birthplace? What in the world gives here? I guess the mythology starts even before this one dies. LOL!!
Why? We have a ha-ha doctor here. He has already confirmed that reviving dead people is not such a big deal.
Hi Doctor and other associates here,
I think you guys are doing only one part that is making people aware of the negative effects of SK.. but not having any idea whatsoever what is the basic flaw in SSR’s teaching.. Don’t you feel this should be also pointed out?
I follow Acharya AD’s blog regularly and have seen that he is talking more sense than only ridiculing and warning.
I have posted the link here for your benefit of all who are interested to know more on the subject..
All the best
Sudarshan kriya & other breathing techniques taught in AoL are NOT yoga.
In yoga it not advisable to put stress on the body to do the breathing. in SK you just force your lungs to do the rhythmic breathing. You forcefully hyperventilate for half an hour ignoring your body’s urge to breath normally.
also bhastrika pranayam is not to be done in the way taught in AoL. that technique of breathing in with hands up forcefully breathing out while putting hands down is just named bhastrika. it is not bhastrika, bhastrika is not done that way.
same apply for three stage pranayam aka known as ujjai pranayam. it is just a breathing technique AoL people have invented & selling it in the name of yoga. ujjai is not done that way. You have to breath in with a sound from throat and apply jalandhar bandh.
So in short, the breathing techniques (Particularly Sudarshan kriya) they are teaching in AoL are not yoga.
I also doubt about some asanas.
Maybe they teach about “Jalandar Bandh” in one of the super advanced courses. If not, some disciple of His Most Exalted Holiness Sri Maha Param Pujaniya Gurudevji Bhagwanji Sriman Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji Mahadevji (HMEHSMHPGBSSSRSM) will pass on this info to him after reading it here and it will be introduced as a new course once HMEHSMHPGBSSSRSM has patented it.
I have always a query about DSN course. In Padmasadhana, we have to take 6/7 breaths in one Pose (Asana). But, I learnt that, pose should be changed with breath in and breath out.
E. g. In Parwatasan, we sit in Padmasan, take hand above our head with breath in, hold the breath in Namaskar pose, and with breath out hands comes down. But, in DSN, in the Namskar pose of Parwatasan, we have to take 6/7 breaths.
Is this against Yogic practice?
sorry for taking so long to reply
Yes, it is against yogic practice to keep breathing while in remaining in a pose esp if your are bending (forward or backward)
It is not so harmful in parvatasan but in other asans in which you have to bend your body forward or backward it can harm you. like in pawan muktasan you have to breath out & hold your breath untill you can & come back to normal while breathing in. In dhanurasan, arc your back while breathing in, hold it while in pose & release while you change position to normal.
If you keep breathing while in e.g pawanmuktasan, it puts too much pressure on your internal organs & lungs which can be harmful.
Also, they are forcing people to do sarvangasan (the mental pressure to say yes, so you can expand your comfort zone).
sarvangasan, though very good for health, can be harmful if not done properly or in proper supervision (you might break your neck).
I think one should keep breathing naturally during an asana, coz even holding of the breath can lead to high blood pressure and hypertension.
Hey, I am with AOL for over a decade now. What I like about it is a sense of community, doing lots of volunteer work, connecting with new people etc. There is also some excellent knowledge sessions and singing and dancing. Doing things in the group no one can deny is more fun.
I have read a few of your blogs, some I dont agree with. But this one I am presently surprised because it is written in a balanced manner. Lot of what you said is insightful & perhaps true. The reason they dont give out the tape is simply because if something is commonly available it is not valuable. I dont think Guruji will make bad things happen for those who listen to long kriya on their own, because it is against the very essence of what he teaches. Personally, I do meditation for a couple of hours a day and dont seem to have the need for kriya. Having interacting with Gurudev many times I am convinced that he is walking the path, something very difficult to do. I honor and respect that.
Of course as any organization grows, there will be power politics, back stabbing etc. The only people to be blamed for this is us. Gurudev is trying to reach out to as many people as he possibly can, as with any approach this one has its pluses and minuses.
Thanks for trying to create a balance through these blogs, having done that it is time for us to move on, meditate, rejoice, be happy and spread the joy!
“Having interacting with Gurudev many times I am convinced that he is walking the path, something very difficult to do. I honor and respect that. ”
SriRam — What is “many times”? 20 times? Lived with him for months in close quarters? Travelled around the world with him seeing him in all sorts of circumstances? Please go and meet your GuruDev again and again, ask him many pointed questions as you progress (or don’t). Make the effort to live very closely with him, watch him, observe his behavior(s). Then come back to this blog and repeat what you’ve said above (or probably not). Know him very well before you make the claim you’ve made above. If he will not permit you to live with him, then what could he be hiding? Find out for yourself. It may take some time, as the organization is very large, but do this, please. And be careful. Everything you call “politics” in the organization is sanctioned and approved by your GuruDev, for better or worse. This is a fact. He has his fingers on the pulse of his group and organization.
Nice try Sriram, but we already have moved on, that is why we are here on this blog and not in AOL like you. Your slick attempt to praise this blog is not going to work in hopes of getting rid of it.
🙂
It is never someone or something, it is you that you need to worry about. If you have made a difference and touched people lives in a positive manner then comment. It is easy to sit on your computer and criticize others. Just like Jesus said… about throwing stones.
See your mind is still seeing negative in a positive feedback. You say you have moved on, you have just moved from pro-AOL to anti-AOL. Your mind is still stuck with AOL. If you had moved on, you would not be in this blog, but out in the field changing people’s lives.
“If you have made a difference and touched people lives in a positive manner then comment.”
My comments have made a difference in people’s lives. Yours have too, as they can see why AOL is dangerous. Just like how the comments from Doctor, Skywalker and Peaceful Warrior have saved me from AOL. This blog serves a purpose, and this is just the beginning. There will be more blogs in the future saving more people.
“It is easy to sit on your computer and criticize others.”
I didn’t criticize you, I just like to see things as they are, and point them out. Your asking us to “move on” from this blog indicates you don’t like what you see here. If you really weren’t bothered by this blog, YOU would move on and ignore it.
“You say you have moved on, you have just moved from pro-AOL to anti-AOL. Your mind is still stuck with AOL. ”
I’m not anti-AOL, but I am pro-the facts being exposed for people to make up their own mind. Life is not black and white, and neither is AOL. People can decide for themselves how much they want to keep or drop. Without these blogs, there is no balance and only positives can be read about AOL, which is a lie.
“If you had moved on, you would not be in this blog, but out in the field changing people’s lives.”
Once again, we do, and will continue to save lives. Service doesn’t have to be in physical action. Seva can be writing an important message on a blog to save someone’s life. You know it’s true. AOL is trying to sue this blog because it’s working.
😉
Not exactly “Sriram” Loss of any kind including betrayal and deceit induces grief which necessitates a working out in successive stages such as denial, anger, etc and finally acceptance and “moving-on” with one’s life. This type of forum may serve as a tool in that process for many.
@SriRam
Why don’t you “move on” and ignore this blog since it bothers you so much? You are stuck with this blog. You should Laugh Sing Dance Meditate. Why hang out here commenting?
Touching peoples’ lives in a positive way doesn’t always mean collecting money for ‘charities’ and giving it to one’s family, as some seem to think. Or pretending to be something/someone you are not at all in private. Sometimes it’s pointing out something that has hurt many people and thereby giving a better look at that thing so people can make an informed choice as to what they really want to be involved in before they get in too deep. Or, it can help those who broke away from that thing, and because they were so abused, so lied about, so defamed by a self-seeking ‘master’ that they even slightly doubt their decision — until they see that there are many, many others just like them, who had the same personal experiences, and went on to live outside of AOL and are okay now. It gives them hope of full recovery from their destroyed or partially interrupted lives.
Just because you are not so involved, doesn’t make it not true (what is reported on this blog and on links to other blogs posted here). Just read the “Swami Sad’s” comments on the right side of the page to know just how vicious the close insiders of AOL can be and are even now. How paranoid and scared they are by someone just telling their experience! If they were so certain about how right they are, they would not be afraid. This little blog and others like it wouldn’t prompt “three pronged attacks” emanating from the core of AOL (SSRS himself). Read the whole blog, and others in the links, then decide.
If you do, however, know, by close and constant association with SSRS and the inner circle, then shame on you for denying what you know on a blog where you see those truths being reported. Just because you believe those truths have some other mystical meaning (that he and his leaders are doing the awful things they do for some greater good, or because they are ‘taking on others’ stress’), doesn’t mean that your interpretation of their completely unacceptable actions (to most of all societies on the earth) is correct.
Original Anonymous permalink
August 2, 2011 6:28 am
I think one should keep breathing naturally during an asana, coz even holding of the breath can lead to high blood pressure and hypertension.
Even after 5000 yrs. of yoga, things such as when to breathe and when not to have still be undecided.
That’s because the a lot of the knowledge of Yoga and the scriptures was lost/limted after the Mughal invasion.
“If you had moved on, you would not be in this blog, but out in the field changing people’s lives.”
Every AOL troll cries with the ‘Move on’ slogan on this blog. They don’t want these bloggers to share their experience which might help people stuck in AOL to move on.
These bloggers have already changed lives of thousands and will continue to do so despite AOL’s desperate attempts to throttle their voices.
“These bloggers have already changed lives of thousands”
-LMAO
A lot of the knowledge of the scriptures was lost after the Mughal invasion. And one of the reason is also because a number of teachers have sprung up who teach different things. But that does not change the principle, sacredness of Yoga and the ancient wisdom of the scriptures.
@Original Anonymous,
So a lot of the yogic scriptures were lost due to the Mughal invasions. So can it be assumed that all the yoga being taught today isn’t actually the yoga before the pre mughal times ?? And i fail to understand that if different teachers teach different things, then how can the principle be the same ? And what exactly does “ancient” wisdom mean?? Can I conclude that we as a species have become more foolish over time ??
Dear Friends,
There is a lot of negative effects mentioned in this whole article. Please have a balanced view. I have personally benefitted a lot from SK. Hence it pains me to see so much negativity mentioned here. If someone did have a painful experience I cannot negate it. But unless you experience things for yourself – do not be a judge.
Wish you all the best!
Well wisher.
You experiences of positive effects with the SKy certainly haven’t prevented you from feeling sad when someone says negative things around the kriya.
Do you mind sharing what benefits you got from SK and how long have you been doing it?
I have done sudarshan kirya in basic course and short kirya at home also, I have some side effect of this kirya i.e there are itches/skin infections on all body
Guru rishi prbhakar of the siddha Samadhi yoga (SSY) has now discovered a new kriya called Kaya Kalp Kriya, which he is now teaching people so that this dynamic kriya can take people directly to the state of Samadhi. Wonder whether it can do this better than the SKY ?? However from the video it appears that the modified bhastrika done in a kind of reverse direction is as vigorous as the SKY.
Check out the video and don’t miss the “Jai gurudev” at the end of the video.
HaHa… this blog’s super funny for some reason.
yes actually,doing the sudarshan kriya is only a very small part of the feel good feeling.it is important to do the sk package in morning.after waking up,have tea and one biscuit only.or a cup of warm or tea hot water.u can have a glass full of tea hot water or maybe two glasses of hot water.this will induce the normal bowel movement in morning.after a complete bowel,only the sit for yoga or kriya.an aloevera tablet with warm water at nite time wioll
ease constipation.
a ten min shavasana with mild music is important befor u start anything .back asana and stomach asana are important.h
a small amount of of proper slow yog asana are very important before sk.also parvatasana in vajrasana is important.start with bhastrika with three sets of twenty bhastrikas.it is very important to relax between every set of bhastrika.the main motive is to experience peace between the bhastrika.the all three stages of pranayama are very important.the motive of all this is to experience silemce and promote parasympathetic nervous system.after the sudarshan kriya short ,we usially end with the fast soham,so at the end,end atleast with forty slow and very deep soham,and then lie down for some while.only then end.if we are doing bhastriks and fast soham too rapidly,and not allowing the breath too relax after that,it may lead to bad consequences.read power pranayama book by dr renu mahtani for the kewal kumbhaka,in sk
I had uncontrolled muscle spasms in the beginners course of AOL . It may have been a coincidence but I have had tendon inflammations and sweeling of joints on and off since then for years now (11 years ) I think something like a kundalini crisis was triggered while doing the kriya . I did not dare do it again at home after that one bad experience , which freaked me out . Putting it on record here so people realise that there are side effects of SK.
nowhere is it said that kriya is for one and all. If you read the basic course form properly you would know that you are asked about any health problems, if any. If you develop any health problems after the kriya, its only because, somewhere in your body you had an ailment which has surfaced. A smart person would then consult a doctor and get cured. Doing the kriya cannot create health problems but can cause them to surface at an earlier curable stage. The advance course as the name suggests is for people who are mature enough for it so i will treat your words as some childish gibbrish. Do your kriya regularly, maybe someday you will get it, although on a more personal note, i think you are far too dumb to ever get it.
No, it’s not. You’re another long-suffering soul, lost in AOL. Your words have lots of agitation and anger, which shows how the courses have only made you a worse person.
Show us the proof that kriya has not the cause of health problems. You don’t have any, so you can’t make a false statement.
well i admit that i currently donot have any health problems, though i had some minor ones earlier, but thanks to sudarshan kriya, i do no longer posses them. Have you heard of artexel and yes course? These are courses for the teens and preteens which actually prepare them for the basic course. I suggest people should start with these and then progress. And as for asking people about their health problems, we cannot force anyone on this topic, if people wish to hide their problems its their wish. If people are open about their health problems, it will greatly help us help them better.
Nlidip, why don’t you try to explain this to Sri Sri Ravishankar?
@ nildip
“Doing the kriya cannot create health problems but can cause them to surface at an earlier curable stage.”
stupid logic
“nowhere is it said that kriya is for one and all. If you read the basic course form properly you would know that you are asked about any health problems, if any.”
Have you ever seen any AoL salesman cautioning their potential buyers before asking for money?
Thanks for your blog! I’m an AOL teacher who’s been troubled by many of these same issues you have written about. This blog is confirming and putting into perspective so many things for me.
I want to share a very useful and pertinent article here. It’s written by Joe Miller, a Yoga teacher trainer, who is also an expert in physiology and anatomy. He explains the existing research on hyperventilation and its ill effects in this four part series. Here’s the link to the last in this series (those interested in finding out more should read all four) :
This answered a question which arose in my mind after reading this post about sudarshan kriya, as to whether kapalabhati, which also involves breathing at a fast pace is hyperventilation. Because kapalabhati has been practiced by yogis for centuries, and it would be strange for it to survive the test of time if it were bad for health. Turns out Kapalabhati, unlike the kriya, is not really hyperventilation.
yes, it is safe, Sudarshan Kriya change my life.
thank to, sri sri ravishankar maharaj.
AOL is the best thing in the whole world!!! Love you all. Wanting or not wanting, knowing or not knowing we are all part of Art of living. Jai Gurudev!!!!
@Love u all,
know what, once a muslim acquaintance told me that I was actually a muslim, only I didn’t know it because of my faulty intelligence, and hence must “revert” to Islam i.e my true nature.
Someone else tells me that I’m really brahman, and only because of Maya I’m not able to realise it. Someone else tells me that I’m actually a slave of the supreme personality of godhead and must surrender to this deity to achieve moksha.
You can be what you want to be and please let others be what they wish to be.
@ Love u all [May 16, 2012 7:00 pm]
Why do you think that wanting or not wanting has no role to play?