empowered him to give initiation to others. In
1959, he took formal monastic vows from the
Shankaracharya of Puri and was given the name
Hariharananda Giri.
After assuming leadership, Hariharananda pro-
moted the work of the ashram throughout India,
creating affiliations with other ashrams. Believing
that the kriya path should be shared with other
peoples around the world, he proceeded to make
formal visits to promote knowledge of kriya yoga
as the clearest path to enlightenment around the
world.
By 1974, Hariharananda had made the deci-
sion to go west, initially with plans to develop
ashrams in Switzerland. He continued to found
ashrams and centers throughout Europe. His
decision to start an organization in New York City
introduced the work to the United States, much
as Yogananda’s mission had evolved into the SELF-
REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP.
The United States headquarters of the Kriya
Yoga Centers is located in Homestead, Florida.
The international headquarters is in Orissa, India.
The center publishes a periodical, Soul Culture: A
Journal of Kriya Yoga.
Further reading: Swami Hariharananda Giri, Isa Upa-
nishad (Homestead, Fla.: Kriya Yoga Ashrams, 1985);
———, The Laughing Swami: Teachings of Swami Hari-
harananda (Washington, D.C.: Yes International, 2005);
———, Secrets and Significance of Idol Worship among
the Hindus (Puri: Karar Ashram, 1984).
Kriya Yoga Tantra Society
The Kriya Yoga Tantra Society is one of the many
tantric movements (see TANTRISM) that entered
the West from their spiritual homeland in India
in the later decades of the 20th century. The
society was founded by Andre O. Rathel, more
commonly known by his spiritual name, Sunyata
Saraswati.
The American tantric groups have developed
through several independent sources. Sunyata was
a student of the esoteric sciences, tantra, and the
martial arts. During his travels he went to India,
where he studied with Satyananda Saraswati,
the most significant tantric teacher of the 20th
century and the founder of the Bihar School of
Yoga (now the International Yoga Fellowship) in
Bengal. After completing his course of tantra and
MEDITATION he returned to the United States and
founded Beyond/Beyond in Los Angeles, Califor-
nia, which eventually evolved into the Kriya Yoga
Tantra Society.
Sunyata availed himself of a number of teach-
ers and teachings in order to be more fully
informed about a variety of esoteric topics. He
made an independent evaluation of different tan-
tric teachers and studied with several Taoist mas-
ters in Hong Kong. From his studies he selected
tantra as the most powerful of all paths to libera-
tion and enlightenment. His central and primary
path is the system called KRIYA YOGA, originally
popularized by Paramahansa YOGANANDA (1893–
1952), which was thought to be the original tan-
tra of the legendary BABAJI, who is believed to live,
after many centuries, in the HIMALAYAS.
Although Yogananda occasionally taught from
the perspective of tantra, he did not stress left-
hand tantra, the system that Sunyata adopted.
According to the teachings of Sunyata, tantra
promotes intense sexual energy through touch
and yogic practices. The intense energy that is
developed unleashes the KUNDALINI energy, a latent
energy believed to be resting at the base of the
spine. Once released, this power travels the spine,
opening each CHAKRA (seven invisible wheels of
energy along the spine) to the top of the head,
when a person reaches moksha (spiritual libera-
tion) or enlightenment.
Sunyata travels widely offering seminars in
his method of tantric enlightenment. Retreats are
offered by the society in relatively secluded areas
in order to preserve the sacredness of the teach-
ings and the privacy of the attendees. Headquar-
ters are in San Francisco, California. The society
publishes the periodical Jyoti.Kriya Yoga Tantra Society 249 J