A game-changing guide to self-realization and OM Kriya Yoga

When I was a teenager growing up in Mumbai in the 1980s, there were few books on spirituality available. In urban Mumbai, where I was brought up, there were plenty of hard copies of classics available by authors as diverse as Emily Bronte, Jane Austen, Miguel de Cervantes, Charles Dickens and Rabindranath Tagore. I even encountered a few books on the sage Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, which I eagerly sought to comprehend with my teenage mind.

I remember that the only esoteric books I managed to get my hands on at that time were the Seth books by Jane Roberts, which, in retrospect, began the New Age spiritual movement as it now is. There was no internet then, no self-publishing and spiritual-book publishing was not even a gleam in most mainstream publishers’ eyes.

The rise of spiritual movements

Cut to 2025. The world has been brought together by cyberspace, and self-publishing and spiritual publishing have moved to a space somewhere near front and centre. Since about 2012, after the publishing of Dr Eben Alexander’s landmark book ‘Proof of Heaven’, in which he, as a medical professional, testified to the reality of an afterlife, scores of books are being published every year by New Age publishers to cater to the spiritual thirst of people the world over.

Thanks to the world increasingly becoming a global village, spiritual movements like Nichiren Buddhism, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living, Sadhguru’s Isha movement, Paramahansa Yogananda’s Self Realization Fellowship (SRF), ISKCON and others number their presence in hundreds of countries, with millions of followers. And then there are the relatively smaller spiritual movements that have emerged from India which base themselves upon particular guru lineages which are more than effective for their followers in pursuing the path to happiness and enlightenment.

Understanding OM Kriya Yoga

OM Kriya Yoga is one of the latter. Tracing its lineage to the legendary Mahavatar Kriya Babaji, it is a form of Kriya Yoga practice taking off from the traditional precepts of Sanatana Dharma (Hindu religion). While Mahavatar Babaji, who is said to be physically ageless and eternal, is the source of several branches of Kriya Yoga – including Paramahansa Yogananda of ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ fame, OM Kriya Yoga takes its inspiration from Babaji’s claimed successor in that tradition, Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Rajiv Lochan Acharya (1962-2004) who taught the author of ‘Some Whispers from Eternity’ and others the simplest and most direct practices of Kriya Yoga.

As the US-based author, Shomik Chaudhuri, himself relates: “I was initiated in OM Kriya Yoga by Jagadguru Rajiv Lochan Acharya ji in 1999.  However, I have been practicing meditation and then Kriya Yoga since I was a child. I received Kriya Yoga guidance from another saint when I was in my teens. I would seek out Jagadguru whenever he came to the US. Thereafter, I have been practicing what I have learnt.”

OM Kriya Yoga is based on the lineage of Mahavatar Babaji and Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Rajivlochanacharya. It is a form of Kriya Yoga practice, which Paramahansa Yogananda of ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ fame also propounded.

A unique and transparent approach

‘Some Whispers from Eternity’, then, is an introduction of the precepts and practices of OM Kriya Yoga, laid out comprehensively for the layman’s understanding. Books like these are much needed in times like ours, when many spiritual organisations are hesitant to be transparent about their methods and practices despite the abundant testimonials from disciples and biographies of Masters. This is a one-stop book on OM Kriya Yoga related in the manner of a friendly dialogue between two friends in the US, meeting over several sessions over coffee and snacks. 

As Parveen Chopra, publisher of ALotusInTheMud.com and friend of Shomik, writes in his Foreword for this book: “Traditionally, Kriya Yoga lessons are imparted by the guru to shishya in an institutional setting, strictly after initiation. Shomik has broken the secrecy around this less-known system and devotes one entire chapter in his book to giving step-by-step Kriya Yoga instructions.”

Balancing material and spiritual life

In the book, Shomik relates the basic module of the system – centred as it is on koshas, chakras and the mystery of consciousness. There is also self-discipline involved, the concept of leading a balanced life and OM Kriya Yoga’s ultimate aim to guide people to a sustainable happiness. Thus, it is a spiritual path that can be followed by anyone, not just monastics. As Shomik, a well-known member of the US-Indian community, an academic and a corporate trainer, says: “As I progressed (in my practice), I felt more bliss and wisdom emanating from my core. Now I have more bliss and wisdom than (mystic) visions. Many mysteries of existence are revealed. But please, I am not a saint or an exalted person. It is all my spiritual masters’ and the Lord’s blessings. Anyone can experience this if they try.”  

The book has a detailed exploration of several Vedic temples of India, which might be useful for those overseas who are interested in Indian culture, specifically in India’s renowned temples. Though I skipped over this part, what I found most interesting was the section where Shomik talks about the importance of practitioners leading a balanced life, with respect to the spiritual and the material aspects of existence. After all, most people in our world today would find it difficult to lead a life of renunciation or go to a remote mountain top to meditate, given our duties and responsibilities. In the book, Shomik advocates a balancing of Dharma (right way of living) with Artha (means of life – wealth, career, economic prosperity), Kama (emotions, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, pleasures of the senses) and Moksha (freedom, self-realization). He adds that in modern terms this might translate as the importance of health for the individual – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, environmental, work-related and financial – which involves both internal and external factors.

 ‘Some Whispers from Eternity’ by Shomik Chaudhuri is an introduction of the precepts and practices of OM Kriya Yoga, laid out comprehensively for the layman’s understanding.

Uplifting humanity through consciousness evolution

Finally, what OM Kriya Yoga attempts to do is that by uplifting the individual through spiritual practice, the whole of humanity may ultimately be elevated to a new level of consciousness. Adopting the yama-niyama approach of behavioral precepts observed by the individual (such as truthfulness, non-stealing, non-greed etc) as well as the virtues of contentment and reading of scriptures, individuals begin to approach a higher level of consciousness which can then be transmitted (by introduction or propagation) to the people in their environment. This coincides with the thoughts of several of the world’s great spiritual masters including Daisaku Ikeda and Deepak Chopra that when a critical mass of numbers of people form an intimate association with the divine, the world will reach new levels of consciousness as a collective. 

Award-winning recognition

‘Whispers from Eternity’ has bagged the 2024 International Impact Book award and the Literary Titan Book award. Without a doubt, the author, who is closely associated with a UN-affiliated organization, has spoken to readers about the secret to happiness with sincerity and from the innermost essence of his life.