Teaching
Paramahamsa Hariharananda taught Kriya Yoga, a meditation technique based on the breath, which he received in the line of Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteswar and Yogananda. He presented it as a scientific technique for the simultaneous development of body, mind, intellect and soul, and explained the scriptures of several religions, among them the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible, in its light. 1, 3, 4
Who it is for
For people who want to learn a breath-based meditation technique of the Kriya Yoga tradition in the line of Yogananda, given at an initiation, and who read the scriptures of several religions as pointing to one goal.
Life and places
- Born Rabindranath Bhattacharya on 27 May 1907 in Habibpur, Nadia, Bengal, he was initiated into Kriya Yoga by Sri Yukteswar at Serampore in 1932 and received further initiations from Yogananda, Swami Satyananda Giri and Bhupendranath Sanyal. 1
- He lived at the Karar Ashram in Puri as Brahmachari Rabinarayan; according to his organisation, Yogananda appointed him its acharya in 1950 and empowered him to initiate in 1951. 1, 2
- On 27 May 1959 he took sannyasa from Jagadguru Bharati Krishna, the Shankaracharya of Puri, as Swami Hariharananda Giri; from 1974 he taught in Europe and the Americas. 1
- He died in Miami on 3 December 2002 and was buried at Hariharananda Gurukulam in Balighai, Odisha. 1, 5
Where to start
- To hear him, the recording of one of his first talks in the United States, given at a Baptist church in Manhattan on 19 June 1975, is free on Kriya Yoga International's YouTube channel. 4
- His book Kriya Yoga: The Scientific Process of Soul-Culture and the Essence of All Religions, published by Karar Ashram (second edition 1981) and later by Motilal Banarsidass. 1, 6, 7
Public context
Works
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Kriya Yoga: The Scientific Process of Soul-Culture and the Essence of All Religions
Book · 1981 · Karar Ashram
His book on Kriya Yoga as a technique of meditation based on the breath, presented as the essence of all religions. His organisation names it first among his writings.
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The Bhagavad Gita in the Light of Kriya Yoga
Book · 1999 · Kriya Yoga Institute
His commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, published in several books, which reads the text as a metaphorical guide to God-realisation through Kriya Yoga.
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Paramahamsa Hariharananda, June 19 1975, USA
Video · 1975 · Kriya Yoga International (YouTube channel Kriya Yoga Masters of Kriya Yoga International)
A talk in English introducing Kriya Yoga as a scientific technique for the simultaneous development of body, mind, intellect and soul. He speaks of the need for a guide, of the invisible body within the visible one, and of the seven churches of which the Bible speaks.
The short summaries are ours.
In their own words
Short passages in the words of Paramahamsa Hariharananda, each with its source. Where the quoted text is not in the language of this page, a translation follows and says whose it is.
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…in every visible body, there is an invisible body. In every form, there is a formless body.
Paramahamsa Hariharananda, June 19 1975, USA · Talk of 19 June 1975, 10:13–10:28 · youtube.com Recorded: Recorded at his talk at a Baptist church in Manhattan on 19 June 1975 and published by Kriya Yoga International on its YouTube channel. The wording is our transcription from the published audio, checked in two runs and against the English captions uploaded by the channel; punctuation is ours. -
You are the prototype of God’s thought. You are eternal.
Paramahamsa Hariharananda, June 19 1975, USA · Talk of 19 June 1975, 24:32–24:36 · youtube.com Recorded: Recorded at his talk at a Baptist church in Manhattan on 19 June 1975 and published by Kriya Yoga International on its YouTube channel. The wording is our transcription from the published audio, checked in two runs and against the English captions uploaded by the channel; punctuation is ours. -
You have to cultivate. You have to know the technique how to cultivate. This is Kriya Yoga.
Paramahamsa Hariharananda, June 19 1975, USA · Talk of 19 June 1975, 16:31–16:39 · youtube.com Recorded: Recorded at his talk at a Baptist church in Manhattan on 19 June 1975 and published by Kriya Yoga International on its YouTube channel. The wording is our transcription from the published audio, checked in two runs and against the English captions uploaded by the channel; punctuation is ours.
Documented teaching relationships
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Learned personally with Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri
The biography of Kriya Yoga International says Sri Yukteswar initiated Hariharananda into Kriya Yoga in the Serampore ashram in 1932.
Stated by an institution · kriya.org
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Learned personally with Paramahansa Yogananda
The Bibliothèque nationale de France records Hariharananda as a disciple of Yogananda from 1935; his organisation's biography says he received the second Kriya from Yogananda that year.
Stated by an institution · catalogue.bnf.fr , kriya.org
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Teaching areas recognised by Paramahansa Yogananda
The biography of Kriya Yoga International says Paramahansa Yogananda appointed Hariharananda acharya of the Karar Ashram in Puri in 1950 and empowered him in 1951 to initiate seekers into Kriya Yoga.
Stated by an institution · kriya.org
Teaching relationships are documented statements. They confer no trust and do not attest realisation.
Sources
- Paramahamsa Hariharananda (Kriya Yoga International) Biography on the website of Kriya Yoga International, the organisation that continues his work; devotional. accessed 12 Oct 2026
- Hariharānanda, paramahaṃsa (1907-2002), authority record Authority record of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. accessed 12 Oct 2026
- Kriya Yoga (Kriya Yoga International) Description of Kriya Yoga by the organisation that continues his work. accessed 18 Oct 2026
- Paramahamsa Hariharananda, June 19 1975, USA Recording of his talk at a Baptist church in Manhattan, New York, on 19 June 1975, published in 2020 by Kriya Yoga International on its YouTube channel, which kriya.org links. accessed 18 Oct 2026
- Hariharananda Gurukulam (Prajna Mission) Page of Prajna Mission, the Indian organisation of his line, on the ashram at Balighai; devotional. accessed 18 Oct 2026
- Kriyayoga, the scientific process of soul-culture & the essence of all religions (Open Library) Catalog record: Karar Ashram, second revised edition, 1981, 156 pages. accessed 18 Oct 2026
- Kriya Yoga (Open Library) Catalog record: Motilal Banarsidass, 2006, ISBN 9788120831414. accessed 18 Oct 2026
Compiled by us from the sources listed. Last checked 18 Oct 2026.