The Tao Te Ching in the Light of Kriya Yoga

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Life is a journey, but it is not from the womb to the tomb; it is from God, ultimately returning to God. We humans often forget this because we are engrossed in worldly life, thinking, and attitudes. The sages and saints of ancient times and the present masters and guru-preceptors have reminded us about our ultimate goal and our roles and responsibilities.

The ancient scriptures of humanity such as the Vedas and Puranas from India are among many ancient texts found in different cultures in different civilizations. The Chinese and Tibetan cultures and practices are also very old and were highly influenced by India's Vedic way of life. India, Tibet, and even China have been neighbors geographically as well as messengers of spiritual life since time immemorial.

In the modern world there is discussion about Taoism. It has been presented as Tao Yoga, a blending of Chinese and Indian practices useful for the common person.

What Is the Tao Te Ching?

The Tao Te Ching contains the philosophical, moral, and religious precepts of Taoism. It is considered a classical text associated with the ancient sage Lao Tzu, whose name literally means "the old philosopher." This life-saving and life-transforming text consists of only eighty-one verses, and its age is estimated to be before the sixth century B.C.

The Tao Te Ching consists of three words: Tao could be understood as "the path" or "the method," while Te means "virtue" or "power," and Ching refers to "book" or "canon." When these three words are coined together, Tao Te Ching can be translated as "The Book of the Path and the Virtues" or "Canons on Reason and Virtue."

It is amazing to learn that this book has been translated into more than 250 languages. From this one can easily see the impact of this amazing small book on generations of people.

The Present Work and Its Author

The present work is an explanation of these eighty-one canons in the light of Kriya Yoga. Kriya Yoga is an art of successful living and a science of perfection in life. It leads to simultaneous development of the body, mind, intellect, and soul. Kriya Yoga integrates the microcosm with the macrocosm.

The author of this book is Swami Shuddhatmananda Giri (aka Penny Hendrix), who was born in the USA in 1959 and has sincerely meditated in this path for more than two decades. She lived a life of a vanaprashthi (spending time in reflection, meditation, and seva) and a sannyasi (a swami, a renunciate monk). She is sincere, hardworking, disciplined, and devoted.

For a long time she has been influenced by the original text of the Tao Te Ching, and she has wished to see a book containing its explanation. She never thought that God and the gurus would want this work to be accomplished by her, even during a period of her physical suffering. I had the opportunity to glimpse this book in its manuscript form.

What I Found in this Book

Having a bird's eye view of the contents of this book, The Tao Te Ching: In the Light of Kriya Yoga, I found her interpretation of the original English translation to be pragmatic, practical, and useful. It is an inspiring book, not only for seekers of Truth pursuing the path of spirituality, but for anyone who wants to live peacefully and joyfully.

I also learned how the teaching of Tao could be traced back to the Bhagavad Gita, which teaches the path of karma (action). The philosophy of Tao describes wei (action) and wu wei (non-action). Wei wu wei is to act with non-action. In every action the soul should be perceived as our real identity that brings the state of non-action into our lives.

The author's explanation of human behavior states, "People compete and hurt one another to achieve a place of honor and recognition. But people of true goodness are like water, benefitting everyone, having no goals to achieve. They are humble, which is a lowly place that most people do not choose."

Verse 15 says:

Cautious means not impulsive or reckless in behavior.

Polite means avoiding arguments, demands, and complaints.

Yielding means relaxed, unattached, and carefree, but not careless.

Simple means keeping things natural, not over processing.

Open means accepting others' ideas, being patient and not critical.

Verse 16 describes how to make oneself truly divine. She writes, "Emptying yourself of everything implies disassociation from the body and re-identification as pure consciousness."

Shri Gurudev asserts, "We are God in human being and human being in God." We should sincerely eliminate our vices to make our divine potential vibrant and visible. It requires sincere human effort.

Truly, this is an inspiring book for self-development through soul culture. I pray for the spiritual emancipation of Swami Shuddhatmanandaji. Let this sincere outpouring of the divine fire within her heart be useful for seekers.

The ancient spiritual practices of both yoga and tao predate the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Holy Bible, and other classical spiritual texts. Numerous teachings and religions have sprung up over the centuries from the roots of these two philosophies, which have much in common.

Kriya Yoga "The Bhagavad Gita (4:1) says that God first revealed the Kriya technique to Vivasvan, then Vivasvan passed it to his son Manu, the seventh of the fourteen Manus or progenitors of the human race. Manu then transmitted it to his son Ikshvaku, founder of the first dynasty of kings in ancient India. From then on this technique was transmitted from father to son, which metaphorically means from master to disciple, through direct oral transmission." 1a

Between 200 BCE and 500 CE, the highly influential and revered sage Maharshi Patanjali wrote the foundational text on yoga - The Yoga Sutra. It is a classical Sanskrit text that is "dense with profound insights into the spiritual path of Kriya Yoga as both the means and end of Self-realization or merging with the Divine." 20

The Yoga Sutra was the most translated ancient Indian text in the medieval era, having been translated into forty Indian and two non-Indian languages. It fell into obscurity for about 700 years before being revived in 1861 by the timeless Mahavatar Babaji Maharaj, who named the technique "Kriya Yoga".

"Kriya Yoga is a compound term consisting of 'kriya' and 'yoga'. Kri refers to any work or activity. Ya is the indwelling invisible power working within you. This inherent power is to be realized in every work or activity." 7a Yoga is the union of the "individual self" with the Supreme Self. It is the Formless Divine residing in the gross body form. Without this union, the body would be dead.

Tao Just as yoga was being practiced for thousands of years in the Indus Valley before the foundational Yoga Sutra was written, tao was being practiced for thousands of years in China before the foundational Tao Te Ching was written.

Lao Tzu, or the "old philosopher", is the designation given to one of mankind's most remarkable thinkers. Born as Er Li in China in 604 BCE, he gave the world a small book of 81 verses, the Tao Te Ching, which has become one of the most influential spiritual texts of all time.

The Tao Te Ching has been translated into more than 250 languages; as of 2023 it was ranked fourth on the list of the most translated literary works in the world. (https://www.translateday.com/most-translated-books-in-the-world/). In terms of translations of spiritual texts, it is second only to the Holy Bible.

The term "Tao" means "path", or "a way of doing something." It can also mean "word", or how something is expressed. Finally, it can mean "reason." In the discussion of Form and Formless, Tao is the Formless divine presence.

The term "Te" means "power" or "virtue," or "Form." In the discussion of Form and Formless, Te is the Form, or manifested creation.

The term "Ching" means "book" or "canon." Tao Te Ching literally translates to "Book of the Way and Virtue" or "Canon on Reason and Virtue." It expounds upon Form and Formless.

Core Concepts

Dharma

The essence of both the Kriya Yoga and the Tao teachings is in helping all human beings to understand their true nature and live life accordingly. The Sanskrit concept of dharma is fitting; it is the law that orders the universe as well as individual conduct in conformity with it. Dharma is the Tao (Way) and the Te (Virtue).

Both Kriya Yoga and Tao teach that there are human activities (work), and that the sole enabler of this work is the indwelling, invisible power of God. The invisible power of God is the natural flow of things in the universe. Life is beautiful when there is no interference with this flow.

Universality

One reason both yoga and tao have endured is because of their flexible and inclusive nature. Both are generic terms which are applicable to every aspect of life and every religion. You can read about the Yoga of Breathing and the Tao of Breathing, Yoga Physics and the Tao of Physics, the Yoga of Jesus and the Tao of Jesus, and on and on.