Goswami Kriyananda
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Goswami Kriyananda (born Melvin Higgins April 1928, died April 2015) was an American Kriya Yoga mystic, astrologer, author and lecturer. He taught Kriya Yoga, which he learned from his guru, the yogi and kabbalist Shelly Trimmer, who was a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda.[1][2][3]
In the 1960s Kriyananda founded the Temple of Kriya Yoga in Chicago.[4].
Early Life[edit]
Kriyananda was born Melvin Higgins in 1928 in Chicago, Illinois. He became interested in yoga after reading a book on the topic. While he was in high school, a friend’s mother told him about Shelly Trimmer, who she believed shared his interest in yoga, and who was to become his guru.[5]
Kriya Yoga Training[edit]
Kriyananda reached out to Shelly Trimmer and repeatedly visited Shelly at his ashram, a small cabin in northern Minnesota where Shelly lived with his wife, Marjorie, and their children. After two years in college, Kriyananda became Shelly’s disciple and moved to the ashram to study Kriya Yoga full time.[6]
Military service[edit]
During the Korean War, Kriyananda was drafted into the U.S. Army and, as a conscientious objector, became a battlefield medic while trying to help both American and Korean soldiers.[7]
Kriya Yoga Teaching[edit]
After returning from the army, Kriyananda studied philosophy for four years at the University of Illinois. He then began a business career. Eventually he left the business world to teach Kriya Yoga full-time. Beginning on a small scale, for several years in the 1950s Kriyananda taught a group of about 15 students in his home near the University of Chicago. In the late 1960s he opened the Temple of Kriya Yoga in the Fine Arts Building in downtown Chicago. [7][8] In the following years he moved the Temple to several downtown locations.[7]
In 1979, the Temple moved to the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, remaining there for the rest of Kriyananda’s life.[9] Kriyananda and his large group of disciples offered a wide variety of classes on Kriya Yoga, Hatha Yoga, astrology and mysticism.[10]
By the time he reached his eighties, Kriyananda was teaching over the internet as well as in person. Many of his video teachings have been made available online.
Kriyananda published 14 books on Kriya Yoga, mysticism and astrology from 1968 to 2015.
Lawsuit[edit]
In December 2014, a lawsuit was filed against the Temple of Kriya and Melvin Higgins in Cook County, Illinois by a former marketing consultant who did independent consulting for the Temple of Kriya Yoga and Melvin Higgins from 2008-2012[11]. The plaintiff alleged violations of the (820 ILCS 115/) Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Acts, with the Temple of Kriya and Melvin Higgins disputing the plaintiff's claim. No final judgment has been made on the case.
Personal life[edit]
Kriyananda lived in Chicago until the late 1980s. After experiencing health problems, he semiretired from Temple work and moved to Kauai, Hawaii, teaching there and managing the Temple from a distance for seven years.[12] He then relocated to southern France, where he lived and taught until his passing in 2015. He was married and widowed twice. His first wife, Joanna Higgins, passed away in 1981, and his second wife, Rebecca Romanoff, passed away in 2013.[13]
Final years[edit]
Although semiretired after leaving Chicago in the late 1980s, Kriyananda continued a full teaching schedule, guided a large number of students and disciples, and managed the Temple of Kriya Yoga until the end of his life. He usually returned to Chicago at least yearly to teach at the Temple, in addition to his live teachings elsewhere in the United States, in France, and in other countries.[14]
Although in declining health, Kriyananda continued to work until the end of his life, completing his last internet course, The Astral of Rebirth, a few months before his passing at age 86 in April 2015.[15]
Writings[edit]
Books by Goswami Kriyananda:[edit]
- Pathway to God-Consciousness (1968, 1970, 1993) Temple of Kriya Yoga.
- The Wisdom and Way of Astrology (1974, 1985, 1994, 2002) Temple of Kriya Yoga. ISBN 0-9613099-4-6 Search this book on
. - The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga (1976, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1998) Temple of Kriya Yoga. ISBN 0-9613099-1-1 Search this book on .
- The Sun of God: Goswami Kriyananda’s Upa Gita (1978) Temple of Kriya Yoga
- The Bhagavad Gita (1979, 1985, 1994) Temple of Kriya Yoga
- Beginner’s Guide to Meditation (1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2004) Temple of Kriya Yoga. ISBN 0-961-3099-2-X Search this book on .
- Extraordinary Spiritual Potential (1988) Temple of Kriya Yoga. ISBN 0-9613099-5-4 Search this book on .
- The Kriya Yoga Upanishad and The Mystical Upanishads (1993) Temple of Kriya Yoga
- Intermediate Guide to Meditation (1995) Temple of Kriya Yoga
- The Laws of Karma (1995) Temple of Kriya Yoga
- Philosophy and Methodology of Kriya Yoga (1996, 2009) Temple of Kriya Yoga. ISBN 0-929522 -25-7
- A Yoga Dictionary of Basic Sanskrit Terms (1996) Temple of Kriya Yoga. ISBN 0-929522-02-8 Search this book on .
- Dictionary of Basic Astrological Terms (1996) Temple of Kriya Yoga. ISBN 0-929522-05-2 Search this book on .
- Advanced Guide to Meditation (2003) Temple of Kriya Yoga. ISBN 0-929522-18-4 Search this book on .
Books about Goswami Kriyananda, Shelly Trimmer, and Temple of Kriya Yoga teachings:[edit]
- Cozzi, Steven (2002). Gray Mist at Dawn: The Story of Kriya Yoga’s Hidden Master – Sri Shelliji. 1st Books Library. ISBN 1-4033-8892-X Search this book on .
- Ewing, Sylvia (2012). Comfort and Joy: Stories of Hope, Meditations for Happiness. Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4575-1220-9 Search this book on .
- Grasse, Ray (2017). An Infinity of Gods: Conversations with an Unconventional Mystic. The Teachings of Shelly Trimmer. Inner Eye Publications. ISBN 1548220043 Search this book on .
- Grasse, Ray (2019). Urban Mystic: Recollections of Goswami Kriyananda. Inner Eye Publications. ISBN 1091971161 Search this book on .
References[edit]
- ↑ Grasse, Ray (April 2, 2020). "Memories of Yogananda, The Theosophical Society in America". Quest Magazine. Fall 2017: 16–19.
- ↑ Jones, Constance, 1961- (2007). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Ryan, James D. (Professor of Asian and comparative studies). New York: Facts On File. pp. 442–443. ISBN 978-0-8160-5458-9. OCLC 64771117.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link) Search this book on
- ↑ 김재민 (Dec 2010). "Study on Yogananda's Kriya Yoga: forcusing on Classical Yoga". The Journal of Indian Philosophy. null (30): 191–218. doi:10.32761/kjip.2010..30.007. ISSN 1226-3230.
- ↑ "Kriya Yoga". yogakriya.org. April 2, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Steffensen, Sharon. "Sitting Down with Goswami Kriyananda". Yoga Chicago. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ↑ Steffensen, Sharon. "Sitting Down with Goswami Kriyananda". Yoga Chicago. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Steffensen, Sharon. "Goswami Kriyananda (1928–2015)". Yoga Chicago. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ↑ Deardorff, Julie, “Yoga’s New Incarnations” Chicago Tribune, April 21, 2002 https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-04-21-0204210452-story.html retrieved 2-19-20
- ↑ Latrace, AJ, “Logan Square’s Kriya Yoga Temple is for Sale”, Chicago Real Estate, August 29, 2019, photos by VHT Studios,. http://www.chicagomag.com/real-estate/August-2019/Logan-Squares-Kriya-Yoga-Temple-Is-for-Sale/#/0 retrieved 2-20-20
- ↑ "Seminars". TEMPLE OF KRIYA YOGA. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ↑ "Cook County Case Info Summary". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Kriyananda, Goswami (1978) dedication of The Sun of God: Goswami Kriyananda’s Upa Gita. Temple of Kriya Yoga.
- ↑ Steffensen, Sharon. "Goswami Kriyananda (1928–2015)". Yoga Chicago. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ↑ Steffensen, Sharon. "Sitting Down with Goswami Kriyananda". Yoga Chicago. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ↑ Steffensen, Sharon. "Goswami Kriyananda (1928–2015)". Yoga Chicago. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
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