The history of the Kriya Yoga lineage is an intriguing topic, because the subject of "history", as we know it in the West, does not really exist in the East.

In the West, history is conceived as a straight line stretching from the past towards the future—a series of sequential events. In Asian cultures on the other hand, history is represented as a cycle, or rather, a spiral. The whole creation is going through a series of ages, starting with a "golden" age, satya yuga, of perfect God-consciousness and falling gradually at the bottom of the cycle to an "iron" age, kali yuga, of complete God-forgetfulness, and eventually leading us back to our starting point of God-realization, satya yuga. Upon completion of this cycle the universe dissolves and, after a period of inactivity, creation starts again another cycle of evolution. Ad infinitum.

But we are not aware of this cyclical aspect of our existence, spread over millions of years and thousands of incarnations. As the saying goes, "He who does not remember the past is bound to repeat it." The spiritual life is therefore about remembering who we are, why we have come here, where we are going, and finishing the cycle. Because this cycle was born out of ignorance, only through knowledge can we finish the game and remember our real nature. As Teilhard de Chardin put it, "We are not human beings having divine experiences. We are divine beings having human experiences."

So what are these human experiences? An examination of the history of Kriya Yoga will provide a few clues.

The ancient history of Kriya Yoga is most mysterious and most fascinating. Mysterious because it blends mythology, history and science in an unique fashion. Its origin goes back to the dawn of consciousness. As explained in the Bible and the Upanishads, in the beginning God alone existed, and He wanted to become many (see the Taittiriya Upanishad 2:6). God projected the universe out of a tiny fraction of Himself, and with it His maya—the all-pervading delusive force that is part and parcel of creation. God also gave a supreme technique of liberation, to overcome this maya and become reunited with Him. This technique has been described in the Bhagavad Gita 9:2 as "rajavidya rajaguhyam" i.e. the royal science and royal secret technique. 

What was the line of transmission? Again we turn to the Bhagavad Gita 4:1, where it says that God first revealed it to Vivashvat (his name means "Shining Forth", and Hindu mythology describe him as the Sun-God.) Vivashvat passed it to his son Manu Vaivashvata, the seventh of the fourteen Manus or progenitors of the human race—the Noah of Hindu mythology. Incidentally, from the Sanskrit word Manu came the English word "man." 

Manu then transmitted it to his son Ikshvaku, founder of the first dynasty of kings in ancient India. Thus this technique was transmitted from father to son, which metaphorically means from guru to disciple, through direct oral transmission. The Bhagavad Gita 4:2 further explains how this technique was thus transmitted through a long line of rajarshis (royal seers). But due to the influence of the different cycles of humanity which engender a gradual degradation of spiritual values and an increasing fascination for material pursuits, this technique has been lost and rediscovered several times throughout the ages. And it has always been God's promise that when there is a time that the adharmic forces, meaning the unspiritual forces, are on the point of overwhelming completely whatever shred of spirituality is left, He incarnates, He comes as an avatar. Avatar literally means "a descent". What is descending? The spirit of God is descending in the flesh. Avatars have appeared in all religions, in all countries. Jesus was an avatar, and so were Buddha, Rama, Krishna, and so on and so forth. And they have always appeared at different periods of critical times in human history. They have given some very profound teachings which have been recorded or their life itself was the teaching—the model. And a new swing of religion, of spirituality took place. Buddhism emerged and then it became degraded again. And then Adi Shankara appeared—a new avatar who restored the original Hinduism. Then, again, degradation. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa appeared. This is how the Indians really view their history. It is God's play, lila. 

That is the reason why Bhagavan Krishna, the great avatar of God, incarnated at a certain point in time to rescue the lost dharma (righteousness) of the world by reintroducing this ancient yoga (Bhagavad Gita 4:3)—that is Kriya Yoga. Lord Krishna taught it to Arjuna and many others. In due time, the royal secret technique was again lost. Thoughout the history of creation, these divine teachings were revived and lost countless times. In contemporary history, Kriya Yoga was revealed again through this lineage of Kriya Yoga masters.