Swami Vigyanananda Giri is a Himalayan Yogi and a Master in Kriya Yoga. He was initiated by his Guru Swami Bhabananda Giri, a disciple of Sri Yukteswar Giri, who in turn was a leading disciple of Lahiri Mahashaya. It was through Lahiri Mahashaya that Mahavatar Babaji revived the ancient ‘Kriya Yoga’ and made it available to the world. Swami Bhabananda Giri was an accomplished Yogi, who had initiated and guided a large number of Kriya Yogis, some of whom are leading teachers of Kriya Yoga in India. He also established a number of schools and ashrams.

Kriya Yoga follows the Guru-Sishya tradition, that is, the disciple receives Kriya initiation personally from the Guru. The disciple enjoys close relationship with the Guru. Kriya tradition is free from commercial practice and organizational way of teaching. Guru does not believe in group initiations. Initiation is done in private and in strict confidence. The initiation ceremony is very simple. After the initiation, subsequent practice is also guided by the Guru. Guru reviews the progress of the disciple periodically and makes course corrections based on individual abilities.

Swamiji has carefully preserved the originality of the 'Kriya', which was taught to him by his Guru. He has desisted from adding or modifying the original process. His desire is to perpetuate this through a set of disciples for the future generations.