Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke)

Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke) is the founder and director of the Light of the Spirit Monastery (Atma Jyoti Ashram) in Cedar Crest, NM, USA.

In his many pilgrimages to India, he had the opportunity of meeting some of India’s greatest spiritual figures, including Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh and Anandamayi Ma. During his first trip to India he was given sannyas by Swami Vidyananda Giri, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, who had himself been given sannyas by the Shankaracharya of Puri, Jagadguru Bharat Krishna Tirtha.

In the United States he also encountered various Christian saints, including Saint John Maximovich of San Francisco and Saint Philaret Voznesensky of New York.

For many years, Swami Nirmalananda has been engaged in deep study of the spiritual unity (actual identity) of Jesus Christ and his teachings with India and Sanatana Dharma. It is his conviction that original Christianity (not contemporary “Churchianity”) and original Yoga are not just compatible, they are essentially one; that Jesus lived in India for most of his life, being a Sanatana Dharma missionary to the West, and that after his resurrection he returned to India and lived the rest of his life in the Himalayas.

He has written extensively on these and other topics, many of which are posted here at OCOY.org. Of major significance are: The Christ of India, Soham Yoga: Its Theory and Practice, The Bhagavad Gita for Awakening and his various commentaries on spiritual texts which you can explore in the Dharma for Awakening section.

Most of his writings available here at OCOY.org are also available in print and ebook formats at Amazon and other online book outlets.

August Satsang Signup | Sacred Imagery & the Divine Presence

Our August online satsang with Swami Nirmalananda Giri will be on Saturday, August 1st at 12 noon MST.

How to Enter the Kingdom

In this profound saying from the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus gives one of the clearest descriptions of spiritual transformation: the passage from divided consciousness into unity.

Can Women Attain Liberation?

Even today in India there are people who believe that there is no need for a woman to engage in meditation because it is impossible for a woman to attain liberation. In this story learn Anandamayi Ma’s surprising take on that question.

What Happens to the Yogi in Samadhi?

In this commentary on Yoga Sutras 1:40–1:46, Swami Nirmalananda Giri explains the progressive refinements of samadhi described by Patanjali: the yogi’s expanding range of awareness, the near-stilling of the mind, and the distinction between samadhi “with seed” and the higher states that lie beyond it.

Yogi Beware: Spiritual Pitfalls for Yogis

The yogi must learn not only what to seek, but what to avoid. Many seekers are ruined not by obvious evil, but by confusion, compromise, wrong company, false teachers, emotional dependency, empty religion, and the subtle pressure to conform to worldly values.

7 Ways to Purify the Mind, Part 1

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are not merely philosophical aphorisms; they are a practical manual for transforming the mind. In these sutras, Patanjali gives several direct methods for clarifying the chitta—the mind-substance—so that meditation becomes steady and inner perception becomes possible.

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