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.

A Yogi’s Recommended Reading List

The following is a list of recommended reading for the spiritual aspirant. First, there are five books whose value cannot be estimated. They are foundation stones of understanding spiritual life and spiritual philosophy. They should be read through many times carefully and reflectively.

Prayer, Dharma, and Meditation: 3 Questions

There is little value in wanting to get God to do what we want. He already knows what is needed, and takes care of it all. What is of value is our wanting to do what God wants! And since he has manifested this entire universe for the sole purpose of our evolving and attaining perfect knowledge (Brahmajnana/Atmajnana), that is what we should be wanting, as well.

Podcast: Moksha, the Seven Levels of Consciousness, and Avatars

In today’s podcast, Abbot George is asked a question about Moksha. He then talks about arguments regarding levels of consciousness: are there seven levels of consciousness, or five levels, or fourteen levels? Then he discusses the 7 levels of consciousness or lokas (worlds or main … Continue reading

There Are No Dead

“Lead me from death to immortality” is not a petition to gain a state where we will nevermore experience bodily death, but a plea to be led from the outward-turned consciousness that produces death to the in-turned consciousness that produces life. It is spirit itself that is immortality–nothing else. “Change and decay all around I see. O Thou Who changest not: abide with me.” What we are praying for is consciousness itself.

The Mind as the Source of Suffering and Happiness

This is imperative for us to comprehend: Action is not the determining factor in our life–Mind is. And mind alone. This why in the seventeenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita Krishna describes how bad people do good in a bad way and thus accrue more misery to themselves.

Podcast: How to Become an Angel (and More)

Today our friend Jonathan Mahoney asks Abbot George, “How does a human being evolve into an angel in this lifetime? How do they ‘get out of the game’”? In this podcast Abbot George discusses the two paths of evolution: the natural path by “accumulating a lot of goodness,” and the deliberate path of evolution through yoga and meditation.

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