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.

Perspectives on the Subtle Anatomy of the Yogi

seven chakras illustration

A selection on the Subtle Anatomy of the Yogi, from Perspectives on Yoga: Living the Yoga Life, now available at Amazon.com.

It is good for the aspiring yogi to have some theoretical knowledge of his subtle anatomy, for that is the inner mechanism which comes more and more into function on the conscious level as he progresses further and further toward enlightenment.

The three major channels within our subtle bodies, Ida, Pingala and Sushumna, carry not only the movements of the highest, rarefied spiritual energies which evolve us, but through them consciousness itself moves and manifests.

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The Ida, Pingala and Sushumna are found united in the head (brain), the Sahasrara or Thousand-Petalled Lotus. There is the Chidakasha, the Space of Consciousness, the Heart Space. Meditating there is meditating in the heart.

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The supreme center of conscious in the individual is the Sahasrara, the thousand-petalled lotus located in the head, corresponding to the brain, for it is the astral and causal brain. As a consequence, meditation should take place in the head, as it is the place where Self-realization takes place, and where we should keep our awareness centered. For in the head we find the Brahmanadi, the channel in which the consciousness rises upward from the body into the head, through which it moves as liberation is attained, and through which we ascend beyond the bodies into Spirit Itself at the time of death.

What is a Worthy Spiritual Teacher Like?

A selection on the Spiritual Teacher, from Living the Yoga Life, a new book by Swami Nirmalananda Giri. In the Srimad Bhagavatam (11.7.33-35) the first human guru, Sri Dattatreya, describes how he had twenty-four gurus, including elements, planets, animals, insects and human beings. A guru … Continue reading

Karma: What Every Aspiring Yogi Needs to Know

A selection on Understanding Karma, from Perspective on Yoga, a new book a new book now available on Amazon and other online bookstores. Everything, without exception, material, or immaterial, arises from a cause, and is a revelation of that cause. Because of this, everything has a … Continue reading

“What Think Ye Of Christ?”

Toward the end of his mission in Israel, Jesus asked his disciples: “What think ye of Christ?” (Matthew 22:42).

It is a sad but true fact that the teachings of any master or world-teacher are misunderstood even during his life, and after his departure from this world there is a steady degeneration and distortion of his teachings until what remains is unrecognizable. It is rare that the teachings of a master survive even one generation unmarred. Many fundamental distortions of Jesus’ teachings in the first three centuries created a religion far from His original message.

The masters are always aware of the tenuous nature of their precepts. That is why Jesus, speaking of His future rebirth in this world, asked His disciples: “When the Son of man cometh [again], shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22, 23).

yogananda-warren vickerman Many times Paramhansa Yogananda said to his disciples: “When I am gone you will all change everything.” The first time I went into the bookstore at the Hollywood center in 1961, I met one of Yogananda’s first New York City disciples, Annie Vickerman, the wife of Warren Vickerman, Yogananda’s second American disciple. In our conversation she said: “Master more than once said to Vickie [her husband] and myself: ‘After three generations you will not even know I came to this country.’ When we asked him what use his coming here was, he told us: ‘I have planted a seed and it will grow. My work will go on, even if my name is not mentioned.’”

Confusion about Christ

One of the most harmful deviations from the original teachings of Jesus was the confusing of Jesus with Christ. “Christ” and “Christ Consciousness” are designations of Ishwara, the Lord, the personal creator aspect of God (Brahman). As an ordinary Christian I never met anyone who understood the doctrine of the Trinity and could speak a single intelligent sentence about it. But when I read the writings of Paramhansa Yogananda it was not just clear, it was simple.

7 Traits of a True Jnani

A selection on Jnana and the Jnani, from Perspective on Yoga, a new book to be published later this year. The perfected jnani has gone beyond the need for the discursive, thinking, sensory-based mind (manas). Further, as Sri Ramana Maharshi frequently pointed out, through diligent tapasya … Continue reading

Lahiri Mahasaya: His Advice About Sannyasa

Q: I have read that Lahiri Mahasaya said no one should become a sannyasi. Is that true? If so, why did he say it?

Lahiri Mahasaya told his disciples that they should never become a Dasanami Sannyasi–a member of the Swami Order of Shankaracharya. The reason was purely yogic.

To become a member of that order, a ritual known as the Viraja Homa is performed. It is not a symbol, but a powerful ritual that alters the subtle bodies and karma of the person. Its purpose is to break all ties with this world. It transmutes the person’s worldly karma into spiritual karma.

This sounds very desirable, but if the person was mistaken in taking up sannyas and finds himself unable to continue it, his subsequent life will be chaotic and miserable because he has no positive karmic store on which to draw. He will be a failure in both his social and personal life, adrift like a broken cloud in the sky. A terrible fate!

But what has been done cannot be undone in the sense that there is no reversing of the effect of the Viraja Homa. At the same time, what has been undone cannot be done–that is, the karma that was wiped out cannot be restored. Practically speaking, there is no place for such a person in this world.

The tradition of sannyasa

The Shankara Order is very modern in the annals of Sanatana Dharma and India. The dharma shastras describe the way sannyas should be taken. It was done solely by the will of the individual. Though it might be preceded by a final performance of the daily rituals of a Sanatana Dharmi, the real sannyas was the simple declaration of intention to leave (or never enter) the householder life and departure for the forest and lifelong tapasya (sadhana). In modern times this was done by the renowned Swami (“Papa”) Ramdas of Anandashram. He simply had some cloth dyed gerrua, put it on and declared that from thenceforth his name was Ramdas, and walked out of his house never to return.

Sri Ramakrishna’s story

Sri Ramakrishna told a story about true sannyas. One day a man found his wife very depressed. When asked why she was so sad, she told him that she was about to lose her brother who was married; that he was going to become a sannyasi. “How do you know he’s going to become a sannyasi?” asked her husband. “Because he is carefully setting all his affairs in order, getting everything all straightened out and arranging things so he can take up the monastic life” was the reply.