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.

God as Infinite Light: The Mystical Experience

Q: Are these statements right: 1) Christianity expresses that God is not within His creation. He is out of His creation (materiality). 2) Contrary to the idea of Upanishads, in the Western there has been a tendency to assume that the phenomenal or transactional world … Continue reading

Divine Incarnation: Which is Your View of Avatars?

Q: Would you explain the incarnations of the Hindu faith and how we should reconcile Krishna and Jesus? There are two views about divine incarnations in India. The most common is the idea that God incarnates and lives in a physical body. Some say, however, … Continue reading

Understanding the Process of Spiritual Evolution and Reincarnation

Q: May I ask you a question regarding rebirth? Does it always follow the principle of evolution and if so how does that work? The entire purpose of our entering into relative existence is for us to evolve to the point where our consciousness is … Continue reading

Esoteric Knowledge Hidden in the Eastern Orthodox Churches

To someone who wrote asking about some statements I had made regarding the secret esoteric beliefs of many in the Eastern Orthodox churches. In the heart of the Eastern Church is a vast amount of esoteric knowledge that “must be kept secret” because of the … Continue reading

Monastic Life and the Way of the East

To someone who wrote about joining the monastery and receiving “monastic training.” This I tell you very sincerely: monks are born, not made. The idea of “monastic training” gives me the horrors, for it is just brainwashing. The Roman Catholic Church specialized in it for … Continue reading

9 Obstacles to Yoga Meditation You Need to Overcome

The following is an excerpt from Abbot George’s soon-to-be-published Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Yoga Sutra I:30. Disease [vyadhi], languor [styana], doubt [samshaya], carelessness [pramada], laziness [alasya], worldly-mindedness [avirati], delusion [bhranti-darshana], non-achievement of a stage [alabdhabhumikatva], instability [anavashtitatvani], these (nine) cause the distraction … Continue reading

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