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.

Vegetarianism: an Interview of Abbot George on Australian Radio

About a month ago, Bianca Vlahos of Adelaide, Australia, became a vegan for a multitude of reasons. She researched the topic exhaustively and found several articles about aspects of vegetarianism on our website (See Spiritual Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet and Humans: Are We Carnivores … Continue reading

How to Wipe Out Negative Karmas

Q: Please help me: In some religions if one commits a sin and then sincerely asks for forgiveness the same is granted. On the other hand in the Hindu philosophical thought, one has to keep on being reincarnated until all the Karmas have borne their … Continue reading

The Key to Success in Yoga

Success is one of the gods of the modern world–but only material success. However, Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita is interested in success of spirit, and we should be, too. So he begins this seventh chapter of the Gita, saying: “With mind absorbed in Me, practicing … Continue reading

The 5 “Do”s of Yoga: An In-Depth Guide

Niyama A Commentary on Sutra 32 of Book Two of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Yoga Sutras 2: 32. Purity [shaucha], contentment [santosha], austerity [tapas], self-study [swadhyaya] and self-surrender [ishwarapranidhana] constitute observances [niyama].

Shaucha: purity, cleanliness

Shaucha means purity and cleanliness within the context of attaining unobstructed clarity of consciousness.

“This Brahman, this Self, deep-hidden in all beings, is not revealed to all; but to the seers, pure in heart, concentrated in mind–to them is he revealed” (Katha Upanishad 1:3:12). “When through discrimination the heart has become pure, then, in meditation, the self is revealed” (Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.8). “When the senses are purified, the heart is purified; when the heart is purified, there is constant and unceasing remembrance of the self; when there is constant and unceasing remembrance of the self, all bonds are loosed and freedom is attained” (Chandogya Upanishad 7:26:2).

Which is why Jesus said: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). And Saint John: “Every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (I John 3:2 ,3).

“Internal shaucha is the washing away of the stains of the mind” according to Vyasa. “Shaucha implies purity in seeing and listening…and washing away the stains of the mind, such as desire and anger, by the waters of meditation,” adds Shankara.

Physical cleanliness is important for it eliminates bodily toxins and prevents disease. Inner purification is

Is the End of the World Coming (Tomorrow)??

To someone who wrote about recent prophecies regarding the world and the destinies of nations. Personally, I never pay much attention to prophecy because I have seen that even very special people can get it wrong. Paramhansa Yogananda made prophecies that never came true. One … Continue reading

Are You Willing to Be Purified in Heart?

purified heart A Continuation of the Commentary on Theologia Germanica, by the Frankfurter.

And like as the sun may not hide its brightness, but must give light unto the earth (for heaven indeed draws its light and heat from another fountain), so also God, who is the highest Good, wills not to hide himself from any, wheresoever he findeth a devout soul, that is thoroughly purified from all creatures. (Theologia Germanica)

A lot of people like to accuse God of “hiding” from or “abandoning” them. Shame!!! As Saint Paul assures us: “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (II Timothy 2:13). As Yogananda said once in a talk: “He never denies us; we deny him.” That is the truth.

It is God’s nature to draw us upward into His “throne,” into His perfect Being and Consciousness which He wills to share with us. That is why He told Abraham: “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). And if we do not violate our nature as eternally existing in God, we will cooperate in rising to Him.

As the Frankforter says, God is looking for “a devout soul, that is thoroughly purified from all creatures,” one who is completely free from desire and attachment for things of either earth or heaven, intent instead on complete liberation of spirit. Krishna describes such a one in this way:

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