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.

How to Deal With Sadness and Sorrow

To an Indian friend who had to give up a deep personal attachment and was profoundly grieved. Please accept my deepest sympathy and concern over your sorrow. Peace and fulfillment are only to be found within, for God is there. However difficult it may be … Continue reading

The importance of Harmlessness (Ahimsa) for the Yogi

We have published Foundations of Yoga as a Kindle ebook at Amazon, available for only 99¢. We encourage our readers to download the ebook, readable using the Kindle App, to their digital devices for easy access. But, as with our other books and ebooks, this is also … Continue reading

The Power of Love to Conquer Negative Habits

We have successfully recovered the lost “Aquarian Gospel for Awakening” postings from the Google web archives after our site crash, and they can now be read in their entirety by visiting the Aquarian Gospel Introduction page and choosing any of the articles at the bottom … Continue reading

Trailanga Swami: Remarkable Incidents from His Life

Q: Do you have anything further to add to Trailanga Swami’s story that may not have been written by Master Yogananda in his autobiography? Yes, I do. First, three things that Yogacharya Oliver Black told to me when I spent all day with him in … Continue reading

Bigotry About Yoga

To a friend who sent a long quotation from an Indian who had made a fortune running and eventually selling a string of hatha yoga centers. After selling them, she began notifying people of the “demonic evil” of yoga in any form, and raving on … Continue reading

Aquarian Gospel Commentary Now Finished and Available Online

We are happy to announce that the full text of the Aquarian Gospel for Awakening is now complete and available at OCOY.org. It is an exhaustive commentary on The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, by Levi Dowling. The commentary is 196 web pages! Below is … Continue reading

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