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.

The Sea of Karmas and How We Should See It

Sutras 12 through 15 of Book Two of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Sutra 2:12. The reservoir of karmas [karmashaya] which are rooted in the kleshas brings all kinds of experiences in the present and future lives. A more literal and better translation would be: “Rooted … Continue reading

The Monk That Challenged Lenin: Yogeshwar Brahmachari | Podcast

Click here to listen to The Monk That Challenged Lenin: Yogeshwar Brahmachari if you do not see the player above. The podcast length is 15:48 minutes. I first saw Sri Yogeshwar Brahmachari at the birthday celebration of Anandamayi Ma in 1971. He was sitting on the … Continue reading

How Can You Know God?

A Continuation of the Commentary on Theologia Germanica, by the Frankfurter. The things which are in part can be apprehended, known, and expressed; but the Perfect cannot be apprehended, known, or expressed by any creature as creature. The ancient sages of India knew by direct … Continue reading

Raihana Tyabji, the Moslem Saint Who Worshiped Krishna | Podcast

Click here to listen to Raihana Tyabji, the Moslem Saint Who Worshiped Krishna if you do not see the player above. The podcast length is 25:48 minutes. One afternoon in India in a conversation my friend Rani Bhan told me about Raihana Tyabji, a Moslem saint, an … Continue reading

How Do We Deal with the Misery-Producing Kleshas?

Sutras 10 & 11 of Book Two of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 10. These, the subtle ones, can be reduced by resolving them backward into their origin. 11. Their active modifications are to be suppressed by meditation. In meditation we plumb the depths of the … Continue reading

More on the Misery-Producing Kleshas

Sutras 6 through 9 of Book Two of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Earlier we dealt with the root of the kleshas, Avidya. Now Patanjali continues with the other kleshas: 6. Asmita is the identity or blending together, as it were, of the power of consciousness … Continue reading

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