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.

Podcast: I Meet Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh

In this new series of podcasts about Swami Sivananda, Abbot George relates his memories in a much fuller form than in previous podcasts. Click here to listen to I Meet Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh if you do not see the player above. The podcast length … Continue reading

Podcast: The Yoga Life 5: The Importance of Vegetarianism for the Yogi

Click here to listen to The Yoga Life 5: The Importance of Vegetarianism for the Yogi if you do not see the player above. The podcast length is 15:41 minutes. Since we have considered shaucha in the last podcast which includes purity of diet, let’s … Continue reading

Podcast: The Yoga Life 4: Niyama, the “Do”s of Yoga

Having finished Yama, the “Don’t”s of Yoga, in the last podcast, we now consider Niyama: the “Do”s of yoga. Shaucha: purity, cleanliness Santosha: contentment, peacefulness Tapas: austerity, practical (i.e., result-producing) spiritual discipline Swadhyaya: introspective self-study, spiritual study Ishwarapranidhana: offering of one’s life to God Click … Continue reading

Avidya: Primal Ignorance, the Source of Life’s Miseries

Sutras 4 and 5 of Book Two of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Read Yoga: Science of the Absolute) 4. Avidya is the source of those that are mentioned after it (see What Are the Kleshas?), whether they be in the dormant, attenuated, alternating or expanded condition. … Continue reading

Podcast: The Yoga Life 3: Asteya, Brahmacharya, and Aparigraha, and the Great Vow

In today’s podcast Abbot George finishes the consideration of Yama, with its last three elements: asteya, brahmacharya, and aparigraha, and the sidesteps that people will take to avoid a strict adherence to these important principles. Then he considers the “Great Vow” of the Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. … Continue reading

What are the Kleshas? (Hint: They Are Not an Alien Life-Form)

Sutras 2 and 3 of Book Two of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 2. (Kriya-Yoga) is practiced for attenuating Kleshas and bringing about Samadhi. “Klesha” means taints or afflictions. A klesha is something that diminishes or distorts our consciousness, bringing misery and pain in some form. … Continue reading

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