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.

Four Transformations: The Liberating Power of Yoga

Stories of four yogis who were transformed from humanity to divinity by the persistent practice of meditation, living proof of the liberating power of yoga.

Getting Implies Losing

We should live our lives intelligently and pursue that which is innately good–not merely advantageous. For the truly good does not lead to evil, but only to and increase of good. Why? Because good is the characteristic of the Tao.

The Spiritual Busybodies Who Invade a Spiritual Institution

It is useless to be a spiritual busybody, a good preacher, teacher, author and debater when there is no inner realization. Learn the traits of spiritual busybodies here.

The Problem with Seeing Wrong

There are a lot of jokes about people who cannot see correctly–the Mr. Magoo films and television programs are a prime example. But in real life it is no joke, and in the more real life of the spirit it is even less so.

Being Unashamed Before God

In paradise Adam and Eve “were both naked…and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:5) because of their consciousness of spirit rather than of the body. But through their misdeeds “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Genesis 3:7). So we see that shame and fear come from moral transgression and its attendant guilt.

Believing in What You Can’t See

We must progress beyond intuition to direct experience of the fundamental realities of Existence. That is what Yoga is all about. Without a viable sadhana, these things cannot be known.

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