The August online satsang with Swami Nirmalananda Giri will be held on Saturday, August 2nd, at 12 Noon, EST.
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Abbot George to Be Interviewed on Om Times Radio

  On Sunday, May 15th from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Pacific time, Abbot George Burke will be interviewed by Monika Goyal on her online radio show, Come Heal Yourself, on the Om Times Radio network. The main topic of the show will be The Three Principles … Continue reading

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Reflections on Monastic Life – Part 1 | Podcast

Click here to listen to Reflection on Monastic Life, Part 1 if you do not see the player above. The podcast length is 16:46 minutes. Who should lead a monastic life and who shouldn’t, and what motivates a monk. I would like to share with you my reflections … Continue reading

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Four First-Class Sadhus | Podcast

Click here to listen to Four First-Class Sadhus if you do not see the player above. The podcast length is 16:00 minutes.


Sadhu at prayerSadhu: a seeker for truth (sat); and a person who is practicing spiritual disciplines. Usually this term is applied to monastics.

In this podcast, Abbot George relates his experiences with four monks he met in India that were definitely of the first class. These were:

  • The Ganges island swami
  • His friend in black
  • The Swami who would not be a pet, and his guru who laughed.

Below is a transcription of his encounter with the first sadhu:


The Ganges Island Swami and His Sandy Mansion

At the beginning of 1963, Sri Anandamayi Ma instructed me to find a kutir in either Hardwar or Rishikesh where I could do sadhana. Thanks to Brahmacharini Atmananda, who was known to many pilgrims to India as translator, counselor, friend and smoother of the way, I was put in touch with an ideal devotee, Rai Bahadur Narayan Das who was the chief director and patron of the Sapta Rishi Ashram which I have already mentioned.

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