Our May online satsang with Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke) will be on Saturday, May 4th, at 12 noon, EST.
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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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Three Remarkable Indian Saints | Podcast

Click here to listen to Three Remarkable Indian Saints if you do not see the player above. The podcast length is 27:15 minutes. Swami Sivananda-Hridayananda The next heart-treasure I want to tell you about is Swami Sivananda-Hridayananda of Sivananda Ashram. Her name means Bliss of Sivananda’s Heart, and … Continue reading

Memories of Sri Maitri Devi | Podcast

Click here to listen to Memories of Sri Maitri Devi if you do not see the player above. The podcast length is 15:03 minutes. My first trip to India I was always in walking distance of at least one saint. And sometimes I was living with them. Late … Continue reading