Home - Q & A

Living Without Desire in the World Today

“Desire” is the usual translation of the Sanskrit word kama, which means desire, passion, or lust. Desire arises from the ego and is always “I want” with little regard for the principles of spiritual life or the ultimate consequences of fulfilling such desire.

Ramana Maharshi, the Paramatman and the Jivatman

Claiming to follow a great master, especially one who has been out of the body for over seventy years, is extremely easy. But to understand his teachings requires the same state of consciousness that the master attained.

Podcast: What Is Satan?

The topic of Satan and evil is one that we should not dwell on, for Abbot George says “talking about negativity can bring the mind into the orbit of negativity.” But it is good to have a basic understanding of evil so that we can be on our guard against inner and outer evil.

Podcast: What Is Maya?

In today’s podcast our friend Jonathan Mahoney asks Abbot George “What is Maya?” Abbot George’s answer covers various aspects of Maya.

About Dark Forces in This World

It is our karma to be in this place of dark forces because we belong here with people of similar karmas. Our purpose is to purify ourselves.

Three Questions About Advaita Vedanta

The world is absolutely real, but our ideas and even our experiences of it are to a great degree illusion. The illustrations of the snake in the rope or the man in a tree trunk apply here. The impression in the mind is a real experience, but it is mistaken–misinterpreted by us. The object that produced that impression is real, but our seeing of it is completely wrong, arising from our own unenlightened mind.