The July Online Satsang with Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke) will be held on Saturday, July 5th at 12:00 Noon, EST.
Home » Practical Wisdom » Page 12

7 Traits of a True Jnani

A selection on Jnana and the Jnani, from Perspective on Yoga, a new book to be published later this year. The perfected jnani has gone beyond the need for the discursive, thinking, sensory-based mind (manas). Further, as Sri Ramana Maharshi frequently pointed out, through diligent tapasya … Continue reading

Bhakti: The Yogi’s Perspective, from “Perspectives on Yoga”

Bhakti from This and That for Yogis

We have published a new book entitled “Perspectives on Yoga” by Abbot George Burke. We will begin posting excerpts here from the book, beginning with this one on Bhakti, which we hope to publish before year is out. Here is what the author says about the book:

This is a compilation of random thoughts I put down quite some time ago that were completely without any order. Unlike Satsang With the Abbot, it is now somewhat arranged according to subjects, though the final section is not. I hope it will be useful to those who read it.

I certainly wish someone had told me these things when I first attempted to be a yogi. Things would have been much easier and I would have avoided wasting a great deal of time.

Abbot George Burke
(Swami Nirmalananda Giri)

(Perspectives on Yoga: Living the Yoga Life is now available in paperback and as an ebook on Amazon.com here.)


 

This and That on Bhakti

Unfortunately bhakti is usually considered to be emotion directed to God, especially as love. But bhakti means dedication in the search for God. It is Ishwarapranidhana, the offering of the life to God, which Patanjali says is the way to superconsciousness (Yoga Sutras 2:45). Shankara simplified and clarified it greatly when he said that bhakti is seeking God and jnana is finding God.

In the sixth chapter of Raja Yoga, Vivekananda wrote:

“All over the world there have been dancing and jumping and howling sects, who spread like infection when they begin to sing and dance and preach; they also are a sort of hypnotists. They exercise a singular control for the time being over sensitive persons, alas! often, in the long run, to degenerate whole races. Ay, it is healthier for the individual or the race to remain wicked than be made apparently good by such morbid extraneous control.

One’s heart sinks to think of the amount of injury done to humanity by such irresponsible yet well-meaning religious fanatics. They little know that the minds which attain to sudden spiritual upheaval under their suggestions, with music and prayers, are simply making themselves passive, morbid, and powerless, and opening themselves to any other suggestion, be it ever so evil.

Little do these ignorant, deluded persons dream that whilst they are congratulating themselves upon their miraculous power to transform human hearts, which power they think was poured upon them by some Being above the clouds, they are sowing the seeds of future decay, of crime, of lunacy, and of death.

Therefore, beware of everything that takes away your freedom. Know that it is dangerous, and avoid it by all the means in your power.”

Vivekananda knew what he was talking about because Bengal, his native land, was gripped by the false bhakti of the “dancing and jumping and howling sects,” especially Gaudia Vaishnavism (the Hare Krishna movement in the West), and still is to a great extent.

His fellow countryman, Paramhansa Yogananda, said:

Continue reading

6 Questions That Puzzle Spiritual Seekers

spiritual seekers questions

Over the years spiritual seekers have sent questions to Abbot George, from the mundane to the philosophical to the practical aspects of living a spiritual life. This recent selection of questions and answers is shorter than some, so we will share them with you in a single blog post. You can read a wide selection of these previously printed in Satsang with the Abbot: Questions and Answers About Life, Spiritual Liberty and the Pursuit of Ultimate Happiness, which is available at Amazon.com.

1. To someone who wrote about the correct attitude to adopt toward others when interacting with them, especially those with whom the yogi has a close personal relationship.

In all relationships with other human beings we are to see the divine Self in them and realize that ultimately we are relating to the Divine Itself. The moment we think someone is “ours” ego is present and problematic. That is why sadhana is so necessary to keep our minds in the correct perspective.

2. To someone who asked about Khechari Mudra.

The khechari mudra most people talk about is solely a hatha yoga method, and a foolish and dangerous one at that. Those who “fail” to do it are fortunate.

The mudras of the yogis are solely positions of the eyes. The khechari mudra of the yogis is a spontaneous turning upward of the eyes in meditation that occurs naturally when it should. To do it deliberately is to interfere with the meditation process.

In Soham sadhana this happens naturally and can come and go during a single meditation period according to how the pranas are moving spontaneously. It happens when the sushumna is activated and the process of meditation becomes centered there. Some yogic texts speak of it as occurring when the japa of Soham enters–begins to take place in–the sushumna. Then the yogi truly is a “sky walker,” which is what “khechari” means. He “flies” in the Sky of Consciousness, the Chidakasha in the Sahasrara.

Continue reading

Suffering and Karma: A Yogi’s Perspective

suffering karma statue

Q: May I ask, when it comes to suffering, particularly of the chronic physical type, is this all a result of inflicting such pain on others in a past life?

Karma works very exactly. Karma is extremely complex because exactly what we did must come back to us. It does not get bundled up with various types of causes and result in an unspecific form.

For example, if you inflict pain on someone, then someone will inflict pain on you. Physical illness or suffering can be caused by having neglected or or even done deliberate harm to our body in anger or some other negative emotion, including self-loathing. Unsuccessful attempts at suicide can be a cause of present pain.

Or is it a combination of that and obstacles set in place (by a higher self) to help us grow and develop?

No. Neither our higher self or God ever decide that we need “a good kicking around” for our own “good.” We do not get karmically spanked for “being bad.” The reaping of negative karma is not retribution.

Continue reading