Come back often to find new, valuable and practical articles to help you in your spiritual life. Below the latest blog posts we also list some of our most well received articles.
Wisdom Quote of the Day
Latest Blog Posts
What Does “Poor in Spirit” Mean?
Blessed are the poor in spirit: This beatitude is speaking of an attitude, of a practical view which we should hold regarding ourselves. But this attitude will in its fruition also be the impetus for spiritual activity.
Open a Treasure Chest of Spiritual Podcasts
To those who are new to OCOY.org, or who have not explored our site, we introduce our Podcast Section, with over 30 timeless audio podcasts by Abbot George Burke on different aspects of practical spirituality: vegetarianism, meditation, reincarnation, the Yoga Life, Monastic Life, and the spiritual masters that Abbot George encountered in his many trips to India. The podcasts are
Reincarnation and Memory: Where Do Our Memories Go?
Q: When reincarnated do we retain our current memories and interests, or what it is that makes us feel “ourselves”? All the memories of our past lives remain in the subconscious mind in the forms of impressions in the mind-substance (chitta) which is a field of magnetic energy. They sort of float around, vibrating individually as samskaras, but those of
What Did Jesus Really Say in the Sermon on the Mount?
In this introduction to A New Look at the Beatitudes, I will be using The New Testament: An Expanded Translation, by Kenneth Wuest since it presents the more philosophical side of Jesus words. To do this, it is extremely literal, sometimes so much so that the English is awkward, but it extracts the full meaning of the Greek wording. The esoteric
Learn to Use Your Mind: Be Conscious
It is incredible but true that most human beings need to be told: Be Conscious. Many years ago a brilliant physician told me in relation to maintaining health: “Always be aware.” It took me decades to figure out the meaning and value of those three words. Buddha was not such a slow learner, so he knew to say that the
Tapasya: How You Can Burn Your Karmic Seeds
A selection from the book The Bhagavad Gita for Awakening, available for reading online, as a free PDF download, or as a paperback or ebook. Tapasya is practical (i.e., result-producing) spiritual discipline. Literally it means the generation of heat or energy, referring to spiritual practice and its effect, especially the “roasting” of karmic seeds, the “burning up” of karma. It
How Should You Relate to a Spiritual Teacher? (A Common Sense Perspective)
Selections on “How to Relate to a Spiritual Teacher”, from Perspectives on Yoga: Living the Yoga Life, now available at Amazon.com. No one is to perpetually grovel at the feet of a supposed guru–something a true guru would never allow. But if we find a real master teacher we should happily sit at his feet and learn–not adoring vacuously. Here
Featured Articles
Yogis Who Saw Jesus
The Many Advantages of Vegetarianism
Seeing the One in All
In response to our recent blog posting about the reality of Jesus in the experience of India’s great yogis, we received a most heartening letter from India. I want to share parts of it with you and my reflections on it for I feel it presents the most authentic perspective on these matters.