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Light of the Spirit BLOG

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
Karma is the creation of the mind–is simply the mind in extension. Karma need not be worked out or fulfilled; the mind need only be changed, or better yet brought into complete abeyance. Then karma is no more and its attendant compulsions–including birth and death–no longer exist.
Abbot George Burke

Latest Blog Posts

Mahavatar Babaji of Autobiography of a Yogi

Untold Stories of Mahavatar Babaji of Yogananda’s “Autobiography of a Yogi”

Swami Nirmalananda shares rare stories about Mahavatar Babaji from his own experiences in India since 1962. He reveals Babaji’s lesser-known disciples, and miraculous encounters beyond Autobiography of a Yogi. Key points you will discover in this article: Names of Babaji: Mahamuni Babaji Maharaj, Shiva Baba, Babaji Brahmananda, etc. Other disciples, other yoga sadhanas Some of Babaji’s disciples: Lahiri Mahasaya, Vijay

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Who Are the Ideal Householder Yogis?

Q: Someone told me that the Indian scriptures say if householder yogis only engage in sexual relations at night they are actually brahmacharis. Is this so? I have come across this in some “scriptural” books myself more than once. Nevertheless, this statement is not only false, it is foul. Do not believe it. I have read the dharma shastras on

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Stories About Yogananda’s Second American Disciple: Warren Vickerman

To someone who asked for more about Warren Vickerman, the second American to become a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. The very first person I had a conversation with at the Hollywood SRF Center was Annie Vickerman, the wife of Warren Vickerman (“Vickie”). She was taking care of the little octagonal bookstore. We became good friends and in later conversations she

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Meditator’s Guide to the Mind Part 2—Seven Important Lessons

Originally posted in 2012, this post is ever-fresh. So we share this excerpt from The Dhammapada for Awakening again. This is the follow-up post of What Is the Mind?: A Meditator’s Guide, Part 1 Mind–the source “Mind precedes its objects. They are mind-governed and mind-made” (Dhammpapada 1). First there is the mind. It is possible to view “mind” as both

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New Book on Avoiding Meditation Delusions

Light of the Spirit Press has just published a new book in print and ebook format: Dwelling In The Mirror: A Study of Illusions Produced by Delusive Meditation and How to Be Free from Them, by Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke).  This book is essential reading for all meditators and spiritual aspirants. The following is from the Preface to the

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The Benefits of Past Life Recall | Podcast

The subject of past life recall is a broad topic. So this interview of Abbot George Burke by our friend Bianca Vlahos of PBA-fm radio in Australia is a long one—just over 53 minutes. Among the questions Bianca asks is “What is the main value in understanding our past lives?” Here are some of Abbot George’s comments from the interview:

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Featured Articles

Yogis Who Saw Jesus

The day our Original Christianity and Original Yoga website was launched we received an irate communication from one of those Western “Hindus” that believe they are more truly Hindu if they hate other religions–especially Christianity–and deny that Jesus ever existed. Here is our answer:
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The Many Advantages of Vegetarianism

 
You can indeed reap a lot of benefits by being a vegetarian and people have become more aware of the health benefits of being a vegetarian. Animal rights issues is only one of the reasons why people decide to go on a vegetarian diet. People are beginning to care more about the environment. However, the main reason why people go on vegetarian diet is because of health benefits.
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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.

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7 Steps to Misuse Your Power of Thought

 
Thought is power–magnetic power, particularly. That is, thought can draw or repel whatever is thought about, depending upon the polarity of the individual mind. Many times we see that people bring to themselves the things they continually think about, but we also see that thinking about something can repel it from the person.

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