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
The Religion of Ignorance
What Jesus said to his disciples about those who propagate ignorance, from the Gospel of Thomas Jesus said, The pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge [gnosis] and hidden them. They themselves have not entered, nor have they allowed to enter those who wish to. You, however, be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.
The Mystical Outlook of Original Christianity
A Commentary on the Odes of Solomon. The Odes are the earliest known Christian mystical hymns and poetry (discover more). Behold! the Lord is our mirror. Open (your) eyes and see them in Him. And learn the manner of your face, and declare praises to His Spirit. And wipe off the filth from your face, and love His holiness and
Podcast: Remembering Sivananda, Part 1
With this post, we begin our new Podcast section, which will be added to on a regular basis. These will be talks on meditation, practical aspects of spiritual life, memories of remarkable spiritual figures Abbot George has met, and much more. During his first trip to India in 1962 Abbot George Burke was blessed to spend time with the great Swami
Dawning of the Spiritual Light
Sutras 47 and 48 of Book One of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 47. On attaining the utmost purity of the Nirvichara stage (of Samadhi) there is the dawning of the spiritual light [adhyatma prasadah]. In contrast to the samadhi spoken of in the prior sutra, nirvichara samadha is nirbija: “without seed,” without attributes and without the production of samskaras
Distinction Without Difference: The Nature of the Atman
Q: What is the difference between atman and jiva? Also do you believe that we are all one soul, or many living entities? The atman and the jiva are the same thing, though since atman is derived from the root at, which means “I breathe,” you could say that atman is the jiva in relative existence and experience, and the
Is Meditation Dumbo’s Magic Feather?
Q: Will meditation alone improve ones moral sensibility? Will one naturally move toward the good as one meditates? If meditation alone would improve one’s moral sense or automatically move us toward the good, Patanjali would not have outlined the ten principles of yama and niyama for us: Ahimsa: non-violence, non-injury, harmlessness Satya: truthfulness, honesty Asteya: non-stealing, honesty, non-misappropriativeness Brahmacharya: sexual
2015 Brings New Articles, New Books, Improved Website, and Introduces Podcasts
In this new year we will bring you much that is new at OCOY.org, and we have already begun the process. New articles The first of several new articles which we have posted on spiritual life is an extensive interview with Swami Chidananda, the late president of the Divine Life Society, on the subject of Brahmacharya (celibacy) as it applies
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.