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 Three Gunas: How Nature Behaves
This article introduces one of the most essential concepts in Indian philosophy: the three guṇas. Understanding tamas, rajas, and sattwa is indispensable for grasping how nature operates.
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
When the Mind and the Self Are One
Q: What is “chitta”? What is the meaning of “when the mind and Self are one”? A Brief Sanskrit Glossary defines chitta in this way: “The subtle energy that is the substance of the mind, and therefore the mind itself; mind in all its aspects; the field of the mind; the field of consciousness; consciousness itself; the mind-stuff.” This covers
Question: Who Sows and Who Reaps Karma?
Q: It is said that reincarnation is due to our own karma and we alone who are responsible for the past, present, and future life. But what part within every individual living entity actually can create words, thoughts, and deeds either good or evil? Is it the atma (soul), mind, or particular organ of the body? Someone said that life
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.