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
Holy Mother, Sri Ramakrishna and Mahendranath Gupta (“M”) about Renunciation
We have often collected the sayings of the wise here at Atma Jyoti Ashram, so that we can benefit from their frequent study. Here are a few quotes about renunciation from Holy Mother, Sri Ramakrishna and Mahendranath Gupta (“M”).
The Peace and Freedom of Self Knowledge
He who thinks the Self is slayer And he who thinks the Self is slain– Neither of the two understands; The Self slays not, nor is it slain. —Bhagavad Gita 2:19 The lessons to be learned Being either killer or killed is impossible; so Krishna assures Arjuna–and us. The Gita is being spoken on a battlefield so martial action is
The Role of Breath in Meditation
Breath, the universal factor The Sanskrit word prana means both “breath” and “life.” Breath is the single universal factor of life–all that lives, breathes. Therefore meditation practices involving the breath are found in many mystical traditions. The process of breath is identical in all, consisting of inhalation and exhalation–expansion and contraction. It is the most immaterial factor of our existence,
God as the Guru
A follow-up to “Gurus: Yes or No?” Q: Can I follow the right path without a spiritual leader to initiate me and guide me? It is certainly necessary to have a guru, but everyone already has one: God Himself. Patanjali very clearly says about God (Ishwara): “He is guru even of the ancients” (Yoga Sutras 1:16). This indicates that at
Gurus: Yes or No?
Q: I have practiced meditation for many years. But, I feel I only achieve a very little progress. I have tried several methods of meditation, but since it seemed to produce no progress, I soon got dissatisfied and changed from one method to another. Is it a must to have a personal guru who can provide me initiation? Can one do
Prayer and the Law of Karma
Q: Since there is a Law of cause and effect or the Law of Karma is it still necessary to pray and ask God for something like world peace, settle our financial problems, ask for health, etc.? If God fulfills or answers one’s prayer does not it means that God breaking the Law He himself has created? It is absolutely true
More Tools for Meditation
We have recently made an important addition to the Original Yoga section of our website: a new book entitled Soham Yoga: the Yoga of the Self, by Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke). To introduce you to this work, here is a selection from the instructions on the practice of So’ham Yoga: “The supreme master of yoga, Gorakhnath, said this:
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.