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
July Satsang Signup | New Audiobook
The July 2026 online satsang with Swami Nirmalananda Giri will be on Saturday, July 4th at 12 noon EST. Sign up at this page.
Seven Ways to Purify the Mind, Part 2
Sutras 36 through 39 of Book One of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Sutra 1:36. Also (through) serene [vishoka] or luminous [jyotishmati] (states experienced within). Vishoka means “blissful; serene; free of grief, suffering or sorrow.” Jyotishmati means “effulgence; full of light.” Inner experience of a higher level usually consists of these two kinds–sometimes both together. Naturally the mind will become steady
The Simple Yoga Method of Removing Mental Pain and Depression
Sutras 31 and 32 of Book One of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Sutra 1:31. (Mental) pain [dukha], despair [daurmanasya], nervousness [angamejayatva] and hard breathing [shvasa-prashvasa] are the symptoms of a distracted condition of mind [vikshepa-sahabhuvah]. Dukha is pain; suffering; misery; sorrow; grief; unhappiness; stress; that which is unsatisfactory. Daurmanasya is despair, depression etc., caused by mental sickness; feeling of
See Our New Book on Reincarnation at Amazon.com
In our ongoing effort to provide the content of OCOY.org in printed form, this week we launched Abbot George Burke’s May a Christian Believe in Reincarnation? in paperback and Kindle format at Amazon.com. A quick synopsis of the book is found on the back cover: “May a Christian believe in reincarnation? The answer may surprise you. Reincarnation–also known as the transmigration
How to Enter the Kingdom
A Commentary on the Gospel of Thomas Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, These infants being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom. They said to him, Shall we then, as children, enter the kingdom? Jesus said to them, When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and
A Brief Sanskrit Glossary Now Available in Print at Amazon.com
A Brief Sanskrit Glossary now available in print at Amazon.com We are happy to announce that we have another book available in print through Light of the Spirit Press: A Brief Sanskrit Glossary—A Spiritual Student’s Guide to Essential Sanskrit Terms, compiled by Abbot George Burke. As it says in the Preface of the Glossary: “It is very beneficial for students
Om, the God-Word
Sutras 27 through 30 of Book One of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 27. His designator [vachaka] is ‘Om’ [Pranava]. Usually, vachaka means that which is denoted by speech, in this case meaning that Ishwara is designated by the Pranava–by the sacred syllable OM. But it can also mean the spoken form of something that has a very real connection
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.