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
May Satsang Signup – Religious Imagery Podcast
Our May online satsang with Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke) will be on Saturday, May 4th, at 12 noon, EST. Visit this page to register. Also, listen to or watch a recent podcast on “Religious Imagery and the Yogi.”
Monastic Life and the Way of the East
To someone who wrote about joining the monastery and receiving “monastic training.” This I tell you very sincerely: monks are born, not made. The idea of “monastic training” gives me the horrors, for it is just brainwashing. The Roman Catholic Church specialized in it for centuries, calling it “formation,” another chilling word. A monk is not a performing animal to
9 Obstacles to Yoga Meditation You Need to Overcome
The following is an excerpt from Abbot George’s soon-to-be-published Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Yoga Sutra I:30. Disease [vyadhi], languor [styana], doubt [samshaya], carelessness [pramada], laziness [alasya], worldly-mindedness [avirati], delusion [bhranti-darshana], non-achievement of a stage [alabdhabhumikatva], instability [anavashtitatvani], these (nine) cause the distraction of the mind and they are the obstacles [to yoga]. These are too important to
18 Indispensable Ingredients You Need to Become a Real Yogi
Q: How does a person go about becoming a yogi? I mean a real yogi in a real tradition? First of all, seek God and God alone, and never accept any intermediary, though there is nothing wrong in learning from teachers. But scrutinize them thoroughly and do not be afraid to question, ignore or reject them. I appreciate your question,
How to Grow Your Knowledge of the Life of Christ
Q: Do you base for your knowledge about Jesus Christ and his teachings on the presently available Bible or some other book(s)? Though they are not well known, there are quite a few books about the lives of Jesus and his mother Mary. They were considered authoritative by the early Christians but are mostly forgotten today except by the Eastern
Satsang with the Abbot Now Available in Print and as an Ebook
We are happy to announce that Satsang with the Abbot: Questions & Answers about Life, Spiritual Liberty, and the Pursuit of Ultimate Happiness is now available on Amazon in printed and ebook formats. In this book Abbot George Burke, spiritual director of Light of the Spirit Monastery, answers over 350 questions from inquiring spiritual seekers. During the month of April, the ebook
Practical Advise on Learning the Kriya Yoga Methods
To someone who wrote describing his experiences in meditation and who was practicing Kriya Yoga from an ebook he had purchased. The evaluation of meditation experiences is very tricky, because it depends on the meditator’s karma, any past life experience of esoteric development, and the current state of the meditator’s physical, astral and causal bodies. So I really do not
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.