Guiding Lights from Sri Sarada Devi
December 31, 2022
Today we start a series of blogposts which present sayings and advice from disciples of Sri Ramakrishna called Guiding Lights. We begin with wisdom from Sri Sarada Devi.
A Practical Resource
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D
iscover the timeless wisdom of India and the yoga path to freedom. This site offers you a wealth of practical and thought-provoking knowledge about the Oriental origins of Christianity, the simple and classic tradition of Yoga and the Yoga Life, the practical messages of the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures, and much more.
Journey beyond the forest of cliches, contradictions, and confusion about Yoga, Hinduism, Christianity and metaphysical thought, through the unconventional wisdom of Abbot George Burke, director of Light of the Spirit Monastery.
What You Will Discover on This Site
Original Christianity
Original Christianity is the teaching of both Jesus of Nazareth and his Apostle Saint Thomas in India. Learn about Jesus’ life in India, and the inevitable conclusions that must be drawn about The Real Jesus and His Real Teachings, which were really the classical, traditional teachings of the ancient rishis of India. Read Articles about Original Christianity.
Original Yoga
With all that is called “yoga” nowadays, it is hard to winnow the wheat from the chaff. Abbot George clarifies what real yoga is both as a philosophy and as a liberating practice in its classic form of Soham Yoga, and gives practical advice on the Yoga Life that facilitates this practice. Read Articles about Original Yoga.
Dharma for Awakening
Most people intuit that the greatest wisdom comes from the East. With penetrating insight Abbot George presents the practical value of the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, the Dhammapada, and other classic scriptures in an easily intelligible fashion. Read Articles about Dharma for Awakening.Featuring the writings of Abbot George Burke
Most of the articles and books on this site were written by Abbot George Burke, (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) the founder and director of the Light of the Spirit Monastery (Atma Jyoti Ashram) in Cedar Crest, New Mexico, USA.
“The scriptures contain a mixture of sand and sugar, as it were. It is extremely difficult to separate the sugar from the sand. Therefore one should learn of the essence of the scriptures from the teacher or from a sadhu.”
–Sri Ramakrishna
Abbot George has spent a lifetime helping spiritual aspirants separate the sand from the sugar. Grounded in the perspective of classic Indian thought, directly taught by such luminaries as Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh and Sri Anandamayi Ma, and blessed with the clarity and originality of thought that can only come from years of spiritual practice (sadhana), his answers to his inquirers’ questions are unique, fresh, and authoritative.
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Visit our Podcast Page to listen to talks by Abbot George Burke about various aspects of practical spiritual life, and remarkable spiritual people he has known. These podcasts include talks on Original Christianity and Original Yoga, Soham Yoga Meditation, the Yoga Life, the connection between Jesus and India, monastic life, and much more.
Light of the Spirit Monastery
Light of the Spirit Monastery is an esoteric Christian monastic community for those men who seek direct experience of the Spirit through meditation, sacramental worship, discipline and dedicated communal life, emphasizing the inner reality of “Christ in you the hope of glory,” as taught by the illumined mystics of East and West. Special attention is also given to the pre-Christian roots of the Gospel of Christ, especially those in India. Read about Light of the Spirit Monastery and monastic life.
The Light of the Spirit Blog
Below are our latest blog posts. Explore our Blog, with hundreds of always-relevant posts on practical spiritual life.
Podcast: What Is Satan?
December 27, 2022
The topic of Satan and evil is one that we should not dwell on, for Abbot George says “talking about negativity can bring the mind into the orbit of negativity.” But it is good to have a basic understanding of evil so that we can be on our guard against inner and outer evil.
Fourteen Spiritual Ways to Celebrate Christmas
December 22, 2022
From an article by Paramhansa Yogananda entitled “Why Celebrate Christmas?” published in the Inner Culture Magazine in December of 1934. For twenty centuries the birth of Christ has been celebrated differently by the different Christian sects. Many have counted the coming of Christmas as a time for exchanging nicely caparisoned,
Monastery Bookstore
Though you can explore or read the books from our website online or as free PDF downloads, you can also purchase them as ebooks and paperbacks to add to your permanent spiritual library
Below is a sampling of the titles available, and they can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers.
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President of Johrei Fellowship
"Highly recommended for earnest spiritual aspirant, especially those who might need a prod to keep them moving."
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Publisher/Editor at Vedantic Shores Press.
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