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My Karma Made Me Do It

To someone who wrote asking about involvement in an avocation for the enjoyment of it. Our lives are an unimaginably complex system composed of innumerable influences. Any simplistic view or opinion must by their very nature be irrelevant and often (usually) wrong. Karma is an … Continue reading

Four First-Class Sadhus | Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:00 — 22.4MB)

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Click here to listen to Four First-Class Sadhus if you do not see the player above. The podcast length is 16:00 minutes.

Sadhu at prayerSadhu: a seeker for truth (sat); and a person who is practicing spiritual disciplines. Usually this term is applied to monastics.

In this podcast, Abbot George relates his experiences with four monks he met in India that were definitely of the first class. These were:

  • The Ganges island swami
  • His friend in black
  • The Swami who would not be a pet, and his guru who laughed.

Below is a transcription of his encounter with the first sadhu:

The Ganges Island Swami and His Sandy Mansion

At the beginning of 1963, Sri Anandamayi Ma instructed me to find a kutir in either Hardwar or Rishikesh where I could do sadhana. Thanks to Brahmacharini Atmananda, who was known to many pilgrims to India as translator, counselor, friend and smoother of the way, I was put in touch with an ideal devotee, Rai Bahadur Narayan Das who was the chief director and patron of the Sapta Rishi Ashram which I have already mentioned.

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Is Initiation Necessary?

Q: Some say anyone can practice meditation and some say only initiated persons should meditate as it could be dangerous for some. What is true? Over half a century of yoga practice have demonstrated to me that anyone can practice authentic, traditional yoga safely and … Continue reading

99¢ New Year’s Awakening eBook Sale

Light of the Spirit Press BooksTo start the new year off well, we are offering all of our Amazon Kindle ebooks by Abbot George Burke on sale for only 99¢ until after January 14th.

This includes both of our published books in the “Awakening” Series, The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening and The Dhammapada for Awakening, as well as May a Christian Believe in Reincarnation? and A Brief Sanskrit Glossary.

To purchase and download any of these titles, simply click the links below to the ebooks you desire.

As a teaser, here is a section from The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening:

Children of the Light

Jesus Christ mosaic from Hagia Sophia. Our DestinyYe are all the children of light, and the children of the day (I Thessalonians 5:5).

Jesus said, If they say to you, “Where did you come from?” say to them, “We came from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through their image.” If they say to you, “Is it you?,” say, “We are its children, we are the elect of the living father.” If they ask you, “What is the sign of your father in you?,” say to them, “It is movement and repose.” (Gospel of Thomas 50)

If they say to you, “Where did you come from?” say to them, “We came from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through their image.” First let us note what Jesus does not tell us to say. He does not tell us to say that we are creations of God or servants or God–and certainly not sinners.

Our origin reveals our nature. Since we came from the Light, we are ourselves that Light. Quite some years ago a healing group met each week in our monastery. At the beginning of each session we would say some prayers, always ending with: “Christ is the Light; the Light is Christ. I am that Christ; I am that Light.” This is the truth of our real, essential nature. It is not the truth of our temporal, ever-changing nature that is involved in evolution. But it is necessary for us to stop in our evolution dance occasionally and remember who and what we really are.

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