In this talk, Swami Nirmalananda Giri explores the nature and qualities of Brahman, the all-encompassing divine reality, as described in the Bhagavad Gita. He emphasizes that Brahman is the essence of everything—both animate and inanimate—permeating all existence as the sustainer, creator, and absorber of life.

The talk highlights the need for a yogi to refine their consciousness to perceive Brahman’s subtle presence, which is both near and far, undivided yet appearing divided. Brahman is presented as the source of all light, knowledge, and existence, beyond darkness, and seated in the heart of all beings.

The discussion also touches on the interplay of Purusha (pure consciousness) and Prakriti (vibrating energy or material creation), the inevitability of karma, and the importance of self-realization through practices like mantra repetition (e.g., "Soham") and meditation.

Main Points:

1. Brahman as All-Encompassing: Brahman exists both outside and inside all beings, encompassing everything—animate and inanimate—since all is composed of living, moving particles, embodying life itself.
2. Subtlety of Brahman: Brahman is incomprehensible due to its subtlety, requiring a yogi to refine their consciousness to perceive its presence, which is both far and near.
3. Unity and Multiplicity: A true yogi perceives both the unity of Brahman and the apparent multiplicity of existence simultaneously, aiming for omniscience as the ultimate goal.
4. Sustainer of Beings: Brahman is the foundation of all existence, sustaining everything, shining as the life within all, without which nothing could exist.
5. Creator and Absorber: Brahman generates and withdraws all creation cyclically, as exemplified by Krishna’s statement in the Gita about sending forth and retracting beings helplessly within this process.
6. Light of Light: Brahman is the source of all light, enabling existence and manifestation, existing beyond darkness as the singular, eternal light.
7. Knowledge and the Known: Brahman embodies wisdom, being both the process of knowing, the knower, and the object of knowledge, seated in the heart of all beings.
8. Spiritual Practice: The yogi uses practices like "Soham" meditation and japa (mantra repetition) to align with Brahman, recognizing it as the primal word or sound of creation.
9. Purusha and Prakriti: Creation arises from the interplay of Purusha (pure consciousness) and Prakriti (material energy), both eternal aspects of Brahman, with Prakriti driving action and manifestation.
10. Karma and Responsibility: All experiences, including pleasure and pain, stem from individual karma, reflecting personal choices and actions, not external blame; self-awareness dissolves karmic ignorance.
11. Self-Realization: True knowing comes from experiencing Brahman, not just theorizing about it, and devotees who comprehend this approach the divine state of being.
12. Humility in Learning: Swamiji critiques superficial knowledge, encouraging persistent effort and humility in the spiritual journey, rather than assuming mastery from minimal understanding.

The talk concludes with a call to deepen understanding of the Gita through Swami Nirmalananda’s book, The Bhagavad Gita for Awakening, emphasizing practical spirituality and self-awareness.

Listen to his new Talks on the Bhagavad Gita here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzUa3GQViSbVFbfQW_yugfTi5u9x8W7bb

In his many pilgrimages to India, he had the opportunity of meeting some of India’s greatest spiritual figures, including Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh and Anandamayi Ma. During his first trip to India he was given sannyas by Swami Vidyananda Giri, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, who had himself been given sannyas by the Shankaracharya of Puri, Jagadguru Bharat Krishna Tirtha.

In the United States he also encountered various Christian saints, including Saint John Maximovich of San Francisco and Saint Philaret Voznesensky of New York. #satsang #spiritualityyoga #spiritualawakening

Use these timestamps below to navigate to topics which he discusses in this month's satsang:

00:00 Introduction

00:41 What is satsang?

01:59 Good spiritual books to read

03:21 About Mabel Collins

10:17 What is the soul, and where is it located?

16:31 Questions about the caste system

23:46 Reflections on Gandhi

29:08 Do all religions and wisdom traditions lead to the same goal? 33:48 Do we need a master to give the soham mantra?

39:35 Do you pray or only do Soham sadhana?

41:00 How does one navigate the intersection of this world and the next?

42:15 A technical question about Soham sadhana

43:25 A question about the teachings of Emmanuel Swedenborg

45:04 A question about Swami Muktananda on Soham

46:16 Were Buddha’s original teachings atheistic?

50:00 Vivekananda story and yogi’s having integrity

55:43 Swami Sivananda’s marriage before he took sannyasa

56:28 How to dispose of old rudradksha and tulsi malas

58:26 Balancing spiritual duties and social interaction

1:00:39 Appraising Yogananda’s wisdom and the meditation methods ascribed to him

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July’s online satsang with Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke) will be held on Saturday, July 6th, at 12 noon, EST. You can go to the registration page and sign up using this link, or use the signup button below. When registering, you can submit any questions which you would like Swamiji to answer during the satsang.

In a podcast interview with our friend Jonathan Mahoney, Swami Nirmalananda discusses the kind of life we need to live in order to die as yogis, and have a real spiritual boost in the afterlife. Listen to the podcast here, or watch the Youtube podcast below. The podcast is 53 minutes long.

(The podcast player will not show if you get this by email, so you can listen to Living (and Dying) as a Yogi here.)

Please make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel – which doesn’t just ensure you’ll see our videos when they are posted; it also encourages YouTube to show our videos to more spiritually oriented people, and is the best way to support our channel.

The post July Online Satsang Signup | Podcast: Living and Dying as a Yogi appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

There are a number of important reasons why spiritual imagery is valuable for the aspiring yogi. In a recent online Satsang, Swami Nirmalananda Giri explained the value of holy imagery in the practical spiritual life of those wishing to grow their inner life. He shows the imagery at Atma Jyoti Ashram (Light of the Spirit Monastery) and how the presence and symbolism of such sacred images effects us on a day-to-day basis.

Religious imagery can be found on many sites online, and we have also collected a wide range of sacred images which can be bought as prints, plaques, and framed art for your altar, home or office, available at Sacred Vision Art (https://sacredvisionsart.com/)

If you do not see the podcast player above, you can listen by using this link: Religious Imagery and the Yogi.

The podcast length is 22 and a half minutes.

The post Religious Imagery and the Yogi: Podcast and Video appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

In this recent satsang excerpt, Swami Nirmalananda shares unique perspectives about Ma from his own experience. Here are some of the topics discussed in the podcast and video:

• A yogi’s experience of the inner side of Ma.
• Problems with institutions.
• How Anandamayi Ma guided our ashram.  
• Dr. Ghosh takes Catholic nuns to meet Ma and what Ma said to the nuns; Ma’s love of monastics.
• What Ma said when she was asked: Can a Westerner become a Hindu?  
• The nature and openness of real Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism).

If you don’t see the player above, listen here to Reminiscences of Anandamayi Ma by Swami Nirmalananda Giri (about 28 minutes long).

Watch over 100 videos of Satsangs, pilgrimages, and other spiritual topics at our Light of the Spirit Youtube Channel.

The post Anandamayi Ma Video and Podcast appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

The new Rama Temple in Ayodhya was consecrated on January 22nd, 2024. The grand ceremony, known as the Ram Mandir Prāna Pratishtha, marked a significant moment in Hindu history.

For centuries, Hindus have revered the site in Ayodhya as the birthplace of Lord Rama, the Divine Incarnation embodying righteousness and dharmic governance. Following Indian independence in 1947 many Hindus hoped for and worked for the return of many traditionally Hindu religious sites to Hindu control, including the site in Ayodhya, which had been stolen from the Hindus, and a mosque erected there instead. But the secular government worked against such aspirations for years.

The popular uprising resulting in the destruction of the Babri Masjid mosque at the site in 1992 and subsequent legal battles were the expression of the growing movement for recognition of Hindu rights. The consecration of the new temple marks the culmination of a decades-long struggle and the fulfillment of a deeply held desire to see a grand temple dedicated to Rama built there.

This event is more than the building of a place of worship. It is part of the revival of the Ancient Bharatian (Indian) culture.

Indian Prime Minister Modi, who participated in the Prāna Pratishtha, had this to say from his historic speech after the consecration:

“After centuries of unprecedented patience, countless sacrifices and penance, our Lord Ram has arrived. Many congratulations to all of you and all the countrymen on this auspicious occasion. Our Ramlalla will no longer live in a tent. Our Ramlalla will now live in this divine temple. January 22, 2024, is not a date on a calendar. This is the origin of a new time cycle. A nation rising up after breaking the mentality of slavery, a nation taking courage from every bit of the past, creates history in this way. A thousand years from now, people will talk about this date, this moment. These are indelible memory lines being inscribed on the wheel of time.”

“Today, the land of Ayodhya is asking some questions to every Ram devotee, to every Indian. The grand temple of Shri Ram has been built, what next? Today, I feel that the cycle of time is changing. From this sacred time, we have to lay the foundation of the India of the next thousand years.”

In the following podcast and Youtube video, Swami Nirmalananda discusses the “World Significance” of the establishment of Ramlalla (the boy Rama) in his new temple in Ayodhya.

[If you do not see the podcast player above, you can listen to “The World Significance of the New Ram Temple” here. The podcast duration is 12:38.

The post The New Ram Mandir in Ayodhya: Podcast, News, and More appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

If you do not see the player above, click here to listen to How to Deal with the Decline of a Loved One. The podcast is 4 minutes 30 seconds long.

Watch the Youtube video of this podcast here:

The post Podcast: How to Deal with the Decline of a Loved One appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

We have now posted all of our past satsangs on our Youtube Channel (YouTube.com/@LightoftheSpirit) where you can view both full satsangs and excepts, as well as other spiritual videos (we now have 96 videos!)

Below is our latest upload, from the follow-up to the October satsang, where Swamiji addressed the following topics not covered in the live satsang. We include the timestamps on the video so that you can find what interests you:

• 00:30 The symbolism of the Cross
• 12:16 Some insights into Royalty
• 15:34 Reminiscences of Anandamayi Ma
• 48:11 Stories of Mahavatar Babaji
• 51:47 Kriya, Bhakti, and Jnana Yogas
• 56:23 Coping with the decline of a loved one

Below the Podcast (the audio version) and the video, you will find links to the most recent satsangs.

(If you do not see the podcast player above, listen here to the October Satsang Q&A Session with Swami Nirmalananda. The podcast length is 1 hour and 2 minutes.

• December 2023 Satsang
• November 2023 Satsang
• October 2023 Satsang
• September 2023 Satsang

The post Podcast and Video of Q&A Session appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

The afterlife of any individual depends on the life of that individual. Each life is unique, and what happens afterwards depends on how a person lived that life, and the lives before. Learn how our karma (our actions) will determine where we go after death, and more in this podcast and video.

If you do not see the player in the email, listen to the podcast here: What Happens to the Sould After Death?

The post Podcast: What Happens to the Soul After Death? appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

At our monthly online Satsangs (the first Saturday of each month–sign up here to get notices, and much more) there are many more questions that can be answered in an hour. So we are going to be regularly posting answers to the extra questions. Here are Swami Nirmalananda’s answers to the questions left over after the September Satsang. You can listen to the audio podcast or watch the Youtube videos below.

To see previous satsangs, visit our Video Satsang page.

The post Questions & Answers with Swami Nirmalananda from September appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

If you do not see the player above, click here to listen to The “Mind” of Anandamayi Ma – Satsang With Swami Nirmalananda Giri.

The podcast is 6:30 minutes long.

The post Podcast: The “Mind” of Anandamyi Ma appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

If you do not see the player above, click here to listen to What is Aparigraha? (The Yoga Term for Non-Possessiveness) – Satsang With Swami Nirmalananda Giri.

The podcast is 14:20 minutes long.

The post Podcast: What is Aparigraha? appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

Today, we share both an audio podcast and a video podcast made from a recent Zoom Satsang with Swami Nirmalananda (Abbot George Burke).

In this podcast, Swami Nirmalananda answers the question, “Can you talk about how Jesus is the Savior, knowing that our liberation is our personal responsibility?”

First, he talks about what a Savior is, and what they do. And he speaks about our own personal responsibility for our own spiritual welfare and advancement.

Among the stories he tells are:

• The Greek elder and the surprising response he gave to someone asking for his prayers.
• The remarkable healings he witnessed.
• Different Saviors and the effects they had.
• His experience with Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, including the story of the woman who wanted to clean her glasses with his clothes.
• The unusual changes in appearance of Anandamay Ma.

If you don’t see the podcast above (it won’t show in emails), here is a direct link to the Podcast: Saviors, or Personal Responsibility?. The Podcast is just under 21 minutes long.

• Visit our Podcasts page, with dozens of spiritual podcasts.
• Explore our Youtube Channel.
• Discover our Video Satangs page.

The post Podcast (and Video): Saviors, or Personal Responsibility? appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

In our effort to continue to make OCOY.org a true “practical resource for the spiritual student,” we have added more valuable content which we hope you will explore, with our new articles, new videos, new books in our free eLibrary, and in our monthly Zoom satsangs, starting with a new Podcast from a recent satsang.

Podcast of Satsang Excerpt: Great Yogis I have Known

Here is a direct link to the Podcast: Great Yogis I Have Known.

First, we have added two useful articles:

• Vibrational Medicine and the Yogi:  The body and mind are profoundly interrelated. This is especially important for the yogi to realize. Health of mind and body are also profoundly interrelated. Swami Nirmalananda wrote this to share with you information about what he considers a most appropriate and effective form of therapy for a yogi: vibrational medicine.
• Astrology and Divination:  Astrology and divination are very real and valuable tools in the yogi’s life. They are not superstition, but metaphysical science.

Next, we have been adding videos of our Zoom online satsangs with Swami Nirmalananda to our Youtube channel. A number of videos posted in the past months have gone viral. Our channel has had over 500,000 views in the past ninety days! You can subscribe to our Youtube Podcast here.

Here are a couple of the most recent videos:

We continue to publish new books, including three this year. We make them available in paperback, ebook, as free PDF’s in our eLibrary, and as web pages.

In our eLibrary, you can download these new free PDF titles:

• The Inspired Wisdom of Sri Gajanana Maharaj–A Practical Commentary on Leading an Effectual Spiritual Life
• The Inspired Wisdom of Lalla Yogeshwari
• The Benefits of Brahmacharya: A Collection of Writings About the Spiritual, Mental, and Physical Benefits of Continence

You can also read these books here online:

• The Inspired Wisdom of Lalla Yogeshwari
• The Benefits of Brahmacharya

These books are also available as paperbacks and ebooks on Amazon and other online bookstores:

• The Inspired Wisdom of Sri Gajanana Maharaj
• The Inspired Wisdom of Lalla Yogeshwari
• The Benefits of Brahmacharya

The next online one-hour Zoom satsang with Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George) is Saturday May 6th at 12:00 noon E.S.T.

[This has now past, but next month we will have another satsang. Stay tuned.]

The post Podcast: Great Yogis I Have Known, plus New Articles, Videos, & Books appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

(The quality of the audio is not ideal, so we include the transcribed text here. For unfamiliar Sanskrit terms, we recommend you see our Brief Sanskrit Glossary.)

Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.

Radhe Shyama Radhe Shyama
Shyama Shyama Radhe Radhe
Radhe Krishna Radhe Krishna
Krishna Krishna Radhe Radhe

Gauri Shankar Gauri Shankar
Shankar Shankar Gauri Gauri
Uma Shankar Uma Shankar
Shankar Shankar Uma Uma

O My Jesus O Lord Jesus
Hail Hail Jesus O Father Father
O My Mary O Virgin Mary
Hail Hail Mary O Mother Mother

O My Buddha, O Lord Buddha
Hail Hail Buddha O Saviour Saviour

O My Allah, O Lord Allah,
Hail hail Allah, O Khuda Khuda

O My Sakti, O Adi Sakti,
Hail hail Sakti, O Mother Mother

Is there not a nobler mission
than eating, drinking and sleeping?
it is difficult to get a human birth,
therefore try your best to realise in this birth.

Fie on that wretch, woe to that man
who wastes all his life in sensual pleasures.

Time sweeps away kings and barons
Where is Yuddhistir? Where is Ashoka?
Where is Shakespeare? Where is Valmiki?
Where is Napoleon? Where is Shivaji?
Where is Gandhi, Where is Jinah?

Be up and doing yogic Sadhana
you will enjoy supreme bliss
Be up and doing in Brahma vichara
you will attain immortality, kaivalya moksha

Can you expect real shanti
if you waste your time in idle-gossiping?
Can you enjoy Supreme Peace
if you waste your time in novels, newspapers,
in fights and quarrels, in scandal, backbiting,

Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.

When the mind melts in the silence,
you will have Self-realization.
What have you learnt, tell me frankly
from the Bihar and Quetta earthquakes?

Have you got now real Vairag?
Do you practise Japa and Kirtan?
Here is a challenge to non-believers
of the Hindu theory of transmigration:
Have you not heard the thrilling narratives
of Shanti Devi, of her past life?

Can you expect real shanti if you waste your time
in cards and cinemas ?
When your throat is choked at the time of death,
who will help you for your salvation?

Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.

Dehonaham, Jivonaham,
Pratyagabhinna Bramaivaham,
Paripurnoham Paramarthoham
Brahmaivaham Brahmaivaham
Jagad Kalpa Natha, Jiva Kalpa Natha

All This Kalpa Natha, Dhiera Svapa natha
All This Jalam, all this Juggler deeds
All This Maya’s Street, All This Maya’s Thought
Nothing exist, nothing belongs to me,
I am neither my body, immortal Self I am.

Practice Ahimsa, Satyam Brahmacharya
This is the foundation of Yoga Vedanta
Practice [unclear] Japam
you will have Self-realization.

Eat a little, drink a little,
Talk a little, sleep a little,
Mix a little, move a little,
Serve a little, give a little,

Do Asanas a little, Pranayamas a little,
Reflect a little, Meditate a little,
Do Japa a little, do Kirtan a little,
Study a little, worship a little.

Do asana a little, pranayama a little,
Reflect a Little, Do Vichar a little.
[He varied the words from time to time, and frequently added: “Do a little of each; you will have time for all. God-realization is thus brought within your easy reach; and you are saved from the fear of a fall.”]

Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.

• Podcast: Swami Sivananda’s Humor (including a Video Podcast)
• Podcast: Days with Sivananda
• 10 Sagely Sayings of Swami Sivananda

The post Podcast: Swami Sivananda and the Song of Admonition appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

In today’s podcast, our friend Jonathan Mahoney asks Abbot George, “Could you tell us the difference between Satan and Mara, and how we should respond to outer and inner negativity and evil?”

Abbot George discusses:

• How both Satan and Mara are aspects of the cosmic force to get us to stop our spiritual quest.
• How resistance to negativity and evil make us stronger by developing our will towards spiritual growth.
• How we have to be constructive towards that which is positive and destructive towards that which is negative.

• The Divine and the Demonic: Negativity from the Gita View
• Viveka: How to Walk Safely in the Jungle of Delusion, Illusion and Deception
• Living the Yoga Life: Dedication to Spiritual Life

• The Dhammapada for Awakening

The post Podcast: How Should We Respond to Outer and Inner Negativity and Evil? appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

In today’s podcast Jonathan Mahoney asks Abbot George, “What is Satan?” Though this is a topic some people find fascinating, it is one that we should not dwell on, for Abbot George says “talking about negativity can bring the mind into the orbit of negativity.” On the other hand, talking about spiritual topics has a positive influence on the mind.

But it is good to have a basic understanding of evil so that we can be on our guard against inner and outer evil.

Abbot George illumines these ideas with apt illustrations and stories.

• Evil Spirits and Satan: Where Do They Come From?
• Demons and Dunces, Part 2: Deluded Asceticism and Dispelling Evil Spirits
• 3 Types of Supernatural Contact and the People Who Engage in Them
• How You Can Overcome Negativity by an Effective Positive Attitude

The post Podcast: What Is Satan? appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

In today’s podcast our friend Jonathan Mahoney asks Abbot George “What is Maya?” Abbot George’s answer covers various aspects of Maya:

• Maya as the hypnotic power of creation.
• It is mistaking the Unreal for the Real.
• It is caused by our instinctive reactions to sense perceptions.
• He explains the common simile of mistaking a rope for a snake.

He stresses that the Shakti of creation is real, it is our perception or understanding that is unreal. Maya, illusion, is in our minds. Abbot George shares a number of stories to illumine these ideas.

• Living the Yoga Life: Many Answers About Maya
• How You Can Break Through the Net of Maya
• Podcast: The Means of Getting Beyond Maya: Leading the Yoga Life

The post Podcast: What Is Maya? appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

Recently our friend Jonathan Mahoney visited us, and he had a number of questions for Abbot George during that time, which we recorded and will share in the coming months as podcasts. His first question was “what is Mahashakti?”

In his answer, Abbot George discusses the “Great Power” (the meaning of Mahashakti) as the entire range of relative existence, composed of vibrating energy. There is nothing but Consciousness. But when Consciousness does not move, we call it spirit. When Consciousness moves, we call it energy or shakti or power.

He talks about Mahashakti as a manifestation of God, an intelligent power, usually thought of as a merciful power, a caring power, a loving power, therefore, it’s called Mother.

Also, since we reflect the qualities of what we pay attention to, people will begin to manifest the qualities of the forms of God they worship. And because of our inner temperament we will naturally gravitate towards one concept of God or another, because in them are the qualities that are beneficial for them, so it will help them develop those automatically.

As we grow and evolve, our spiritual inclinations may change, and we should follow our instincts on these things and if there’s no instinct, we shouldn’t force ourselves.

This is a short summary of some of the points covered in this podcast. Listen to learn much more.

This podcast is just over 13:24 minutes long. If you do not see the podcast player above (it won’t show in emails), you can listen here: What Is Mahashakti?

• Shiva and Shakti: A Yogi’s Perspective
• Podcast: Plain Talk About God
• Podcast: Beyond Theory and Belief to Actual Experience

The post Podcast: What is Mahashakti? appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

In this podcast Abbot George continues his discussion concerning how Lucifer could stand to be in the presence of Jesus, and how the status of master yogis is often hidden. He begins by giving his own experiences with spiritual figures in India, and continues with what he had heard of others.

In one of his many trips to India, Abbot George saw the great vedantic teacher and head of the famous Kailash Ashram in Rishikesh, Chaitanya Giri, and was stunned at his spiritual presence. Then Abbot George shares the story of his meeting, some years later with Chaitanya Giri’s successor, Swami Vishnudevananda, and the surprising experience which cause Abbot George to revise his opinion of him

He tell a humorous story of Paramhansa Yogananda told him by Peggy Dietz, who had been Yogananda’s secretary, when a friend of hers first saw Yogananda at the Hollywood SRF Church.

He discusses how spiritual masters deal with their karma in relation to using it for helping the world. He shares Swami Kriyananda’s story of what Yogananda said when he asked him what it was like for Yogananda when Yogananda had to take rebirth for helping the world.

And he shares how Yogananda made “preparations” for his next birth at the end of his life. He also shares what Yogananda said his next life would be like.

This podcast is just over 20 minutes long. If you do not see the podcast player above (it won’t show in emails), you can listen here: The Hidden Status of Master Yogis, Part 2

• The Real Yogananda: 8 Stories of Mischief and Mercy
• Raihana Tyabji, the Moslem Saint Who Worshiped Krishna
• How to Gain the Vision of God

The post Podcast: The Hidden Status of Master Yogis, Part 2 appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

Recently our friend Jonathan Mahoney asked Abbot George Burke how Lucifer could tempt Jesus if evil spirits cannot stand high spiritual vibrations. In this first of two podcasts Abbot George answers this question, showing how the status of master yogis is often hidden, giving examples from the lives of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, Ananadamayi Ma and others.

This podcast is just over 22 minutes long. If you do not see the podcast player above, you can listen here: The Hidden Status of Master Yogis, Part 1

The post Podcast: The Hidden Status of Master Yogis, Part 1 appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

In today’s podcast, Abbot George Burke talks about how diet affects consciousness, and the importance of a pure diet for the yogi.

Abbot George shares these stories:

• The unusual experiment in diet that Abbot George conducted before teaching a yoga seminar.
• The positive effect that taking up a vegetarian diet had for exam students.
• The negative effect that occurred from using just a small amount of liqueur for stomach troubles.
• How a vegetarian diet is not primarily Ahimsa (harmlessness) for the yogi, but Shaucha (purification).
• Why Abbot George became an avid food label reader.
• What happened to Abbot George’s yogi friends who refused to be strict with their diets.

If you do not see the podcast player above, click here to listen to Diet and Consciousness: The Importance of a Pure Diet for the Yogi. The podcast is 10 minutes long.

Vegetarianism: an Interview of Abbot George on Australian Radio

Humans: Are We Carnivores or Vegetarians by Nature?

“Vegetarianism and Occultism” by C. W. Leadbeater

The post Podcast: Diet and Consciousness: The Importance of a Pure Diet for the Yogi appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

Click here to listen to Swami Sivananda’s Humor if you do not see the player above. The podcast length is 16:06 minutes.
Swami Sivananda’s joyful sense of humor are evident in this podcast. This includes the following incidents:

• Sivananda’s riddle and the over-serious student.
• The story of the rare color film photos of Swamiji.
• Sivananda’s omniscience regarding what was going on in Sivanandashram.
• What it was like at satsangs with Sivanandaji.
• Two interviews with Sivananda, and Sivananda’s important advice for success in spiritual life.

Listen to Swami Sivananda’s Humor.

Listen to more podcasts on meditation and living the Yoga Life.

The post Podcast: Swami Sivananda’s Humor (Updated 5-2022 with a Video Podcast) appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

So there are a lot of stories that people have never heard, because of the intention that Yogananda be sort of a cross between St. Francis and St. Teresa of Avila, rather than the very unique personality that Yogananda had.  So here are some things that were told to me by direct disciples of Yogananda who were there when these incidents took place that you might find interesting. Some devotees were visiting here at our monastery, and one evening I just started telling these stories. And here they are.

• Brother Bimalananda’s story of how Yogananda surprised the young monks calling out to him at his window.
• The special gift Yogananda gave to an overly-fervent “devotee.”
• How Yogananda would have fun with the disciples at Mt. Washington and how things took a surprising turn.
• How Yogananda would entertain visitors with a drunk act.
• The story of Yogananda and the oversized tricycle in a department store in Los Angeles.
• Yogananda’s mercy to a shop owner down on his luck.
• The SRF nuns with Yogananda at a roadside watermelon stand.
• Why Yogananda stopped driving a car.
• How Yogananda worked a miracle when late for an event.

If you do not see the podcast player above, you can listen to The Real Yogananda–8 Stories of Mischief and Mercy here. The podcast is just under 15 minutes.

NOTE: This is the first of several podcasts from conversations with Abbot George about Yogananda, Gyana Mata, Sri Yukteswar, Babaji, Yogananda devotees, Anandamayi Ma, and other spiritual figures Abbot George has met or has stories about.

Listen to more instructive podcasts on our Podcast Page.

The post Podcast: The Real Yogananda – 8 Stories of Mischief and Mercy appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

“Am I more sensible, or less sensible, as a result of this practice and this experience?”

In this 4th podcast on Spiritual Experiences and Abilities, Abbot George delineates the very real and very extreme dangers of imbalancing experiences that fake yoga can produce, contrasting this with his observation of the cardinal qualities of real yogis he met.

If you do not see the player above, listen to Part 4 of What the Beginner Yogi Know About Spiritual Experiences and Abilities. This podcast is about 16 minutes long.

Listen to the earlier parts of this podcast: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

The post Podcast: About Spiritual Experience and Abilities–What Should the Beginner Yogi Know?–Part 4 appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

“Have I learned anything? Has this spiritual experience changed my awareness, my meditation?” In the third part of the podcast series on Spiritual Experience and Abilities, Abbot George contrasts the effect of real spiritual experience with examples of people who were deluded by visions and dreams – like the American he met in India who “realized” that he was the king of India, and that his child bride would give birth to the next avatar (!).

If you do not see the player above, visit What Should the Beginner Yogi Know About Spiritual Experience and Abilities?–Part 3 to listen. This podcast is about 14 minutes long.

Listen to the earlier parts of this podcast: Part 1 and Part 2.

For our listeners’ convenience, we have added the Light of the Spirit Podcast to a number of popular podcast and music apps. Click on these links to subscribe on your favorite online apps.

Spotify – Gaana – Jiosaavn – iHeartRadio – Podchaser – Stitcher – Blubrry Podcast – Podcast Index – Android
as well as Apple Podcasts – Google Podcasts and Amazon Music.
And the podcast is FREE!

The post Podcast: What Should the Beginner Yogi Know About Spiritual Experience and Abilities?–Part 3 appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

The state of perfected beings like Buddha, Krishna, and Jesus is far greater than most people’s concept of God. Abbot George tells the story of Catholic stigmatist and visionary Therese Neumann’s response to Christian who were overwhelmed with Christ’s miracles, as an example of how we are satisfied with so little in our aspirations. And how much is required to really trod the path to God, as shown in the story of encounter between Anandamayi Ma and the devotee who “wanted to know God.”

If you do not see the player above, click here to listen to Spiritual Experience and Abilities–What Should the Beginning Yogi Know?–Part 2

Also, listen to What Should the Beginner Yogi Know About Spiritual Experience and Abilities?–Part 1

The Light of the Spirit Podcast is now available on Apple Podcasts! Click here to listen and subscribe.

The post Podcast: Spiritual Experience and Abilities–What Should the Beginning Yogi Know?–Part 2 appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

“What should the beginner yogi know about spiritual experience and abilities?” Abbot George draws on a lifetime of study and personal experience and observation to present a many-facted answer to this important question.

Since the “yoga boom” of the 1960’s and even earlier, Western seekers have been regaled with and fascinated by all that glitters in fake yoga — a circus of thrills, chills, and supposedly higher states of consciousness.

In this four-part podcast Abbot George expounds on the attraction and many dangers of these kind of practices and the experiences they produce, and most importantly, presents the important questions the meditator needs to ask himself in assessing his spiritual practice and its effects.

Abbot George speaks about the nature of the higher worlds — how vaster they are than the states of conscious that so many yogis aspire to and are satisfied with, and how the soul can get bogged down in these worlds during its long, long journey to the Absolute.

If you don’t see the media player above, visit What Should the Beginner Yogi Know About Spiritual Experience and Abilities? to listen. The podcast is just over 16 minutes long. (Parts 2 through 4 of this topic will follow shortly.)

• Introducing the Yoga Life: Laying the Foundations
• The Symbolism of Christmas and Its Universal Message
• Days with Sivananda

The post Podcast: What Should the Beginner Yogi Know About Spiritual Experience and Abilities? appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

Among the questions Bianca asks is “What is the main value in understanding our past lives?”

Here are some of Abbot George’s comments from the interview:

“When you understand what has caused the present situation, you can often understand that situation. Often also it will tell you, or you understand then, the way you should respond to the present situation and the way to go from this point on onward.”

Regarding difficulties in this life caused by past lives:

“That’s why this stuff happens to us, for us to learn how to make a positive response to a negative situation.”

Abbot George stressed the positive aspect of our growth from life to life:

“We are an unfolding story and every life is a chapter in that story. The next chapter can be maybe much more interesting and a much more happy chapter. If we do our best to be positive in this life then we can have a positive future. We created this present life and we are right now creating our future life.”

“None of us is helpless. We are creating our own life.”

Listen to the entire podcast interview to hear interesting stories of past life recall, and the effect it can have in our lives.

If you do not see the player above (it won’t show in emails), click here to listen to The Benefits of Past Life Recall. Podcast length: 53:09 minutes.

The post The Benefits of Past Life Recall | Podcast appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.

For our Christmas offering we share again a podcast from three years ago about Christmas, and about Christ being born in us. This podcast is from an interview of Abbot George Burke by our friend Bianca Vlahos of radio station FIVEaa in Adelaide, Australia.

Listen to The Symbolism of Christmas and Its Universal Message if you do not see the player above. The podcast is 23:07 minutes long.

For more Christmas inspiration, read the following Christmas articles:

• The True Significance of Christmas – from Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh
• How to Spend Christmas: A Christmas Message from Paramhansa Yogananda
• The Divine Gift – What God Gives Us

The post The Symbolism of Christmas and Its Universal Message | Podcast appeared first on Original Christianity and Original Yoga.