At the beginning of the twentieth century, a young crippled boy in North India met a spiritual teacher in the Nath tradition of the great teachers Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath, who imparted to him the precious knowledge of yoga meditation. The boy began to apply himself to this meditation practice and…

Several New Studies Show Another Benefit of a Plant-Based Diet A plant-based diet “represents the most cost-effective approach and should be largely promoted and incorporated in everyday practice…This is a booster that is needed at this unprecedented time and that may actually work to mitigate COVID-19.” –European Journal of Clinical Nutrition A team from the Johns Hopkins School of Public…

by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) — Q: Could you explain “the dark night of the soul” to me? First I should tell you that it is a very simple thing. It is a stage in the evolution of a highly evolved human being when he is at a pivotal point in his development. All that has gone before, although it was of value in earlier times, is to…

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, costly gifts. Many children look upon Christmas as the time for Santa Claus to give them new toys. They hang…

Three Historical Examples by Abbot George Burke Smiling, Lord Krishna says an unexpected thing to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita in response to his fervent disquisition on how he both should not and could not engage in battle on the field of Kurukshetra: “You have mourned those that should not be mourned, and…

Real Yoga as Opposed to Pop yoga by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) “Yoga” is a Sanskrit word that means “to join.” Yoga is both union and the way to that union. What do we join through yoga? First, we join our awareness to our own essential being: the spirit whose nature is pure consciousness. In…

What did Jesus teach when he was in India? — The following is a selection from Abbot George’s commentary on the Aquarian Gospel, The Aquarian Gospel for Awakening. Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.–Luke 17:21 All in the mind “In silent meditation Jesus sat beside a flowing spring. It was a holy day, and many people of the servant caste were near…

Journey beyond the forest of cliches, contradictions, and confusion about Gurudom. — by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) Some time ago I came across this article written eighty years ago by an anonymous yogi of the Nath Pantha tradition setting forth the Nath Yogi view of the nature and function of a true (sat/sad) guru. Its explanation of what is a…

What was the first thing Buddha taught in the Dhammapada? — by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) “Mind precedes its objects. They are mind-governed and mind-made.” –Dhammapada 1 What is the mind? The language of Buddha, as well as Pali in which his complete teachings are set down, was based on Sanskrit, so we can get some understanding by looking…