Episodes

Every month Swami Nirmalananda has an online satsang in which he answers questions that have been suggested by attendees. To get word of future online satsangs, visit https://ocoy.org/signup/ OCOY.org RESOURCES Get FREE pdf spiritual ebooks at our E-Library: https://ocoy.org/site/e-library/ Listen to Podcast on practical spiritual topics: https://ocoy.org/podcasts/ Website: https://ocoy.org A Practical Resource for the Spiritual Student–Discover the timeless wisdom of India and the yoga path to ...

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...

At our monthly online Satsangs (the first Saturday of each month–sign up here: https://ocoy.org/signup/) 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. #satsang #dharma #spiritualawakening OCOY.org RESOURCES Get FREE pdf spiritual ebooks at our E-Library: https://ocoy.org/site/e-library/ Listen to Podcast on practical spiritual topics: https://ocoy.org/podcasts/ Website: https://ocoy.org A Practical Resource ...

At our monthly online Satsangs (the first Saturday of each month–sign up here: https://ocoy.org/signup/) 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. #satsang #dharma #spiritualawakening OCOY.org RESOURCES Get FREE pdf spiritual ebooks at our E-Library: https://ocoy.org/site/e-library/ Listen to Podcast on practical spiritual topics: https://ocoy.org/podcasts/ Website: https://ocoy.org A Practical Resource ...

Swami Nirmalananda was under Anandamayi Ma’s guidance from 1963 until her leaving this world in 1982. He made many trips to India during this time and knew many of the people in her orbit. In this video and podcast he shares some stories about her unique nature. Watch the podcast here: Or listen to the podcast here: The “Mind” of Anandamayi Ma – Satsang With Swami Nirmalananda Giri If you do not see the player above, click here to listen to The “Mind” of Anandamayi Ma – Satsang With Swami Nir...

Podcast: What is Aparigraha? (The Yoga Term for Non-Possessiveness) – Satsang With Swami Nirmalananda Giri Watch the podcast here: Or listen to the podcast here: 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 Gre...

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. Satsang Podcast Podcast of Satsang Excerpt: Great Yogis I have Known Here is a direct link to the Podcast: Great Yogis I Have Known. Articles First, we have added two useful arti...

Swami Sivananda composed many songs in English to convey his teachings, the most famous being the Song of Ities listing such virtues as Simplicity, Purity and Charity. Others were advice and inspiration for spiritual endeavor. This Song of Admonition is the best known. Below is a transcript of the song. This podcast is 10:25 minutes long. If you do not see the podcast player above (it won’t show in emails), you can listen here: Swami Sivananda and the Song of Admonition. Song Of Admonition By ...

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 tow...

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...

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 sha...

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 m...

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 Geor...

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 Yo...

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...

We have updated this podcast to include a YouTube video version of the podcast at the bottom of this page. We hope you enjoy it. 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 wha...

One of Yogananda’s early disciples was named Brahmacharini Radhalila. She was a person with a very strong personality. And she frequently would say, during the last years of her life, “One day I am going to write a book called The Real Yogananda.” She was living at the SRF headquarters, and everyone would panic at the thought of what she might write, because she was the type of person she was, and also because they wished that a public image of Yogananda be created that would supposedly fit in w...

“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 a...

“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 Shoul...

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 ...

“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 at...

Below is an edited transcript of the podcast. We strongly recommend you listen to the podcast to understand the correct pronunciation of the Soham mantra. The podcast is just under 7 minutes long. If you do not see the player above, listen to How to Meditate Using the Soham Mantra here. The practice of Soham Yoga is very simple. Making ourselves aware of our breathing, when we inhale we mentally intone So throughout the inhalation, and when we exhale we mentally intone Ham throughout the exhalat...

Darshan: Literally “sight” or “seeing;” vision, literal and metaphysical. Darshan is the seeing of a holy being as well as the blessing received by seeing such a one. Satsanga: Literally: “company with Truth.” Association with godly-minded persons. The company of saints and devotees. Asatsanga: the company of the unholy and the worldly–in the form of people who have no interest in spiritual life, as well as books, magazines, television, radio, and motion pictures that are centered on material co...