Light of the Spirit Podcast Light of the Spirit

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.

YouTube Video:



Further Listening and Watching:



* Visit our Podcasts page, with dozens of spiritual podcasts.

* Explore our Youtube Channel.

* Discover our Video Satangs page.

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 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.



Videos

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:





Books



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



Satsangs

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.]

 

 

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 the audio podcast here 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 Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh

(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.

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.



This podcast is 24:38 minutes long. If you do not see the podcast player above (it won’t show in emails), you can listen here: How Should We Respond to Outer and Inner Negativity and Evil?

 

Further Reading:





* 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



Grow Your Spiritual Library–This Week’s Recommendation:



* The Dhammapada for Awakening

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.

This podcast is 18:28 minutes long. If you do not see the podcast player above (it won’t show in emails), you can listen here: What Is Satan?

 

Further reading about dealing with evil:



* 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

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.

This podcast is 11:15 minutes long. If you do not see the podcast player above (it won’t show in emails), you can listen here: What Is Maya?

 

Further Reading and Listening about What is Maya?:



* 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