Satsang with the Abbot Satsang with the Abbot Quest ions and Answers About Life, Spiritual Liberty, and the Pursuit of Ultimate Happiness Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) Published by Light of the Spirit Press lightofthespiritpress.com Light of the Spirit Monastery P. O. Box 1370 Cedar Crest, New Mexico 87008 www.ocoy.org Copyright © 2018 Light of the Spirit Monastery. All rights reserved. ISBN-13: 978-0-9985998-5-4 ISBN-10: 0-9985998-5-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018936959 Light of the Spirit Press, Cedar Crest, New Mexico 1. OCC010000 BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Mindfulness & Meditation 2. OCC021000 BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Reference 3. REL062000 RELIGION / Spirituality First edition, April 2018 iv Contents About the Author ........................................................................... vii Satsang with the Abbot .....................................................................1 Did You Enjoy This Book? ...........................................................346 Get Your Free Meditation Guide ..................................................347 Glossary .......................................................................................348 Index ............................................................................................370 Light of the Spirit Monastery .......................................................377 Reading for Awakening ................................................................378 v About the Author bbot George Burke (Swami ANirmalananda Giri) is the founder and director of the Light of the Spirit Monastery (Atma Jyoti Ashram) in Cedar Crest, New Mexico, USA. In his many pilgrimages to India, he had the opportunity of meeting some of India’s greatest spiritual figures, including Swami Sivananda of Rishi- kesh and Anandamayi Ma. During his first trip to India he was made a member of the ancient Swami Order by Swami Vidyananda Giri, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, who had himself been given sannyas by the Shankaracharya of Puri, Jagadguru Bharati 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. He was ordained in the Liberal Catholic Church (International) to the priesthood on January 25, 1974, and consecrated a bishop on August 23, 1975. For many years Abbot George has researched the identity of Jesus Christ and his teachings with India and Sanatana Dharma, including Yoga. It is his conclusion that Jesus lived in India for most of his life, vii and was a yogi and Sanatana Dharma missionary to the West. After his resurrection he returned to India and lived the rest of his life in the Himalayas. He has written about this in The Christ of India. He is the author of numerous books on practical spiritual life, includ- ing Om Yoga Meditation: Its Theory and Practice, Dwelling In The Mirror: A Study of Illusions Produced By Delusive Meditation And How to Be Free from Them, and the Dharma for Awakening series, commentaries on important spiritual writings such as the Dhammapada, the Gospel of Thomas, the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures. All of his books, in addition to being available in print and as ebooks, are also available for reading for free on our website, OCOY.org, as well as are his other writings. NOTE: You can find out more about many of the books mentioned in these questions and answers in the Reading for Awakening section at the end of this book. viii Satsang with the Abbot ne of the most valuable spiritual activities in East or West is satsang: Oa gathering of spiritual aspirants for spiritual study, discussion and inspiration. A satsang is especially beneficial when there is someone with many years of practice and experience who answers the questions asked by the aspirants. Over the years, and especially after the advent of the internet, people have written to me with questions that I have answered according to my understanding. This book is a collection of those questions and my answers. I hope they will be interesting and helpful to others. 3 I am interested in climbing the stairs that may lead to samadhi. Please guide. Samadhi is a natural consequence of meditation–in Buddhism pro- found meditation is considered samadhi–and there need be no special attention placed on it. Rather, your attention should be on making sure your practice is correct, of sufficient time, and that nothing in your life is working against it. 1 2 Satsang with the Abbot Swami Vivekananda told M (Mahendranath Gupta) that Sri Ramakrishna once asked him: “What do you want?” He answered, “I want to remain absorbed in samadhi.” Whereupon Sri Ramakrishna responded: “What a poor understanding you have! Get beyond samadhi. Samadhi is a petty thing.” Sri Ramakrishna also said: “The seed of his Name has great Power. It destroys ignorance. A seed is so soft, a sprout is so soft. Yet they pierce the hard earth. The earth cracks.” Success is assured. 3 Four years back one of my friends made the following statement: “Nothing is Everything. Everything is Nothing and there is Noth- ing called Nothing.” Is this is a statement to explain Brahman? Your friend’s statement is just nonsensical gibberish by someone who thinks he can express Advaitic ideas by spouting contradictory jargon. The truth is expressed fully in the Bhagavad Gita. That should be your major focus of study. The mantra beginning “Purnamidah” is the nearest to a perfect Advaitic statement there is: Purnamidah, purnamidam, purnat purnamudachyate; Purnasya purnamadaya, purnam ewawashishyate. Purna means “total, full, complete,” which is what our English term “perfect” used to mean, rather than just “without fault.” In this verse, the word “complete” (purna) refers to God. Here, as best I can, is a translation into English: Abbot George Burke 3 This is the Complete; That is the Complete. The Complete has come out of the Complete. If we take the Complete away from the Complete, Only the Complete remains. We could also say: This is the Totality; That is the Totality. The Totality has come out of the Totality. If we take the Totality away from the Totality, Only the Totality remains. Fools discuss philosophy and excuse themselves from practical appli- cation. The wise engage in sadhana and come to know the Truth. 3 I am extremely interested in pursuing a path wherein I can realize God, yet as any other ordinary mortal I am being pulled down by negative forces. But I truly want to be away from this because once I feed my hunger for these forces I see pain and sorrow immediately following me. I have experienced this many times. Moreover the more I want to go away from these bad elements the more I am going towards them in reality. Is there a way for me to come out of these negative forces and become good? Goodness is your nature. You are realizing this through your spir- itual intuition, and that is why the elements of ignorance in your life are unsettling to you. This is a sign of being well along the path; be assured of this. Meditation is the only remedy for the ills of life. It may take time, but those who persevere will emerge fully into the Light. You will find 4 Satsang with the Abbot meditation instruction on our website that we hope will prove helpful to you. The book Soham Yoga is available in both PDF, Kindle and print editions. Also please see the article: The Foundations of Yoga. It will be most beneficial for you to daily read from the Bhagavad Gita, as it is completely practical, and not just abstract philosophy. The best translation is The Song of God by Swami Prabhavananda. Please remember this: a diamond is a piece of coal that never gave up. 3 The following is a reply to an inquirer who described an expe- rience in consciousness and asked what was its nature and if it was enlightenment: Along the way many doors swing open, giving us unexpected insights. But we must just keep moving on. On occasion we enter into profound states of consciousness, some of which begin to fade away since they are messages from our Self (Atman) to seek and become established in them, and others are plateaus from which we do not regress. Whichever they are, in the words of Sri Ramakrishna: “Go forward.” Infinity lies ahead. 3 How does one know if one is meant to live a monastic life versus a householder’s life? I have been going over this in my mind for some years now and I am still uncertain of my calling to one or the other. Anything you might be able to say in regards to dis- cerning if one has a monastic calling would be most appreciated and very helpful. Since we are not external beings, the external mode of life is not “the thing.” Rather, it is the interior development–sadhana–that matters. Abbot George Burke 5 Two people once asked Sri Ma Anandamayi if they should some day become monastics (they were married, but living a celibate life). Her reply was: “Those who do sadhana automatically become sadhus.” Once a young man came to Sri Ramana Maharshi and asked if he should become a monk. Immediately Sri Ramana responded: “No.” Taken aback the young man protested: “But you did!” “Yes, but I did not need to ask anyone if I should,” replied Ramana. Please focus on your sadhana, making sure that it is going right. Then everything will unfold as it should. As Jesus assures us: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Nothing is more miserable than a monk without a genuine interior life–India is filled with them. 3 I have a question about gurus and their supposed infallibility. I do not mean to be disrespectful, but guru infallibility is just a mite suspect. Any thoughts that can help me out here? If we look at the scriptures which form the basis of Sanatana Dharma– the eleven major upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Yoga Sutras–we do not find the exaggerated view of the guru that has arisen and gripped Hinduism in its degeneracy, and is a major source of its continuing degeneracy.