“Both Hierodeacon Simeon's lovely translation and Abbot George's deeply insightful commentary do great justice to this most ancient and exquisite work. It will rightfully hold an honored place in any seriously spiritual library.” –Brother Julian-Ozana

With penetrating insight, Abbot George Burke illumines the practical value of the Odes of Solomon for spiritual seekers, and the timelessness of these ancient writings. With a unique perspective of a lifetime of study and practice of both Eastern and Western spirituality, Abbot George mines the treasures of the Odes and presents them in an easily intelligible fashion for those wishing to put these priceless teachings into practice.

The Odes of Solomon is a great work of mystical depth, divine insight, and spiritual illumination and is, like the Dead Sea Scrolls, one of the truly great spiritual and literary discoveries of the Twentieth Century. But unlike the Dead Sea Scrolls which were dramatically discovered by shepherds in a desert cave, the Odes were prosaically found in neglected manuscripts gathering dust on the shelves of London libraries.

Who wrote the Odes, and when?

Although the identity of the author of the Odes remains a mystery, the closeness of the tone and content of the Odes to the tone and content of the writings of St. John the Evangelist, together with St. Ignatius’ familiarity with and use of the Odes (St. Ignatius was a disciple of St. John) suggest that the Odes could have grown up in the spiritual soil prepared by St. John and his disciples, in or around Antioch.

Spiritual translation and commentary

More than a mere scholarly, cultural or historical interpretation of the Odes, both the translator and the author delve into their deep and practical spiritual content. The translator says of the Odes, “many of the scholars’ difficulties arise from the fact that they do not grasp the levels of mystical experience the Odist is expressing. Their erudition belongs to the external and exoteric spheres, and the author of the Odes is writing out of the depth of a mystical experience which belongs to an entirely different realm.”

In 1908 a book appeared on the shelves of American bookstores that was destined to garner interest throughout the world, so much so that today it has gone through more than seventy editions in America alone. This book was The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ by Levi H. Dowling.

Immediately it evoked a response in those who intuited and sought for a deeper meaning of the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Many at that time, as well as today, could not honestly accept the limited interpretation of Jesus and his words that was offered by Churchianity, an acceptance that would have obligated them to reject him as but one of many misperceiving religionists of the past. For them the Aquarian Gospel was truly Light in Darkness, a fount of life-giving knowledge.

With penetrating insight, Abbot George Burke illumines the practical value of the Aquarian Gospel for spiritual seekers, and the timelessness of this classic writing.. With a unique perspective of a lifetime of study and practice of both Eastern and Western spirituality, Abbot George mines the treasures of the Aquarian Gospel and presents them in an easily intelligible fashion for those wishing to put these priceless teachings into practice.

A complete guide in the theory and practice of meditation on the mantra "Soham."

Why Soham Yoga Meditation?

Meditation is the process of centering our awareness in the principle of pure consciousness which is our essential being. In this way we will never lose sight of our real identity.

Normally we lose awareness of our true Self through consciousness of external objects. Since we are habituated–if not actually addicted–to objective consciousness, we can use that very condition to our advantage. Rather than disperse our consciousness through objects that draw us outward, away from the source of our being, we can take an object that will have the opposite effect, present it to the mind, and reverse our consciousness.

Such an object must have three qualities:

1. it must be something whose nature it is to turn our awareness inward and draw it into the most subtle depths of our being,


2. it must be something that can continue to be perceived even in those most subtle areas of our awareness,


3. it must already be present in our inmost being awaiting our discovery of it. Therefore it must be an object that can both impel and draw us, accompanying our questing consciousness inward, not being transcended when the mind and senses are gone beyond, but revealing itself as the Self.

That object is the mantra Soham. By sitting with closed eyes and letting the mind become easefully absorbed in experiencing the inner mental repetitions of Soham we thereby directly enter into the state of consciousness that is Soham, the state of consciousness that is both Brahman the Absolute and our Self.

"Meditation is the shortest, simplest and most efficient method of Self-realization. Experiencing the oneness between the seeker (the individual sadhaka) and the sought (Satchidananda Brahman) is the essential feature of meditation. Soham sadhana is its most potent method (practice)". —Swami Swarupananda of Pavas

In Soham Yoga: The Yoga of the Self you will find a full explanation of:

• What is Yoga?


• Why Soham Yoga?


• How to practice Soham Yoga meditation.


• What great teachers say about this practice, such as Ramana Maharshi, Swami Sivananda, Gajanana Maharaj, Swami Muktananda, Kabir, Sankara, and many others.


• Pointers for success in meditation


• The foundations of yoga.


• Breath and Sound in Meditation

Those who seek to practice meditation will need nothing further than this in-depth guide.

With penetrating insight, Abbot George Burke illumines the Upanishads’ practical value for spiritual seekers. With a unique perspective from a lifetime of study and practice of both Eastern and Western spirituality, he presents the treasures of the Upanishads in an easily intelligible fashion.

The sacred scriptures of India are vast. Yet they are only different ways of seeing the same thing, the One Thing which makes them both valid and ultimately harmonious. That unifying subject is Brahman: God the Absolute, beyond and besides whom there is no “other” whatsoever. The thirteen major Upanishads are the fountainhead of all expositions of Brahman. The word “upanishad” itself comes from the root word upasana, which means to draw or sit near, and is usually considered to mean that which was heard when the student sat near the teacher to learn the eternal truths.

We do not know who wrote the Upanishads. This has a distinct advantage in that the image of a historical, finite personality does not intervene to obscure the revelation handed on to spiritual aspirants. The authority of the Upanishads rests not upon those who wrote them, but upon the demonstrable truths they express. They are as self-sufficient and self-evident as the multiplication tables or the Table of Elements. They are simply the complete and unobscured truth. And realization of that Truth alone matters.

Several thousand years ago in north-central India, two people sat in a chariot in the midpoint of a great battlefield. One of them, the yogi Arjuna, knew that it would be not be long before the conflict would begin. So he asked Krishna, the Master of Yoga (Yogeshwara), what should be his attitude and perspective in this moment. And above all: What should he do?There was no time to spare in empty words.

In a brief discourse, later turned into seven hundred Sanskrit verses by the sage Vyasa, Krishna outlined to Arjuna the way to live one’s entire life so as to gain perfect self-knowledge and self-mastery.

The Bhagavad Gita tells us that we can attain a Knowing beyond even what it tells us. And it shows us the way.

With penetrating insight, Abbot George Burke illumines the Bhagavad Gita's practical value for spiritual seekers, and the timelessness of India's most beloved scripture. With a unique perspective of a lifetime of study and practice of both Eastern and Western spirituality, Abbot George mines the treasures of the Gita and presents them in an easily intelligible fashion for those wishing to put these priceless teachings into practice.

Drawing from the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Jesus, Paramhansa Yogananda, Ramana Maharshi, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, Papa Ramdas, and other spiritual masters and teachers, as well as his own experiences, Abbot Burke illustrates the teachings of the Gita with stories which make the teachings of Krishna in the Gita vibrant and living.

While Yogananda in his commentary on the Gita, “God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita,” focuses on the valuable symbolism contained in the Gita, Abbot Burke dwells primarily on the practical aspects, and what aspirants can put into practice here and now on a daily basis.

Any student of the Bhagavad Gita will find “The Bhagavad Gita for Awakening” an essential companion in their studies. At times general principles found in the Gita are illumined, and in other places the deeper meanings found in the Sanskrit text are explained word by word so that seekers will have and in-depth understanding of the religion, practices, and culture that those familiar with Indian religion and philosophy take for granted.

"A must read for anyone on a spiritual quest for the truth!” —Sailaja Kuruvadi

In 1908 a book appeared on the shelves of American bookstores that was destined to garner interest throughout the world, so much so that today it has gone through more than seventy editions in America alone. This book was The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ by Levi H. Dowling.

Immediately it evoked a response in those who intuited and sought for a deeper meaning of the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Many at that time, as well as today, could not honestly accept the limited interpretation of Jesus and his words that was offered by Churchianity, an acceptance that would have obligated them to reject him as but one of many misperceiving religionists of the past. For them the Aquarian Gospel was truly Light in Darkness, a fount of life-giving knowledge.

With penetrating insight, Abbot George Burke illumines the practical value of the Aquarian Gospel for spiritual seekers, and the timelessness of this classic writing.. With a unique perspective of a lifetime of study and practice of both Eastern and Western spirituality, Abbot George mines the treasures of the Aquarian Gospel and presents them in an easily intelligible fashion for those wishing to put these priceless teachings into practice.

This is volume 2 of 2

With a refreshing and timely perspective to ancient wisdom, Abbot George’s unique background shows seekers of inner peace how they can effectively lead a spiritual life in the modern world.

The Dhammapada for Awakening explores the Buddha's answers to the urgent questions, such as “How can I find find lasting peace, happiness and fulfillment that seems so elusive?” and “What can I do to avoid many of the miseries big and small that afflict all of us?”.

Drawing on the proven wisdom of different ancient traditions, and the contemporary masters of spiritual life, as well as his own studies and first-hand knowledge of the mystical traditions of East and West, to Abbot George illumines the practical wisdom of Buddha in the Dhammapada – and more importantly, and make that makes that teaching relevant to present day spiritual seekers.

The Dhammapada is the first collection of Gautama Buddha’s practical teachings for those seeking Nirvana, compiled only three months after his passing away by his enlightened disciples, who named it Dhammapada: The Way of Dharma. It is a distillation of forty-five years of the Buddha’s teaching.

Abbot George says of the Dhammapada, “Over and over in the teachings of Buddha we find that he is giving us only that which can be applied in our daily lives in order to fit ourselves for freedom from all that binds us.”

In The Dhammapada for Awakening you will learn:

• An esoteric understanding of the mind and how to deal with it.


• How we create our destinies by our thoughts and actions, and how we can use that knowledge to shape a better present and future for ourselves.
• What are the obstacles to reaching our full potential, and how we can avoid those obstacles.

Whether a person is Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, simply spiritual, or merely discontent with the status quo of their lives, the universal spiritual principles in The Dhammapada for Awakening will prove helpful in empowering seekers to tread the path to Freedom, that they may become finders.

With penetrating insight, Abbot George Burke illumines the the wisdom of Lao Tzu’s classic writing, the Tao Teh King (Tao Te Ching), and the timeless practical value of China's most beloved Taoist scripture for spiritual seekers. With a unique perspective of a lifetime of study and practice of both Eastern and Western spirituality, Abbot George mines the treasures of the Tao Teh King and presents them in an easily intelligible fashion for those wishing to put these priceless teachings into practice.

It is said that the Tao Teh King is the work of the great Chinese sage Lao Tzu. Disgusted with the degeneration of Chinese society, he decided to leave and vanish forever, which he did. But as he was leaving the capital, the warden of the gate asked him to set down his realizations since he would no longer be accessible to truth seekers. He did so, and then went out the gate into the lost pages of human history.

If a person wishes he can immerse himself in the stewpot of scholarly speculation as to who Lao Tze really was, whether he ever existed, and whether he wrote the Tao Teh King, or who did. None of this means anything. Taoist masters through the centuries have proved the truth of the Tao Teh King, and that is all that matters. For truth seekers it stands as a monument to Truth. Even those who understand it imperfectly will reap great gain from its study.

• The Protoevangelium Of Saint James >
• The Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus and Mary
• The Gospel of the Nativity of Mary
• The History of Anna, The Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• The Gospel of Thomas
• The Infancy of the Savior
• The Ladakh Manuscript, a manuscript found in a Buddhist monastery in Tibet telling of Jesus’ “Lost Years” and travels in India and Tibet
• The Gospel Of Nicodemus
• The Death of Pilate, Who Condemned Jesus
• The Narrative of Joseph
• The Book of John Concerning the Falling Asleep of Mary
Miscellaneous Sources