Om Yoga: Its Theory and Practice — Discover the world of meditation: a complete, in-depth book on the practice of Om Yoga Meditation, the most ancient and authentic method of meditation in Hinduism. – by Swami Nirmalananda Giri. Including added information about the use of sound and breath in meditation. Read the book online or download it as a PDF file.

The Commentary on the Dhammapada — The Dhammapada is a collection of the words of Gautama Buddha on the most important subjects for those seeking Nirvana. It was compiled only three months after his passing away by his enlightened disciples (arhats), who gave it the name Dhammapada, which means “Portions of the Dharma” or “The Way of Dharma.” This commentary by Swami Nirmalananda Giri has recently been completed, and has been posted in full at the Atma Jyoti website, and is also available as a free PDF download. This is the completion of a years-long project, and students of practical spiritual life will find it an invaluable aid to their practice.

Bhagavad Gita–The Book of Life — In the Gita, Krishna outlines to Arjuna the way to live an entire life so as to gain perfect self-knowledge and self-mastery. This text of the Gita is arranged according to the meter of the original Sanskrit text so it can be sung–as it is done every morning in our ashram and in most of the ashrams of India. — English Translation by Swami Nirmalananda Giri. Read the book online or download it as a PDF file. Also, you can read a practical Commentary on the Gita.

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Light on the Path Commentary—In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, an Englishwoman named Mabel Collins was inspired to record teachings on the beginnings of the spiritual quest in a small book called Light On The Path. She did not consider herself the author but only the transmitter. Therefore she insisted that the title page say: “Written down by M. C.”

In Swami Nirmalananda's commentary on Light On The Path we will be carefully analyzing her inspired transcription, for those who would make the Great journey must know both the path and how to travel upon it. Read the Commentary on Light On The Path.

The Sermons of Dr. M. W. Lewis — Dr. Minott W. Lewis, a Boston dentist, met Paramhansa Yogananda short time after Yogananda’s arrival in America in 1920, and became a lifelong disciple. In 1945 Dr. Lewis began to lecture at the Encinitas and San Diego Self Realization Fellowship temples and was put in charge of the Encinitas Colony. After Master’s passing in 1952, Doctor became Self Realization Fellowship’s first Vice-President. He continued to lecture in Hollywood, Encinitas and San Diego, in addition to being in charge of the monks’ training in Encinitas. He often shared with his audiences uplifting stories about Yoganandaji. We now include on our site his lectures in text form, and also the audio audio recordings, which are found at the end of each text talk.

The most famous Yogi of India was not Patanjali. Students of Indian philosophy naturally think of Patanjali whenever the subject of Yoga arises, but in actuality the most famous and influential yogi of India was/is the sage Goraknath (or Gorakshanath), although little was known of him in the West until the middle of the twentieth century.

We now have important documents on our site regarding the philosophy of this Master of Yoga: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Goraknath, and the PDF text of Akshaya Kumar Banerjea's important work, The Philosophy of Gorakhnath. We have also added Banerjea's article on Gorahknath and the Chakras, as well as his important essay, A Yogi and a Philosopher.