George Barselaar was born in the south of Holland and grew up in Sydney, Australia. At the age of 18, George took a keen interest in Yoga, which inspired him to learn Transcendental Meditation (TM), and eventually, to become a teacher of TM. He went deeply into Vedic Science and Sanskrit, and  developed a keen interest in Kashmiri Shaiva Philosophy. George was immediately struck by the very first verse of the Shiva Sutras, as translated by Lakshmanjoo, which says, "Consciousness is everything." Feeling an irresistible pull, George went to India to study under the guidance of Swami Lakshmanjoo, who was the last living Master of the oral tradition of Kashmir Shaivism. George recalls the time that one aspirant told Swami Lakshmanjoo that he did not feel he was making much progress with his meditation, and Lakshmanjoo explained that the passion for self-knowledge (enlightenment) must be as strong as the overwhelming passion he felt the first time he fell in love. With regard to the turmoil we see in the world, George was optimistic and said that, "Sometimes the world gets shaken-up in order to wake up." He added that meditation creates ripples that affect others in a positive way. When we create coherence in our own consciousness, it affects everyone in our environment. George was given permission to transcribe all of the Swami’s recorded lectures, and it took almost 20 years to complete the English transcriptions of all of Swami Lakshmanjoo’s recorded teachings. George now lives in Northern California, where he and his partner, Claudia, work full-time for the Universal Shaiva Fellowship and Lakshmanjoo Academy. They often spend the summer months in Kashmir, and George connected with us for this interview from Kashmir, India, at the ashram of Shaivacharya Swami Lakshmanjoo Maharaj. About Kashmir Shaivism, Swami Lakshmanjoo said that it is the three-fold science of man and his world, and is a philosophy meant for any human being without the restriction of caste, creed, color or gender. For more information on Swami Lakshmanjoo and Kashmir Shaivism, please see the following websites: Kashmir Shaivism: www.universalshaivafellowship.org Lakshmanjoo Academy: www.lakshmanjooacademy.org Ishwar Ashram Trust founded my Swami Lakshmanjoo: https://www.ishwarashramtrust.com/     Music by Lesfm. Track “In the Forest”