Significance of Christmas

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from the East to find the newborn king. The SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE in the

words of SWAMI(Sri Sathya Sai Baba) Religions arise from the minds of good

men, who crave to make all men good; they strive to eliminate evil and cure the

bad. It is therefore appropriate that the Birth Day of Jesus who felt the need

to save mankind and who strove to achieve it is celebrated; but, the

celebration must take the form of adherence to the teachings, loyalty to the

principles, practicing the disciplines and experiencing the Awareness of the

Divine that he sought to arouse. Jesus taught simple practical lessons in

spiritual advancement for the good of mankind; He manifested Divine Powers to

instill faith in the validity of his teachings; He marked out the path that can

confer on men the sweet nectar of Ananda. He exhorted people by precept and

example to cultivate the virtues of charity, compassion, forbearance, love and

faith. These are not separate and distinct qualities, they are only the many

facets of the Divine in Man, which he has to recognize and develop. People

talk of the sacrifice of Christ as evidence by His crucifixion. But, he was

surrounded and bound, and crowned by the crowd who captured Him with a crown of

thorns, and later, nailed to the cross by his captors. A person bound

and beaten by the police cannot say that he has sacrificed anything, for, he is

not a free man. Let us pay attention to the sacrifice that Jesus made while

free, out of his own volition. He sacrificed his happiness, prosperity,

comfort, safety and position; he braved the enmity of the powerful. He refused

to yield or compromise. He renounced the 'ego', which is the toughest thing to

get rid of. Honor Him for these. He willingly sacrificed the desires with which

the body torments man: this is sacrifice greater than the sacrifice of the body

under duress. The celebration of His birthday has to be marked by your

sacrificing at least a desire or two, and conquering at least the more

disastrous urges of the ego. The followers of Jesus have got broken into

schisms on various counts; but the life of Christ is a lesson of Unity. When

Christ was

on the cross, ill-feelings towards the men who tortured Him troubled Him.

Suddenly he heard a voice alerting him. "All Life is One, my dear Son! Be alike

to every one!". This was followed by another admonition, "Death is the Dress of

Life." As one casts of the worn clothes and dons another set, so, the soul dons

and doffs bodies. Therefore, Jesus was warned against hate and ill-feelings, as

well as the lamentation to which man is heir. The lives of such

personalities are lived out, in order to establish the welfare of humanity, the

prosperity and peace of the world, and individual liberation from bondage to

sensual desires and passions. This is illustrated by the strange phenomenons

that occur at the time of their Advent. It is believed that when Christ was

born there were such manifestations. The

ruler of the realm had ordered a census, and each had to be counted in his own

village. St Mary and her husband moved along the road that led to his

native-village. Mary was with child; the pains started midway; they knew no one

in the hamlet through which they were passing; so they took refuge in a cowshed.

Joseph made ready the space between the cows, and went out into the road at

midnight, to seek some woman who could help. But, soon, he heard the Baby's

cry. And, the story says, there was a Star in the sky, which fell with a

New Light, and this led a few Tibetans and others to the place where the Savior

was born. This story is read and taken on trust by many: though stars do not

fall or even slide down so suddenly. What the story signifies is this. There

was a huge halo of splendor illuminating

the sky over the village when Christ was born. This meant that He, who was to

overcome the darkness of Evil and Ignorance had taken birth, that He will

spread the Light of Love in the heart of man and councils of humanity.

Appearances of splendor, and other signs to herald the era that has dawned are

natural when Incarnations happen on Earth. Jesus was to shatter the darkness

that had developed in the world and the aura of light was a sign that announced

the event. The Masters arrive in answer to man's prayer, "Thamaso maa jyothir

gamaya" (Lead us from darkness unto Light!) Wealth without wisdom becomes

an instrument of exploitation and tyranny. Wisdom without wealth becomes mere

fantasy and a bundle of blueprint. Use makes them worthwhile; misuse makes them

disastrous. It is like the knife in the hands of maniac, it becomes an

instrument for murder; in the hands of a surgeon, it becomes an instrument

which saves a life! Are you doing good with wealth? Are you benefiting others

by means of wisdom, that is the test. This day, Christmas, when you celebrate

the birth of Christ, resolve to lead the lives of Loving Service, to the weak,

the helpless, the distressed, the disconsolate. Cultivate tolerance and

forbearance, charity and magnanimity. Hold dear the ideals He laid down and

practice them, in your daily lives. The ways in which Christmas is being

celebrated now show how far men have moved away from those ideals, how much

ignominy they are heaping on his name! The midnight hour is revered;

illumination is arranged; the Christmas Tree is set up; and then, the night is

spent in drinking and dance. It is a day of Holy Ananda, but the Ananda is

reduced to the level of the poisoning excitement of intoxication! Drink is so

pernicious

an evil habit, that when man puts the bottle in, he himself gets into the bottle

and cannot escape! First man drinks wine, then the wine drinks more wine; and

finally, the wine drinks man himself! He is sunk and drowned in drink. Liquor

destroys the humanity in man! How then can it develop the Divinity in him? One

must dance in Divine Bliss; instead, sensual dance is indulged in as a

deleterious substitute! Make your hearts pure, your activities holy, and your

feelings beneficial to all. That is the best way of celebrating the Birth of

Christ. The statement of Christ is simple. "He who sent me among you will

come again!" and he pointed to a Lamb. The Lamb is merely a symbol, a sign. It

stands for the voice--Ba-Ba; the announcement was the Advent of Baba. "His Name

will be Truth," Christ declared. Sathya mean Truth. "He will wear a robe of red,

a blood red robe." (Here Baba pointed to the Robe He was

wearing!). He will be short, with a crown (of hair). The Lamb is the sign and

symbol of Love. Christ did not declare that he will come again, he said, "He

who made me will come again." That Ba-ba is this Baba, and Sai, the short,

curly-hair-crowned red-robed Baba, is come. He is not only in this Form, but he

is in every one of you, as the Dweller in the Heart. He is there, short, with a

robe of the color of the blood that fills it. (EXCERPTS FROM BABA'S DISCOURSE

ON CHRISTMAS GIVEN ON 24TH DEC,1972) Sourced:

http://saigrace.com/CHRISTMAS.HTML JAI SAIRAM, Raghu