Hold Dear The Ideals Of Jesus
Thursday, December 25th, 2014
It is Christmas time again… celebrating the birth of the Holy Son. Time and again Bhagawan has spoken of the Ideal Son, inciting the ‘devotees’ to raise themselves, to a higher levels of awareness, making Jesus – The Ideal… Read on what Bhagawan has to speak about Jesus and Holy Christmas. The Sai Spiritual Story for Christmas Day from The Prasanthi Reporter.
If each one does his duty, in the spirit of dedication, the Light can illumine all; but, if the doors of the heart are shut against the Light, how can darkness disappear? You cannot sit back, and expect the Incarnation to bring Peace and Joy into you. The Incarnation comes to warn, to guide, to awaken, to lay down the path, and shed the light of Love on it. But, man has to listen, learn and obey, with hope and faith. There is a tale told of old that Wisdom and Wealth once quarreled loud and long, about their relative importance. Wealth argued that without it, the body will be weak, the brain hazy and wisdom a `will of the wisp’ (will-o’-the-wisp). Wisdom retorted that, without it, man cannot even distinguish wealth from non-wealth or know how to earn it and use it. The Soul intervened and told them that they were both equally important, but, only when they are properly used. Wealth without Wisdom becomes an instrument of exploitation and tyranny; Wisdom without Wealth becomes mere fantasy and a bundle of blueprints. Use makes them worthwhile; misuse makes them disastrous. It is like the knife; in the hands of a maniac, it becomes an instrument for murder; in the hands of a surgeon, it becomes an instrument which saves 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 lives of Loving Service of the weak, the helpless, the distressed, and the disconsolate. Cultivate tolerance and forbearance, charity and magnanimity. Hold dear the ideals Jesus laid down and practise them in your daily lives.
The ways in which Christmas is celebrated 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 gets himself 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 for celebrating the Birth of Christ.
II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II
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