Christmas Meditation

Every festival be it Christmas, Janmashtami or Diwali should simultaneously be a day of celebration and a day of contemplation. Christmas is as much about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ as it is about remembering his life, his sacrifices and his teachings.

I thought of sharing a few teachings of Jesus Christ which when contemplated, practised and applied can truly make our lives meaningful.

What shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and suffers the loss of his own soul?

If God is all you have, you have all you need.
The kingdom of God is within your own hearts.
Knock and the door shall open, seek and you shall find.
Don't build your treasures in this world - for it will be stolen by thieves, corroded by rust and rotten by time
If you have faith as much as a mustard seed and you tell a mountain to move - it will move.
The meek and humble inherit the kingdom of God.
Love God with all your heart and soul
Love your neighbors as yourself.
Those among you who is sinless can cast the first stone.

When Srila Prabhupada went to the West, one reporter asked him if he had come to America to convert Christians into Hindus. Prabhupada answered "No, I have come to make them better Christians". Whatever our religion may be, the true purpose of every religion is to help us develop our love for God.

So, on this joyous occasion of Christmas let us follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and try to mould our lives in such a way that we can deepen our connection with God, develop genuine integrity and be an instrument of God's compassion and love in this world.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas.

- Achyut Gopal Das

Comments

GIVING UP PETTINESS to EXPERIENCE PRETTINESS

"The process of Krishna consciousness will empower us when we empower it." The other day as I was taking a bath, the plastic bucket I was using, slipped and cracked. A piece from the rim of the bucket broke off and cut my finger. As I was waiting for the bucket to refill with water, I noticed that even after a long time the bucket wasn't filling up. It's at that time, I noticed a "not so apparent" crack at the bottom of the bucket which was causing all the water to leak out. I drew a lesson from this incident which is applicable to my spiritual life. SEALING THE LEAKS The process of spiritual life or Krishna consciousness which includes the nine fold limbs beginning with Shravanam (hearing) and Kirtanam (chanting) is like filling the container - the vessel of our hearts. For the vessel of our hearts to fill up, it should be leak free. If the container is faulty and contains many holes, the best of content, in the best of quantity will not help it fill. Ana...

PRACTICAL TOOLS FOR DESIRE MANAGEMENT

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of, so they can see that it’s not the answer.” ― Jim Carrey, American - Canadian actor Long back, I heard this analogy to explain the nature of the unlimited desires in our hearts. It is explained in this analogy that, even if all the water bodies in earth are made into ink to fill a pen whose nib is as small as an atom and the sky is made into paper to write on; the ink will get exhausted, the nib will break and the paper will run-out but our list of desires will not get over - we will still have more left. Over these years of spiritual practices, I have realized the truth behind this analogy. I have become more aware of the dynamics of desires and it's working in life. Even though our hearts are filled with unlimited desires, luckily just a few jump into awareness every now and then, just like a few fish jump out of the surface of the ocean every now and then even though the ocean is filled with u...

SEEKING THE GRACE OF SRI RADHA

Just like we have our mother who gives birth to our material body, to whom we owe our body, we also have our Eternal Mother to whom we owe our very soul. In different religions, She is called and addressed by different names. In Vedic culture, She is addressed as Sita, Lakshmi or Radha - the consort of our Supreme Father. She is our Mother God, our Mother Supreme. The scriptures abundantly and extensively glorify This Supreme Mother - Her love, Her compassion and Her grace for all of us. A mother is always more kind and merciful than the father similarly our Eternal Mother is more merciful than The Supreme Father. That's the reason why devotees desperately seek the grace of the Divine Mother, Srimati Radharani in their spiritual pursuits. Her grace can force Lord Krishna to shower His mercy on us even unwillingly. After all, He is an henpecked husband - completely controlled by Her love. The heart of a mother is very big. What to speak of the heart of The Supreme Mother. Her lo...

The Wisdom Park

Search This Blog