A recollection of Swami's Divine Messages for Christmas [1]

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A recollection of Swami's Divine Messages for Christmas [1]

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

There is one point that I cannot but bring to your special notice today. At the

moment when Jesus was emerging in the Supreme Principle of Divinity, He

communicated some news to his followers, which has been interpreted in a

variety of ways by commentators and those who relish the piling of writings on

writings and meanings upon meanings, until it all swells up into a huge mess.

The statement itself has been manipulated and tangled into a conundrum. 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

bloodred 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.

Divine Discourse: December 24,1972

There are many who are deeply devoted to Jesus. Their duty is to glorify the

great message of Jesus. The most important message of Jesus is the

establishment of "Peace on Earth and goodwill among men." Without peace,

mankind cannot achieve progress in any sphere--- material, spiritual or moral.

In the Treta Yuga, Sri Rama came to establish the reign of Sathya and Dharma

(Truth and Righteousness). In the Dwapara Yuga, Sri Krishna came with the

mission to promote Prema and Shanthi (Love and Peace). In the Kali Yuga (the

present yuga), Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi and Prema are the purposes of the Divine

Mission. Hence you must make these four the guiding principles of your life.

When you adhere to these four principles, Ahimsa (Non-violence) issues as a

natural result. There is no use in merely invoking the name of Jesus and

praying to Him without regard to His most vital message: "God is in everyone.

Do not revile anyone. Do not cause harm to anyone." This was Jesus's greatest

message.

Divine Discourse: December 25, 1985

Jesus taught that God is Love. Instead of recognizing this basic truth, men are

allowing hatred, envy and other evil qualities to pollute their love. Man is

gifted with the quality of love not to express it for selfish purposes but to

direct it towards God. Jesus declared that there was nothing great about

returning good for good. They should do good even to those who harm them.

It is not right to celebrate Christ's birthday by feasting, drinking, singing

and merry-making. The ideals taught by Jesus should be put into practice. That

is the right way to celebrate his birthday. Whomsoever you adore, you must try

to live up to his teachings. What kind of devotion is it when the devotee does

not practice what he professes? It is pseudo-devotion.

Divine Discourse: December 25, 1988

Today we celebrate the birthday of Christ. It is said that when Jesus was born

in a manger, three kings were led by a star to Jesus's place of birth. ln fact,

they were not kings but three shepherds. One of them, seeing the infant Jesus,

observed: "This child will be a lover of God". A second one said: "No. God will

love him." The third one said: "Verily He is God Himself" .

The true significance of these three statements is: To love God is to be His

Messenger. To be loved by God is to be a son of God. The final state is to be

one with God. As Jesus said: "I and my Father are one". Thus all persons are

messengers of God. This means that they should divinise themselves. When can

men call themselves Sons of God? Recognize what pure actions are done by God,

selflessly for the sake of all. There is no trace of self-interest in Him:

Everything He does, says or thinks is for the good of others. On the other

side, everything men do, speak or think is born out of selfishness. Men have

become puppets in the hands of selfishness. Men can describe themselves as

"Sons of God" only when they are completely free from selfishness and become

Godly. To call yourself the "Son of God", you have to manifest the qualities of

the Father.

Jesus exemplified the spirit of social service. The inspiration for this came

from His mother, Mary. From His childhood Mary taught Him such good qualities

as truth, kindness, compassion and justice. Jesus had learnt His lessons from

His mother and developed His spiritual faith. After they returned from

Jerusalem, Jesus felt that service to His parents was His foremost duty,

because He owed everything to them. ln this spirit, He used to assist His

father in His carpentry work. Joseph passed away when Jesus was thirty. He

sought His mother's permission to devote Himself to the service of the needy

and the forlorn. After leaving home, Jesus had Himself baptized by John. Then

for forty days Jesus observed severe austerities without food and drink. At

first He considered Himself as a "Messenger of God". After the penance He

realised He was the Son of God. He began His ministry with a group of fishermen

as His first disciples. He taught them that they

should first seek the Kingdom of Heaven. To enter that Kingdom they had to

cultivate loving hearts. Then, their hearts would become the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus further declared to them: "I and my Father are One".

Christmas is celebrated today in many countries. In every country small groups

of people go to their respective churches, listen to the sermon and return to

their homes. In some places people eat, drink, and make themselves merry. But

nowhere in the world can you find Christmas being celebrated with the solemnity

and holiness obtaining in Prasanthi Nilayam. Here are gathered men and women

from all countries. There are many denominations among Christians and the

members thereof celebrate Christmas in their separate ways. Only in Prasanthi

Nilayam do Christians of all denominations and men and women of other faiths

join to celebrate Christmas. All of them work in unison. Here is a concrete

manifestation of the Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God.

Divine Discourse: December 25, 1994

Christ determined to make the giving and sharing of Love his main objective in

life. Such love was met with many obstacles and losses. Christ considered a

true man to be the one who can face obstacles and move forward in Love. Do not

give in to losses and pain. Do not be carried away with pleasure. Face

everything with equanimity.

Christ could never see suffering passively. In Jerusalem doves were sold and

killed as an offering. Christ decried the violence committed towards the poor

creatures. He began to undertake the holy task of stopping such violence and

freeing the captive birds. Some men began to cast aspersions, slandered him and

tried to punish him.

"Salutations to any living beings go toward God," say the Vedas. ("Sarva bhuta

namaskaram; Keshavam prati gachate.") We think there is no meaning in saluting

both the one who praises us and the one who criticizes us. Saluting the one who

praises us is understandable, but what is the use of saluting the one who

accuses us? We must have continuous relationship with accusations, because

without them there is no beauty or value to praise. Without criticism,

appreciation loses its meaning. That is why every word, every thought, has some

obstacle or no beauty or value to praise. Without criticism, appreciation loses

its meaning. That is why every word, every thought, has some obstacle or other.

For the good, bad is a shadow. For pleasure, difficulty is a shadow. All

opposites are interrelated. The pleasure and pain, the profit and loss, exist

together. Christ went on pursuing his path in the face of many obstacles with

strength and

endurance. He gave His life for the service of men, for the principle of Love

and propagation of Love.

The season of Christmas is associated with Christmas Grandpa or Santa Claus.

Tokovan was his original name. He was born in Turkey. He began his career as a

priest and gradually began to attain spiritual heights. How did he become a

spiritual giant? By the spirit of sacrifice. He used to give a chocolate or a

doll or a gift to any child he met. All his life he kept on giving

continuously. When Christmas was approaching, all the children used to run

behind Santa Claus. He used to carry all the gifts in a bag and distribute to

all the children. In what manner did he distribute? He said, "Here is a token

of God's Love. Here is a token of God's Love," and thus distributed them.

Eventually he came to be called Christmas Grandpa, and his original name was

forgotten.

The important message which I want to convey today, which Jesus also propagated,

is one of Love and compassion. So boys and girls, on this holy and sacred day,

when we celebrate the birthday of that holy personage, we must conduct

ourselves in accordance with his message. It is easy to celebrate birthdays,

but we must also keep in sight the purity and message of the person whose

birthday we celebrate.

If you are devotees of Sai, what are the ideals of Sai? Share Love, be united,

consider all to be the children of God. Foster the brotherhood of man and

fatherhood of God. When we accept and obey these, we can call ourselves

devotees of Sai.

Divine Discourse: December 25, 1995

Source: http://www.saidarshan.org/baba/docs/christmas.html

 

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