Madonna and child ......

[Guest guest]

In my school days, my best friend was a christian girl named

Mariamma . Mariamma was a syrian christian from Kerala . Every Xmas

she invited me to her house for xmas celebrations and during one of

thoose memorable xmas gift exchanges , she gave me a beautiful

painting of' Madonna and child' . In this painting , infant Jesus is

seen hugging his Mother Mary with both arms and the Mother of God is

gazing into her infant Jesus's eyes with the greatest of love and

compassion .

 

Needless to say , this image of Madonna and child made a vivid

impression me and may partly explain my Love for the Eternal Divine

Feminine .

 

Folks , it is my pleasure to share a beautiful excerpt from Sister

Nivedita's wonderful book 'Kali, the Mother !

 

please read on :

 

" In the Aryan home, woman stands supreme. As wife in the West,--lady

and queen of her husband--as mother in the East,--a goddess

throned in her son's worship,--she is the bringer of sanctity and

peace.

 

Profound depths stir within us, in presence of the intensely

Christian conception of God--a child in His mother's arms. This

ideal of the heart of a woman--pierced by its seven sorrows, on fire

with love, mother beside the cradle, worshipper beneath the cross,

and glorified in great humility,--has been one of the richest gifts

of the Catholic Church to humanity.

 

Peerless in its own way is the womanhood of Rossetti's sonnet:--

 

" This is that blessed Mary, pre-elect

God's Virgin. Gone is a great while, and she

Dwelt young in Nazareth of Galilee . .

Unto God's will she brought devout respect,--

Profound simplicity of intellect,

And supreme patience . . . . . .

Thus held she through her girlhood,

As it were an angel-watered lily,

That near God grows, and is quiet. "

 

 

Jesus Himself--to those who kneel before no Madonna in the Vatican--

sounds this note of the eternal feminine. " Come unto me, all ye that

labour, and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke

upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye

shall find rest unto your souls. " Is it not a woman's cry?

 

Nay, He is conscious of this element in His own nature. Once at

least He speaks of it. In that sublime moment when He, the young

Leader of the armies of the future, stands on the sunlit mountains,

and looking down upon the city of His race sees the dark shadow of

destiny wrapping it about, in that moment when the Patriot forgets,

in a sob of human anguish, that He is Master and Redeemer, in that

moment He becomes all motherhood. " O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Thou that

killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee,--how

often would I have gathered thy children together, like as a hen

gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! "

 

The soul that worships becomes always a little child: the soul that

becomes a child finds God oftenest as mother. In a meditation before

the Blessed Sacrament, some pen has written the exquisite

assurance: " My child, you need not know much in order to please Me.

Only love Me dearly. Speak to me, as you would talk to your mother,

if she had taken you in her arms. "

 

But it is in India that this thought of the mother has been realised

in its completeness. In that country where the image of Kali is one

of the most popular symbols of deity, it is quite customary to speak

of God, as " She, " and the direct address then offered is

simply " Mother. " .....

 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/ktm/ktm02.htm

 

Yes! Dear hearts - during this holiday season , when we celebrate

xmas , we are not merely celebrating the birth if Jesus . Rather ,

we are celebrating 'Motherhood' ---- the eternal Divine feminine -

The Mother of God who gave birth to such a noble being !

 

So , dear Harshaji , it is interesting you should mention that

 

" I am often reminded of my father telling me that Jesus also used to

appear to him. It always surprised me as my father was a staunch

Hindu. Once I asked him how he knew for sure it was Jesus when he

appeared. He said, " you just know. "

 

This reminded me OFA VISION SRI RAMAKRISHNA PARAMAHAMSA HAD :

 

" For the next three days he (Sri Ramakrishna) was absorbed in the

thought of Jesus, and at the end of the third day, while walking in

the Panchavati, he had a vision of foreign-looking person with a

beautiful face and large eyes of uncommon brilliance. As he pondered

who this stranger could be, a voice from within said: " This is Jesus

Christ, the great yogi, the loving Son of God, who was one with his

Father and who shed his heart's blood and suffered tortures for the

salvation of mankind! " Jesus then embraced Ramakrishna and merged

into his body. "

 

 

sO , AS 2007 IS DRAWING TO A CLOSE , LET US WELCOME 2008 WITH OPEN

ARMS AND A OPEN MIND AND END ALL RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY AND SAY IN UNISON

IN THE DIVINE VOICE OF THE UPANISHADS

 

" EKAM SAT VIPRAHAA BAHUDA VADANTI " (( TRUTH IS 'ONE ' WE CALL IT BY

MANY NAMES ')

 

love and best wishes

[Guest guest]

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What a beautiful message ...i agree fully...all these talks will be as

long as the difference remains ....but once u embrace that brahman in

full glory, what to talk about ? and who will talk about whom ?

 

advaitin , " bhagini_niveditaa "

<bhagini_niveditaa wrote:

>

> In my school days, my best friend was a christian girl named

> Mariamma . Mariamma was a syrian christian from Kerala . Every Xmas