The key message of Jesus

[Guest guest]

The root cause of all difficulties experienced by man is forgetting

his spiritual reality and identifying himself with his body. The body

is only the vesture of the Indwelling Spirit. By immersing himself in

body-consciousness, man develops egoism and possessiveness, which

result in promoting many bad qualities. He forgets his inherent

divinity and fails to use the senses and organs he is endowed with

for the purposes of the Divine.

 

Two different characteristics are to be found among men. One

characteristic, which is rather common, is for one to delude himself

that he is a good man, with many virtues, intelligence and talents.

The other quality, which is rare, is recognition of the good quality

in others, their merits, abilities and good deeds, and appreciate

their ideals. Jesus belonged to the second category. He saw the good

qualities in others, rejoiced over their virtues and shared his joy

with others.

 

In his twelfth year, Jesus and his parents, Joseph and Mary, happened

to go to a Jewish festival in Jerusalem. In the jostling crowds Jesus

lost his parents. After a frantic search, Mary found him in a temple

listening to a speech of the High Priest. When Mary told Jesus about

the anxiety that they felt when they missed him, Jesus replied: " Why

should you worry about me? When I am with God, who is my Father, why

should you have any fear on my account? " Jesus thus revealed that He

regarded Himself as the Son of God.

 

Jesus Prayed to God for Three Things

 

Jesus grew up at Nazareth till He reached thirty. After Joseph's

passing, Jesus sought His mother's permission to embark on His Divine

mission. He got baptised by John, the Baptist, and spent forty days

in penance in a forest. During the penance, He prayed to God for

three things: One, He should be blessed with the quality of loving

equally everyone; Two, He should have the strength and forbearance to

suffer patiently any indignity or persecution that He might be

subjected to by anyone; Three, He should be enabled to use his God-

given body wholly in the service of God.

 

After forty days, Jesus emerged from His penance with the faith that

His prayers had been granted. Jesus encountered the fishermen, at

Galilee, who became His first disciples. He told them that He had

come to establish the reign of love on earth and they would be His

helpers in His mission. He spoke to them about the preciousness of

human birth and urged them to seek the Kingdom of God within

themselves.

 

By the way of illustration, Christ told them the following parable:

In a river, when the water is flowing in a swift current, the tiny

fish are able to swim in it and move about merrily. But a huge

elephant is caught in the rapids and is likely to get washed away or

drowned in spite of its enormous size. Whatever be the speed of the

current, the small fish are able to swim freely in the river and

enjoy themselves. But an elephant is unable to survive in it. The

reason is: What you need for survival in a river is not bulk but the

ability to swim. Likewise man who is caught up in the ocean of

worldly existence (Samsara) needs, not so much metaphysics,

scholarship or detachment, as the grace of Divine love.

 

Without Faith, No Bliss

 

Without any knowledge of Vedanta (scriptural scholarship), if one is

blessed with God's love, he can surmount all problems of life.

Without faith in God, all scholarship, wealth, name and fame are of

no avail. He cannot experience bliss. Christ also taught that the

body should be used for recognising the Indwelling Spirit and not to

protect itself. It is the mark of ignorance to pamper the body and

ignore the Spirit within.

 

If a tiny sugar crystal is mixed in a heap of sand, even the most

intelligent person will not be able to separate the sugar from the

sand and recover it. But without any extraordinary intelligence, an

ant is able to make its way to the particle of sugar in the sand heap

and relish its sweetness. The ant is aware of the sweetness of sugar

and is able to get at the sugar even in a heap of sand.

 

Likewise, man should seek to distinguish between the permanent and

the transient, and realise what is everlasting. Man is endowed with

the capacity to discriminate between the permanent and the

evanescent, but unfortunately instead of using this capacity he is

caught up in the delusions of the phenomenal world and is wasting his

life.

" You must adhere to truth and not succumb to falsehood or

unrighteousness. You must face with courage the vicissitudes of life.

You must love even your enemies. Universal love transcends all other

virtues. Love is the supreme virtue, " declared Jesus.

 

Only Love of God is Real Love

 

Jesus taught that God is Love. Instead of recognising 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…

 

Love is the means of developing devotion and achieving liberation,

apart from other things. Only the love of God is real love. It is the

royal road for man to realise the divinity in him and in everyone.

 

- Divine Discourse on Christmas Day, 1988