Something about Christmas - Conquer the ego!

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

Having returned from my shopping and having been confronted by the

chaos in the mall now that Christmas is approaching, I felt not a

little disheartened. People getting annoyed and irritated, children

whining about their presents, enormous amounts of delicacies to buy,

and meanwhile passing the newspaper stand with everywhere stories of

wars and disasters mixed with holiday cheer. How can you truly

celebrate Christmas like this? Do people think of nothing else but

food and drink? Don't they know people what's going on in the world?

How can we sing about Peace on Earth now?

I was sorely tempted to climb into bed and sleep for a week,

pretending not to be at home this weekend. Even the parcel on my

doorstep, containing the books I had ordered from the Devi Mandir,

failed to cheer me up. As I was browsing listlessly through the

Bhagavad Gita, my eye was caught by the preface Swamiji has written to

the Third Edition. In it, he talks about the circumstances in the

world today (he wrote in 2003, but I think it is safe to say that, at

least on the surface, things have not improved much since then). What

Swamiji said and the way he said it lifted me up immediately. In case

there are some of you out there also suffering from a touch of the

Christmas Blues, I have copied his message:

 

`The enemy is within. He is inside. He is pointing his weapons at all

that we hold dear: universal peace, love for all, the evolution of

mankind – nothing is sacred. He will demolish them all only to serve

his interests. This ego I – the one who says, "I know, I am different,

I am special," this ego I is the culprit.

And now, the Bhagavad Gita comes along and says, "I have been

calling out to you since Vedic times! I have been trying to explain to

you since thousands of years! Don't allow the ego to rule! You must

subdue the ego! Only then can we ever hope for peace."

Please, my friends, devotees, well-wishers! Conquer the ego! Let

us make that our battle! Direct all our attention towards the

subjugation of duality, and let us realize that the One God dwells in

the hearts of us all.'

 

Gone was the criticism of other people, the anxiety about calamities

which might befall us, the irritation and desire to hide under the

covers. Instead, there was a new resolution to turn within and fight

that inner battle, and prepare a fitting environment for the Prince of

Peace to be born into. Nothing was standing in the way of celebrating

Christmas but me. So this Christmas I will be celebrating: I'll

celebrate the presence of those who are willing to guide us to true

Peace and the presence of those who are willing to follow, I'll

celebrate the faith, hope and love expressed, against all odds, by so

many different people in so many different ways, I'll celebrate with

the birds and the trees, the moon and the stars and I'll celebrate

with those coming to my doorstep, in the recognition that it is the

One standing there. And, of course, I'll be reading the Bhagavad Gita!

 

wishing you all a very happy Christmas,

 

JAI SWAMIJI,

 

Henny

[Guest guest]

Beloved Hennyji,

i am swimming in a flood of tears, as i must admit i am one of those

who was suffering from a touch of "The Christmas Blues" for most all

of the reasons that you experienced and mentioned in your very

thoughtful post. i thank you from the bottom to the top of my heart

for taking the time to write this wonderful and much appreciated

post. i, too, am bounden determined with renewed vigor to conquer

that pesky ego who trys to steal our joy and instill fear, which is

the son of duality. My weapons are Patience, Tolerance, inner

Renunciaton, Compassion, and Love, Love, Love. Let us start the day

with cosmic love, fill the day with cosmic love, & end the day with

cosmic love!

Let us crucify our ego upon the cross and truly give birth to

our "Christ Consciousness" + Cross out the i.

Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! Jai Thakur Ramakrishna Deva!

muktimaa

 

 

 

, "henny_v_i" <HvI@S...> wrote:

>

> Dear all,

>

> Having returned from my shopping and having been confronted by the

> chaos in the mall now that Christmas is approaching, I felt not a

> little disheartened. People getting annoyed and irritated, children

> whining about their presents, enormous amounts of delicacies to

buy,

> and meanwhile passing the newspaper stand with everywhere stories

of

> wars and disasters mixed with holiday cheer. How can you truly

> celebrate Christmas like this? Do people think of nothing else but

> food and drink? Don't they know people what's going on in the

world?

> How can we sing about Peace on Earth now?

> I was sorely tempted to climb into bed and sleep for a week,

> pretending not to be at home this weekend. Even the parcel on my

> doorstep, containing the books I had ordered from the Devi Mandir,

> failed to cheer me up. As I was browsing listlessly through the

> Bhagavad Gita, my eye was caught by the preface Swamiji has written

to

> the Third Edition. In it, he talks about the circumstances in the

> world today (he wrote in 2003, but I think it is safe to say that,

at

> least on the surface, things have not improved much since then).

What

> Swamiji said and the way he said it lifted me up immediately. In

case

> there are some of you out there also suffering from a touch of the

> Christmas Blues, I have copied his message:

>

> `The enemy is within. He is inside. He is pointing his weapons at

all

> that we hold dear: universal peace, love for all, the evolution of

> mankind – nothing is sacred. He will demolish them all only to

serve

> his interests. This ego I – the one who says, "I know, I am

different,

> I am special," this ego I is the culprit.

> And now, the Bhagavad Gita comes along and says, "I have been

> calling out to you since Vedic times! I have been trying to explain

to

> you since thousands of years! Don't allow the ego to rule! You must

> subdue the ego! Only then can we ever hope for peace."

> Please, my friends, devotees, well-wishers! Conquer the ego!

Let

> us make that our battle! Direct all our attention towards the

> subjugation of duality, and let us realize that the One God dwells

in

> the hearts of us all.'

>

> Gone was the criticism of other people, the anxiety about

calamities

> which might befall us, the irritation and desire to hide under the

> covers. Instead, there was a new resolution to turn within and

fight

> that inner battle, and prepare a fitting environment for the Prince

of

> Peace to be born into. Nothing was standing in the way of

celebrating

> Christmas but me. So this Christmas I will be celebrating: I'll

> celebrate the presence of those who are willing to guide us to true

> Peace and the presence of those who are willing to follow, I'll

> celebrate the faith, hope and love expressed, against all odds, by

so

> many different people in so many different ways, I'll celebrate

with

> the birds and the trees, the moon and the stars and I'll celebrate

> with those coming to my doorstep, in the recognition that it is the

> One standing there. And, of course, I'll be reading the Bhagavad

Gita!

>

> wishing you all a very happy Christmas,

>

> JAI SWAMIJI,

>

> Henny

>