EYE ON SPIRITUALITY: HAPPY CHRISTMAHANAKWANZIKA TO ALL
We live in a world where people are blowing each other up because their very tiny ego thinks that their religion and tribe is better than everyone else. As one of spiritual teachers was fond of saying, spirituality is the banana and religion is the peel and people have thrown away the banana and are fighting over the peel. Given the nature of the diversity of world spirituality it would seem that God rejoices in the beautiful mosaic and diversity of his love that spreads in so many different flavors.
My own path has been very eclectic. I was born Jewish, became involved in Vedic culture, started enjoying the richness of Christian mysticism and visiting Buddhist stupas, enjoyed Sufi dancing and enjoyed my visit to the Muslim quarter in Jerusalem where I visited the Dome of the Rock, the sacred site where Muhammad ascended. God’s presence radiates through all the diverse flavors with such richness and grace and beauty.
Today is Christmas and I rejoice in celebrating this deep flavor of the Divine of a saint born Jewish, who spent 12 years in India and came back to bring a new message of love and transformation. My friend Juliana Swanson of Astral Harmony, pulled out this great quote from Yogananda and I wanted to share it with you because it moved me this morning:
Paramahansa Yogananda: “During this coming Christmas season, open a new portal of sublime devotion so that the Christ Omnipresence will be able to come anew within your consciousness. Every day, every hour, every golden second, Christ has been knocking… Now, in this august sacred dawn, Christ is especially coming in answer to your inner call, to awaken his Christ Consciousness Omnipresence within you.
This Christ of Everywhere is sleeping in the breast of Eternity; He loves to take new birth at any time, anywhere, especially in the warmth of your true affection. Though the Infinite Christ is present in every speck of space as the splendor of ever new wisdom and creative expression, you can never see Him unless He chooses to be seen in the cradle of your unceasing devotion. The cozy crib of your heart has for a very long time been small, holding self-love alone; now you must make it enormous, so that social, national, international, cultural , and Cosmic Christ-love may be born there and become One Love.
The Infinite Christ is everywhere; worship His nativity in Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Moslem, Jewish, and other true religious temples. Every expression of Truth flows from the All-pervading Christ perception, so learn to worship that sacred Universal Intelligence in every pure religion, belief, and teaching. Since the Cosmic Christ dreamed into existence the divine being that is man, you should celebrate the birth of Christ in your newly awakened equal love for every nationality and race.”
From “A Cradle for the Christ of Everywhere” in _The Second Coming of Christ_
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanzaa to. Â Let come together despite all our difference and give birth to a new year of love and light and laughter and celebration of diversity and of God’s beautiful mosaic, planet earth.
