(I thought you might enjoy this message as much as i did. It is taken from the Amritapuri website in India at: Amritapuri.org)
May the Christ take birth in your heart
Christmas in Amritapuri December 24, 2008
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day both fell on darshan days in Amritapuri, and Amma was still giving darshan (hugs and blessings) when the midnight hour struck on the 25th. While Amma continued to embrace her children, she had Swami Amritaswarupananda read out a message she had prepared.
In Amma's message she said that if we look back on the teachings of all mahatmas—be they Christ, Krishna or Buddha—we will see that their main teachings were love and faith. "All the mahatmas have stressed these two things," Amma said. "The rest is commentary."
Amma went on to explain the significance of Christ both referring to himself as "the son of man" as well as "the son of God." She said that a devotee with love and faith would not see these two statements as a contradiction, but instead would understand that Christ meant he was both the body, which exists in time, and the Atma, which is beyond time. "He meant that he was both a human being, as well as God," Amma said. "He meant `I am this [the world] and I am that [consciousness].'"
"On Christmas Day, Christian children exchange gifts and kind words and wish one another Merry Christmas. This really reflects a sense of brotherhood. But amidst our celebrations, we should also remember the life and teachings of Christ. Christmas is also a day for taking a vow to put Christ's teachings into action. May the Christ child take birth in the hearts of all my children. May our lives be full of love and the spirit of sacrifice. May my children become examples for others to emulate" Amma concluded....
Christmas in Amritapuri December 24, 2008
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day both fell on darshan days in Amritapuri, and Amma was still giving darshan (hugs and blessings) when the midnight hour struck on the 25th. While Amma continued to embrace her children, she had Swami Amritaswarupananda read out a message she had prepared.
In Amma's message she said that if we look back on the teachings of all mahatmas—be they Christ, Krishna or Buddha—we will see that their main teachings were love and faith. "All the mahatmas have stressed these two things," Amma said. "The rest is commentary."
Amma went on to explain the significance of Christ both referring to himself as "the son of man" as well as "the son of God." She said that a devotee with love and faith would not see these two statements as a contradiction, but instead would understand that Christ meant he was both the body, which exists in time, and the Atma, which is beyond time. "He meant that he was both a human being, as well as God," Amma said. "He meant `I am this [the world] and I am that [consciousness].'"
"On Christmas Day, Christian children exchange gifts and kind words and wish one another Merry Christmas. This really reflects a sense of brotherhood. But amidst our celebrations, we should also remember the life and teachings of Christ. Christmas is also a day for taking a vow to put Christ's teachings into action. May the Christ child take birth in the hearts of all my children. May our lives be full of love and the spirit of sacrifice. May my children become examples for others to emulate" Amma concluded....
This New Year i resolve to give, donate, volunteer, serve, love...walk the talk...bloom where i am planted. Happy New Year!
4 comments:
Awesome message and beautiful words. Thanks for posting it! Hope everything continues to go well there in your world.
Thank you dear friend. I'm glad you enjoyed Amma's message as i did.
Love that message. Thank you for posting it.
I got all sad the other day when someone I know said they don't "do" Christmas...which I can understand, I guess, but they do nothing! Nothing. That made me sad.
(But I gave them a bag of handknits for the family, to make them a little warmer.)
Thank you Karin, i am glad you enjoyed it...It's sad that people don't take the opportunity to celebrate life in general. I think that is where Dr. Seuss got the idea for the Grinch! hahaha...With all the things to worry about, you'd think getting a good chance to be happy and have fun would be something everybody would jump at. Even if you don't celebrate Christ's birth, or hate the commercialism of the mainstream holidays, just celebrate a day off!
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