The Essence of Christmas

What do you think of when you think of Christmas? Fairy lights, carols and eggnog? Parties, parades and presents? What is fundamentally a religious holiday has become more of a marathon of excessive consumption, quite far away from its sacred origins. 

The extent to which people are conscious or even aware of why they are celebrating is interesting. The birth of Jesus Christ, and religion in general, may not seem very real or relevant. However if we look to the essence of his presence, whether that be in our own lives or in the history books, we see that what he represents is very relevant to all of us; love.

Love is definitely something we may associate with Christmas time, spending time with loved ones and exchanging gifts. However that is often very separate to any kind of spiritual concept of the word, which would by nature be unmotivated and unconditional. Whether we accept Jesus as “the way, the truth and the life”, as a good-hearted role model or a fabricated figure of folklore, his words and actions no doubt represent this highest form of love.

If we look past any perversions of practise or interpretation, we can see a similar stream of love running through the heart of many religions. Hoping to cut straight to this experience of the Divine, many people are increasingly channeling their ethereal energies to “spirituality”. It implies a sense of openness and unity, bypassing the divisions and dogma religion tends to breed.

Indeed as Jesus offered “the way”, this implies the path to a goal, not the goal in and of itself. Religion offers ancient knowledge to channel our contemplation and establish supportive guidelines, but without the spiritual essence this remains merely on the level of culture and mortal morality.

On the other hand, spirituality without religion can also be dangerous. Lack of clear knowledge and practical application can easily lead to confusion; people can do justify doing anything under the guise of “spirituality” and misinterpret their psychological or sensual experiences as such.

We see many religions without spirituality, and some attempts at spirituality without religion, though what we are really looking between these extremes is the true essence. We see our unification in this quest in the form of our shared consciousness, the living force or “soul” in each living entity, and the common striving of each soul for lasting happiness in a world of temporary pleasures.

Bhakti yoga (the art of connection in love and devotion) offers direct knowledge and perception of that essence in each of us, and the deep satisfaction in relation with our Supreme Source. It is a non-sectarian spiritual science that pragmatically synthesizes philosophy, culture and experience.

So if we identify with a religion, we can ask ourselves if we are getting the result of our rituals by really engaging our heart and soul into our practise. If we consider ourselves spiritual, we can ask ourselves whether we have the clarity and compassion to share love with others the way that Jesus exemplified. If we don’t have either, we can ask ourselves if our religion of materialism is bringing us real fulfillment.

As consciously evolved humans, and especially in this transitionary time of year, we owe it to ourselves to ask these deeper questions and find answers. Or at least we can add it to our New Years resolution lists :)

Equal rights

 

 

Throughout modern history, we see that liberation movements have sought to establish equality against perceived oppressors; not just women but ethnic groups, religious groups, homosexuals and so on.

Many people realize, or at least intuit, that there is something in all of us which is the same, and thus equality is a natural cause to fight for. Indeed, that “something” is consciousness, the life-force active not just in all humans but in all living entities. It is the natural state of that consciousness to be free, and thus we seek to rectify any infringements on equal right to such freedom.

We hear so much about “rights”, somewhat of a buzz word nowadays, yet few people are concerned with the flip-side of that coin; responsibility. One aspect of this lies with the leaders of society, their responsibility being to ensure the rights of the people (and animals!) are preserved. But actually each and every one of us has our own duty, dare I say it.

According to Vedic knowledge, a person’s individual duty is determined by their psychophysical nature. The yoga texts outline the perfect societal model, in which each person is supported in their prescribed work, and as a result the Vedic society functioned very harmoniously.

We hardly see that in today’s society, where we have become spoiled brats in our social and existential evolution, demanding without any concern or care for our obligations, earning our cosmic keep as it were. This is very typical of our current collective psyche, only considering ourselves and what fits into our little bubble of existence.

We must accept that there are universal laws and a natural balance in this world, and for what we take we must also give. Thus having equal rights means having the equal opportunity to carry out one’s own individual responsibility and to be respected and protected for doing so, not being able to unaccountably avoid duty or to do someone else’s.

But due to our ignorance we see inflated self-righteousness and mindless neglect of the Earth, its various inhabitants and of our own bodies. This ignorance is due to “lust”, the consumerist coverings over our pure state of consciousness.

In an uncontaminated state we naturally express love to others and wider society by offering our gifts and abilities; this culminates in bhakti yoga, as described in Bhagavad-Gita, the science of self-realisation based on doing one’s duty and linking it with the Supreme – not changing the way one lives in the world, but simply purifying and transforming the consciousness into one of love and devotion.

Therefore reviving our selfless nature and lovingly contributing to a society with spiritual structure, welfare and goals is the perfect way to ensure happiness for all living entities. When all stratums and species in society feel satisfied and supported, there will be no question of exploitation or inequality.

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