It is Christmas today. Paramhansa Yogananda suggested that his students celebrate the birth of Jesus with a “Spiritual Christmas” as well as the more common “Social Christmas.” Spiritual Christmas is a day of deep meditation during which we try to draw the presence and blessings of Jesus and achieve the birth of Christ consciousness within. This year, for the first time in decades due to the pandemic, we didn’t meditate in any of our temples. Rather, Devi and I led our eight-hour meditation from Swami Kriyananda’s apartment at Ananda Village, and streamed it around the world through the magic of the internet. For me, it was a touching return to my spiritual roots.
My first all-day meditation was in Swami Kriyananda’s apartment in 1967. The location was different, San Francisco in that case, but the vibrations were amazingly similar. The evening before, I had received my first Kriya initiation there, which was Ananda’s only “temple” in those early days. It was a special initiation, held so that the dozen or so students could practice Kriya the next day as a means of contacting the inner Christ.
The life of Jesus should be seen as both historically true and spiritually symbolic. The real star followed by the Wise Men shone not in the heavens, but in the forehead at the spiritual eye. Each of us needs to become a fourth Wise Man by following the light of the inner star until it leads us to the Christ consciousness.
The teachings of Jesus can be summed up in a single word: love. We don’t need to complicate them. He didn’t. He cut through all the confusions of the worldly mind in his answer to a priest/lawyer who tried to entangle him into misquoting the complex laws of the day.
To the question, “Which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus answered simply. “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
One of the missions of Jesus was to replace the love of law with the law of love. Love God. Love your neighbor. Love everyone. And in that great and limitless love, the kingdom of heaven will be ours.
Happy Christmas.
Nayaswami Jyotish
If you haven’t had a chance to see it, you might enjoy this special Christmas message from Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi.
Subscribe to the Touch of Light podcast. Download the audio recording of this week’s blog by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (3:30):
17 Comments
Dear Jyotishji!
I delightedly read your article. Strange enough I recently started meditation on my Agya Chakra.
Please send me your blessings.
Merry Christmas to you & Devi
In Sai Love
Grace
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भुर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
भावार्थ : तेरा कर्म करने में ही अधिकार है, उसके फलों में कभी नहीं। इसलिए तू फल की दृष्टि से कर्म मत कर और न ही ऐसा सोच की फल की आशा के बिना कर्म क्यों करूं।।
मोक्षदा एकादशी (गीता जयंती) की शुभकामनाएं।
#GitaJayanti #ShrimadBhagavadGita
For any of us who don’t know Hindi, here’s some help from Google Translate:
Maa Fleshu Kadachan, a performer of rights.
Ma Karmafalheturburba te SangoSatvakarmani॥
Spirituality: You have the right to act, never in its fruits. Therefore, do not do deeds from the point of view of fruit nor do you think that you should do deeds without hope of fruit.
Happy Mokshada Ekadashi (Geeta Jayanti).
So beautiful and simple, easy for me to feel and understand in my heart💛 thank you dear Jyotish 🌟
Dear Jyotishji
Merry Christmas. Thank you for the lovely blog, nice to read about your first Christmas meditation. Simple solution for everything in life is Love!. Love God. Love your neighbor. Love everyone.. Thank you reiterating the golden mantra.
Love,
Ilango
Beautiful to read. Thank you to you all.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS ! 🎄 ♥️🙏
8 hours!!!♥️….. I have so much work to do
Thank you Jyotish.
I just finished my Christmas day meditation and it transported me to our Christmas day Meditations at Ananda Village. And all day meditations.
Those are cherished memories impregnated for ever in our hearts, so we can continue serving no matter where or how we need to keep connected.
In the Love of our Gurus,
Anaashini
Thanks for the memories.Joy to you both .In Christ God and gurus,Dan
Priceless. Thank you. Christmas Blessings to you and Devi.
Such a beautiful reading, blessed gem for today’s celebration and every day, thank you so much!
Beautifully stated, Jyotishji! Even the Beatles knew that “Love is all there is.” A joyous Christmas Day to all. 🕉🙏💕
Thank you Jyotish for such an inspiring message during this Holiday Season*
Thank you Jyotish for a beautiful message and sharing your memories of meditation with Swamiji. I so enjoyed the eight hour meditation on line. I have trouble sitting for long periods and being alone allowed me to get up when I needed to without disturbing anyone, and allowed me then to go deeper without having
to worry about the distraction to others. It was a real blessing for me, and the deepest long meditation I have had in a long time.
Bless you and Devi during this Holy Season for sharing your love and devotion with all of us.
In His love and joy,
Gloria
Respected & Beloved Jyotishji,
Prahamhansaji is a mediator between Mahabatar Babaji or Lord Jesus and the Kriyaban who practises meditation and Kriya. They are within us. If we meditate we can feel and realise. I am very much delighted and happy to have your inspiring message.
May Babaji, Jesus & Paramhans ji bless us all so that we can find the meaning of life in this beautiful world.
Thank you very much
Yours sincerely,
Indranath Sinha
Thanks for the write up
Yes, the essence of all spiritual and religious teachings is the same- Love one another and above all Love God
Dear Nayaswami Jyotish Ji,
Thank you for this blog! Happy Christmas to you, Devi Ji, and all our friends at Ananda.
We look forward to this all-day meditation and it’s of great help for our journey on this path.
I enjoyed reading these lines – One of the missions of Jesus was to replace the love of law with the law of love.
In Master’s Love
Prem