Christmas Message
In a discourse on Christmas Day in 1982, Sathya Sai Baba explained the message of Christ and the significance of Christmas. The following article is excerpted from this discourse.
“The Bible says that God seeks His own. Ponder that idea. God is everywhere at all times. He need not be sought anywhere, at any time. But God has to seek the one who seeks Him, the one who struggles to become aware of Him. Who is it that God seeks? He looks for a sincere, genuine, selfless, steady devotee. In addition, He seeks an ideal son (or daughter) who can be held before mankind as an example and as an inspiration. Such people are extremely rare nowadays. Many style themselves as devotees, but they weep and wail when they really ought to be exulting; they exult when they have every reason to weep and wail! So, the Lord says,
I am searching; I am searching, still searching.
I searched in the past; I search and search now
For the man who knows and observes his I dharma true.
Christ announced himself to be the messenger of God. He identified his body as having been given to him to alleviate human misery and to serve the helpless and homeless. He denied the demands of the flesh and devoted his skills and strength to relieve agony and pain. Then, when the consciousness rose to the level of the mind, he became aware that he was the Son of God. He strove hard to discover the distinction between appearance and reality, between truth and mental image. He became aware of the higher level of consciousness, which transcends the vagaries of the mind. From that peak of intelligence, he said, ‘I and my Father are one.’ Both are one single manifestation of the divine essence, the Holy Spirit.
Those who adore and follow great people celebrate their birthdays as well. Christmas, the birthday of Jesus, is a holiday when offices and factories close. But observation of a holy day does not always sanctify the day. Many people attend church on Christmas, join in the rituals, and then return home to revel, drink and dance. They forget the cross once the Christmas season is over. For the day to be sanctified, it must be dedicated to the purification of one’s passions and emotions through meditation on the virtues and values that Jesus set forth.
Today, man runs after desires; he does not pursue ideals. He yearns for long life, not for a life lived in God. He does not recognize or follow the footprints of the great. Man has reduced himself to the position of a household servant who has no means of knowing where the master has hidden his most precious gems. If he were the master, he would know. But having failed to rise to that status, he is unaware of the treasure he could command. Each person needs to examine for himself whether he is clinging to trinkets or conserving gems. A lamp kept on a mound illuminates the area; if kept in a pit, the lamp is invisible. A virtue one practices is a lamp that shines for all; good thoughts and good deeds have a way of influencing other people. The gems of wisdom, the light of intuitive experience, should not be kept away from one’s fellowmen. The gems need to be shared, even at the cost of one’s life. That is the lesson Jesus taught and symbolized.
In every era, derision and denunciation have followed the footsteps of the great, haunting them like a shadow that cannot be avoided. In Jesus’ time, his own disciples turned against him—even those who had adored him and hung on his words. They did evil to the one who did good to them. But Jesus wished only good for those who insulted and injured him. We badly need this lesson today. No one should calculate the harm inflicted on him, and then plan revenge. One must, on the other hand, return love for hatred, fraternity for enmity. To behave otherwise is a sign of weakness, of lack of courage, and of lack of faith in human goodness. Jesus won in this holy struggle. Beginning today, we need to cultivate in ourselves the conviction and courage that Jesus showed us.
Far more beneficial than simply honoring the great is loving them. Praise, glorification, and eulogy raise the great to an unreachable pedestal. Love, on the other hand, binds one heart to another. Gratitude for the inspiration and instruction we receive needs to bind our hearts in love. The celebration of Christmas should not end with a few carols, decorated trees, and Santa Claus. We need to soak ourselves in resolve to practice at least a few of the lessons Jesus taught. The greatest need is faith in God and in our own divine nature.
Where there is faith, there is love.
Where there is love, there is peace.
Where there is peace, there is truth.
Where there is truth, there is bliss.
Where there is bliss, there is God.
The yearning for bliss is the best proof of our holy nature. Man is bliss; he seeks bliss; bliss is blessedness for him. Since God is bliss, happiness is union with God. Nothing else can create that joy which is unaffected by events that happen or do not happen. The heart of Jesus was pure and calm. Hence, it is honored as sacred. We must make our hearts sacred so that either we merge in Jesus or Jesus merges in us. The merging is called bhakti (devotion to God). To have Jesus awakened in us is the path of jnana (wisdom). Jesus was a messenger of God. But note this also: all of you are messengers of God. Jesus was not the only son of God; you are all His children. Jesus and his Father are one. You and God are also one—and it is possible for you to become aware of it.
On this Christmas day, people from many lands have gathered at Prasanthi Nilayam. Since you have come from such long distances, undergone so much difficulty on the way, and managed to stay here, you have to take with you at least a few sublime, sustaining lessons for spiritual progress. Instead of going around India as tourists do, collecting impressions of this place or that place, imbibe the sacred and the holy and transform your lives on a more worthwhile basis.
You must pay attention to one small fact. Indians are not eager to identify and benefit from the lessons of their divine culture! Right under the lighted lamp there is bound to be a patch of darkness. If one spends all twenty-four hours of a day in an air-conditioned room, he cannot appreciate or evaluate the blessing of air conditioning. But if he has to walk through the hot sun for an hour, he will surely be grateful for—and gratified by—the cool air. There are thousands in this Nilayam (abode) who keep on exclaiming, “Swami! Swami!” but who have not recognized the immense gift that is theirs.
When a baby gulps down the first morsel of cooked rice, placed ceremonially in its mouth, everyone is happy. The parents are pleased, and the child is admired. But when the child grows and consumes plates full of rice, no one expresses wonder, pride or admiration. Why? The person is the same; the thing eaten is the same. The eating has become routine, repetitive, mechanical—a kind of compulsive habit.
You, like everyone else, are with God, are in God. But you are not aware of that fortune. You are struck with strange wonder and joy when you see God during mediation; you are overcome with ecstasy. You have been looking at me for such a long time—now here in front of you. Yet, believe me, when you go back to your rooms and I give you darshan (sight of a holy man) for even a second while you sit for dhyana (meditation), you will be beside yourself with joy: “Oh! Swami gave me darshan!” The fact is that only something beyond the natural, something above the ordinary, arouses interest. One must overcome this failing. Spiritual joy, wonder, appreciation, the darshan of God must become the life—the very breath of life, the very raison d’étre of your bodily existence. This is what Jesus taught mankind by precept and example—the atmic principle that is the eternal source of bliss.
Embodiments of love! Whatever activity you are engaged in, wherever you may be, however you may fare, be convinced that you are ever in God, that all is divine, that all acts are offerings to the glory of God. And thus, make your life full and fruitful.
Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 15
