SYMBOLS OF THE DIVINE
Christmas is the Mass of Christ. The Mass is a celebration. And Christ, who is He? Christ is the highest expression of the divine manifested here on earth. He is one of the Lights who, from time to time in the history of man, are sent when great darkness covers the world.
A tree is the highest form of plant life. What in the kingdom of plants can be greater than a tree? Consider its size, its shape, its perfect symmetry and colours, its majesty. What great spirit of nature is in charge of a tree!
So, at Christmas, these two significant symbols merge to express Divinity in the clearest possible way. Lights are added to the tree and beautiful decorations, some of which reflect wonderful flashing sparkling patterns to which the heart responds in heightened awareness and greater expression of love, love for the Divine Creator – or Manifestor, as I always prefer to call Him.
And who might be the most sensitive to this expression of love? A child. Childlike innocence is pure, but at the same time, it contains within itself the seeds of impurity, samskaras inherited from the past, which will be expressed later in life. Primal innocence, on the other hand, is forever pure and can never be contaminated by past samskaras, for it has none. The child, in his innocence, feels very deeply the primal innocence of love as expressed by a Christmas tree, with all its beauty and magical symbolism of divine power.
A Christmas tree represents love in all its many aspects and is responded to by children of all ages, so that they, in turn, may reflect this love in their lives and benefit the world around them.
THE SACRED MEANING OF CHRISTMAS GIVING
Giving at Christmas time does the same thing. But before you can provide, you must first receive. How can anyone give what he does not possess? The presents at the foot of the tree are each an expression of the love that lies in the heart of the giver. Nothing can come from nothing. First, the giver must feel that he has love to give. This love then expresses itself in the form of a present – a wrapped-up parcel of love. This present might bring much happiness to the receiver, who will then share it with others.
So, the spiral of happiness reaches upwards as an ever-increasing expression of the divine love for all humanity.
This expression of love is the play of the light of Sattva, our old friend! Yet in the present state of our evolution here on earth, the darkness of Tamas must also play. Christmas passes, and often with it comes a dimming of the light of Sattva. Yet this twilight is only transitory. Each time love is expressed, its effects are never lost. Love may yield to the darkness of Tamas for a time, only to reemerge even stronger as the light of Sattva. This is the eternal struggle between light and darkness.
The world will forever suffer the play of the opposites. This is the play of the divine and must never be thought of as discouragement. An individual may eventually transcend this play and thereby make room for another to spiral upwards in his turn.
And so, my Namaste carries my love and wish for a Happy Christmas to all.
… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: “Jewels of Silence”
