CHRISTMAS REFLECTIONS (Essay)

The Divine is the impulse and motivation at Christmas—exercising Itself, honoring one of its special sons ... Read more.

CHRISTMAS

The world still celebrates the day of Christ's birth! This great Being still dominates much of the world.

In the midst of the Cold, the Warmth of His Life emerges. In the midst of the Darkness, Light; amidst the ruins, Love.

Christ is so much like Buddha that perhaps they were the same: they both took the sufferings and miseries of the world upon their shoulders, experiencing them as their own suffering and misery.

They embodied the ideal of Sacrifice. Let us sacrifice, too.
 

Christmas - A Spiritual Spring

Christmas is like spring—a spiritual spring. The same blossoming of hope, of hidden energies, but even more uplifting. Spring is a gift from Nature; Christmas is a gift from our souls.  
 

Thoughts on Christmas

Christmas is spiritual life for most people. But isn’t there another aspect to Christmas—self-engrossment? Everyone feels it is for him or her. Isn’t this selfishness? Yes, but there’s another interpretation as well. Behind it all are the Christmas energies—spiritual as well as nonspiritual.

The commercialism ... rush, haste―exhaustion ... strained, driven faces in the department stores. But for many, Christmas is their main chance during the year to express the unity of all Life. Obeying this law of Oneness:
               ● We experience JOY by giving, and thinking of others first.
               ● We relate to others as though they too were obeying the Law―HARMONY.
               ● Benefits are received ―GRATITUDE is felt.         
 

Commercialization of Christmas - A Cosmic Necessity?

What is the purpose of the commercialization of Christmas? It advances the theme of Christmas for those who have lost or haven’t found the spiritual life directly. By the element of the commercial, people who are ordinarily immune to the Christmas spirit are caught up in it by buying gifts for others, spending money on others, as they never would ordinarily! And so they feel the results of this good behavior in the strange karma that affects and uplifts and briefly transforms everyone at Christmas. In a sense we may see the commercialization as a cosmic necessity, mandated by the Lord as perhaps the only way for those individuals who have no belief or faith to be reminded, indirectly at least, of Christ's life and meaning.

Awakening to Resurrection (Essay)

“You must be born again,” says Christ. Rebirth—spiritual rebirth—is Resurrection. It can take place now. We do not have to wait.  ... Read more.

CHRIST AND VEDANTA (Essay)

Vedanta declares that the Atman, or the Divine Self in each individual, is all that exists, has become everything. The Self-realized soul should, therefore, not only know, but be this Divine Self. Christ is that living embodiment of the Divine Essence of the Vedanta philosophy.

In all his teachings it is the Realized Soul that speaks:  I and my Father are one means ... Read more.

FROM REINCARNATION TO RESURRECTION (Essay)

... In resurrection caterpillars become butterflies, men become gods. We keep the same outer form but change our consciousness. The change is within, is internal, is spiritual. The resurrection—ours as well as Christ’s—is of the soul. The body is not resurrected. Our butterfly form is represented by an ascent of vision and a regeneration of mind. Now we are caterpillars, inching our way through life; tomorrow we are butterflies or moths winging into the flame—but a cool, divine flame that will not destroy, but rather transform us into the Divine....    Read more

Easter and the Law of Being (Essay)

         Truly I say to you, If a seed of grain does not go into the earth and come to an end,
        it is still a seed and no more; but through its death it gives much fruit.
                                                                - Holy Bible, John 12:24   

In the West, with our strong emphasis on body consciousness, we have needed someone to personify dramatically the grand theme of spiritual life and sacrifice. Jesus Christ does this with his teachings, passion, and his supreme sacrifice, which have become stamped psychically, indelibly, upon the inner consciousness of Christendom for ages. He is the Way Shower for others to follow.... Read more.

 

Christ's teachings in a different light (Essay)

... “The teachings of Christ and Buddha are the same at bottom,” says Dr. Hourihan. “They have merely been given different shadings for different races and cultures at different times. No religion can be unique because of the universal nature of Truth. Truth can't be confined to a single channel. The same mystical strain, the same subterranean currents flow through the phenomena of all religions.” ...  Read more.

TRUTH: THE HIGHEST PRINCIPLE (Essay)

Truth …? We hear much of this from Christ, Buddha, the Hindu texts … from all philosophers.
Christ’s words to Pilate: “I have come to bear witness to the Truth.”
Buddha: “Truth is Life.”
Upanishads (main Vedantic scriptures): Constant emphasis on the Truth.
As though there really is one saving, eternal, universal Truth of Being that will enlighten and free us forever!
Is there?...  Read more 

See also: RAMAKRISHNA AND CHRIST, THE SUPERMYSTICS (Book)

BaCK TO WORDS OF WISDOM ARCHIVES

Note: All "Words of Wisdom" are quotations from Paul Hourihan, unless otherwise noted.