When I think of Jesus Christ, his greatest teaching comes to my mind: "GOD IS LOVE". To me, this is the supreme teaching of Christianity. To me Jesus is Love-Incarnate, Kindness-Incarnate, Compassion-Incarnate. To put it in another way is "LOVE IS GOD'. So where there is not love, there cannot be God. Any religion that preaches hatred and violence is evil and no religion at all. People who harbour hatred and violence have no right to call themselves religious. It is good to remember this at a time when hatred and violence are spreading like wildfire everywhere.
Also let us inculcate love, kindness and compassion in the minds of our younger generation through our words and deeds. If that is not possible, at least let us desist from planting the seeds of hatred and violence.
Next comes to my mind the booklet by Swami Ranganathananda entitled, "The Christ We Adore". It is a great book, which I feel everyone should read. The Swamiji was a great believer in the harmony of religions. The explanation to various biblical texts by the Swamiji is highly enlightening and broadening one's outlook. For example, take the quote, 'Love thy neighbour as thyself." The question that arises naturally is: "Why should I love my neighbour?". The answer given by the Swamiji was: Because you and your neighbour are not different. At the core, we are all one. So when you hurt your neighbour, you are hurting yourself. So loving your neighbour is in your own interest too.
I remember the Prayer Hall of the Ramakrishna Tapovanam at Tirupparaithurai, near Trichy. There one can find pictures relating to the various religions. Whenever I find an opportunity, I spend some time meditating in that prayer hall. I always find that it calms and soothens my mind. When I come out of that prayer hall, I always feel happy and refreshed.
I would like to finish this post with another great teaching: "Religion is not rituals. Religion is realization." A true religion should take you through a spiritual path - a path of love, kindness and compassion - to an inner journey, a journey that culminates in self-realization.
A HAPPY AND JOYFUL CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU.
Detailed Wikipedia article on "JESUS CHRIST", "CHRISTMAS" and "CHRISTIANITY": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChristianIty
Grateful thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Let us inculcate love, kindness and compassion in the minds of our younger generation through our words and deeds. If that is not possible, at least let us desist from planting the seeds of hatred and violence. "Religion is not rituals. Religion is realization." A true religion should take you through a spiritual path - a path of love, kindness and compassion - to an inner journey, a journey that culminates in self-realization."
ReplyDeleteThought Provking Lines. In search of Supreme Power, We need to look into ourselves (Self Realisation), remove hatred from heart, grow happiness within, that reflects on our external physic, and pass/share on this positive energy to other to make the place we live happy and peaceful.