May the light and joy of the holy Christmas season uplift your heart with renewed awareness of God's love, and with faith in its transforming, harmonizing power in your own life and in the world. Each of us can tangibly experience that inward, sacred dimension of this outwardly festive time by making a special effort to open our hearts to the divine qualities exemplified by the beloved Lord Jesus — and especially by meditating deeply, as urged by our guru Paramahansa Yogananda, to receive the universal Christ-love and light in our own consciousness. By uniting our devotion in that effort during this holy season — wherever we may be in this world — we will receive the real blessings of Christmas in the fullest way.
Through Jesus Christ and other great souls, God becomes humanly manifest in this world to share our joys and sorrows, to give us compassionate help in our struggles, and to rouse in us by example the courage and determination to reclaim our own divine heritage. As Guruji told us, "The true celebration of Christmas is the realization in our own consciousness of the birth of Christ Consciousness." This Christmas can be a new beginning for you in awakening from the dream that you are a frail human being to the reality of your soul’s innate divinity. Any limiting thoughts and habits that have hindered you are delusive dreams imposed on your consciousness by maya. They will be dissolved by the power of your free will and God's grace as you follow patiently and persistently the consciousness-enlarging way of humility, love, and divine communion that Christ and the Great Ones have shown. If you put your trust in God and release fears and worries from your mind and heart, calmness and Christ-peace will flow into your consciousness — bringing inner assurance of God’s supporting power and all-healing light. And with each effort you make to radiate love and kindness to others, to see and encourage the good in them and find joy in selfless service as Jesus did, you will discover the inner happiness and attunement with the Infinite that Paramahansaji was referring to when he said, "In every good thought is a secret home of Christ."
The universal Christ lives in us when we strive to reflect in our lives God’s divine qualities. But to fully experience the reality of that infinite consciousness, we must enter the sacred temple of silent communion deep within our souls, where we can feel the transforming power of His love permeating our being. It was that inner communion with the Heavenly Father that gave Christ the strength and courage to fulfill his mission, and a love that transcended all mortal limitations. Each soul who begins to feel that divine presence within, and to see God in all, becomes a conscious part of the great light of Christ Consciousness in which Jesus lived — a light that has the power to bring ever greater harmony and goodwill into this world by drawing more and more souls into the tangible embrace of God's love.
May the perception of that divine love be God’s blessing to you and your dear ones this Christmas,
Swami Chidananda Giri
President and Spiritual Head, Yogoda Satsanga Society of India/Self-Realization Fellowship
