Wishing all a blessed Christmas!

Seek, and you will find. But our seeking is all external
We are told to wake up to our own True Self, and to arise and use the strength and potential
within us. It means to become strong and self-reliant.

25 December 2020 — Amritapuri

Excerpts from Amma’s message on Christmas.
Amma bows to all of you, who are embodiments of divine
love and supreme consciousness.

Christmas has arrived again, bearing the tidings of love,

compassion, sacrifice and goodwill. Holidays such as
Christmas are the wake-up songs of the entire human race.
Whether it is Christmas, other festivals or any ordinary day,
all throughout the year both God and Nature are sending us
the same message—the message of jāgrata [alertness]. In fact,
alertness is a quality that must always be present in our life.
Lately, not only have we failed to be alert, we have acted as if
we have forgotten this value altogether. Perhaps it was due to
the depth of our forgetfulness that Mother Nature decided to
jog our memory with this extreme situation.

Actually, this situation is neither extreme nor cruel. When a

child makes a mistake, doesn’t his mother scold him? The
child has yet to develop proper awareness. He lacks
discrimination to understand right from wrong. So, he can
only be stopped from repeating his mistake through fear.
When a child realizes there’s a chance of getting punished, he
will stop his bad action. If a goat or a cow or a rabbit or a deer
starts eating the vegetables planted in your yard, what will
you do? The animal doesn’t know the difference between a
vegetable garden and a patch of wild plants. It doesn’t
understand what to do and what not to do. So, what do we do
when one gets into our yard? We pick up a stick and threaten
it, shouting, “Shoo! Get out of here, cow! Get out of here,
rabbit!” We adopt a threatening attitude, and we act like we
are about to strike it, but inside we don’t have anger.
Similarly, this situation is a beating given to us by Nature to
make us more alert.
This year many of us are unable to go out and enjoy the
Christmas decorations, festivities and shopping as usual. We
are forced to abide by many rules, regulations and protocols.
In fact, this is not a time to go out; it’s an opportunity to look
within. We have to use our God-given external freedom with
proper discernment and self-restraint. God may have decided
that if we have time to look within, we will be able to use that
time to understand and correct our mistakes.

Sanātana Dharma teaches the principle of looking within. The

principle of uttiṣṭha jāgrata—“Arise! Awake!” For only
those who do so will achieve the goal of Self-realization.
uttiṣṭha jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata | [Kaṭha Upaniṣad,
1.3.14] “Rise up! Wake up! Having approached the great
ones, understand [their teachings].”
It is not just “wake up,” we are urged to wake up and get up.
We are told to wake up to our own True Self, and to arise and
use the strength and potential within us. It means to become
strong and self-reliant.

Christ said “Seek, and you will find.” Here the seeking has to
be inside and not in the external world. But currently the
seeking of many is limited to “Where can I find this latest
style of necklace?” Whether it is Christmas or any other
festival, our focus is always outward. “Can I buy this here?”
“Is this style of dress available in that boutique?” “Can I get
that necklace at this jewelry store?” “How much does that
cost?” This is the sole nature of our search. We seek to buy
new clothes for Christmas, send nice cards, and so on. Our
seeking is all external. The seeking Christ talked about was
not like this; it was internal seeking. But we are all hurriedly
chasing the nonessential—searching for and finding
everything but what we should actually be looking for. 
God has given us eyes not just to view the external world and
remain deluded by it. It is also so that we close them and look
within, finally seeing with our inner eye that the inside and
outside are actually one. The two external eyes are only
needed to see the outside world. To see the inner world, and
to know the True Self, external eyes are not needed. Because
the real “I” is within, not outside.

We are not separate islands; we are all connected to each

other like links on a chain. Compassion, love and goodwill
should fill us to the brim and overflow outside. Christ was
asked by his disciples, “What is the kingdom of heaven like?”
And he replied, “Like a grain of mustard seed.” For a seed to
become a tree, its shell has to break. Once it grows, it
becomes a haven for birds, animals and man alike. Christ’s
words indicated that we have to grow and become like that.
Just as the seed grows to become a tree, God is present as
the jīva [individual consciousness] within each of us. If a
hundred pots of water are kept in the sun, the sun’s reflection
can be seen on each surface, but the real sun is only one.
Similarly, it is the one True Self present within each
individual. However, the manifestation of the Self in each
individual will vary. If the glass cover of a lamp is coated
with soot, the entire light is not revealed. Similarly, as long as
selfishness and ego reside in us, we cannot express or
experience the divinity within us. 
Festivals such as Christmas are usually celebrated with
revelry, full of fun and joy—as they should be. But when you
descend from revelry, you should be able to reflect on your
life and evaluate yourself. What did I do for society? Did I
take just for myself? Or was I able to do something for
Mother Nature?

“Love your neighbour as yourself,” says Christ. Every person

we meet in the flow of life—every person we get to know,
every person who comes beside us—are our neighbours. If we
can see them as ourselves and love them, then that itself is the
highway to achieving completeness. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Rāma and
Christ all live within our heart. Christmas reminds us of the
need to bring that self-sacrifice, compassion, humility and
firm faith in God into our lives. May that awakening arise in
everyone. Let us decorate the manger of our heart with good
thoughts, sweet words and compassionate acts, for the heart,
is God’s real dwelling place. Let us open our heart. When we
do so, we will find safety and security is there within
ourselves. Amma’s Christmas wishes to all her children. May
grace bless all my children. 

"Jesus’ birth reveals another profound spiritual principle.

Jesus wasn’t born in a grand palace. He was born in a humble
place—in a corner of a stable. His parents were not wealthy or
learned. They had nothing to call their own, except their own
mental purity. Moreover, other than a few blessed individuals,
very few people knew about his birth. The teaching we should
take from this is that spiritual awakening comes to those
seekers who are humble and patient. Empty yourself of ego
and I shall come and rest within—this is the essence of the
Lord’s message."

We can control things only to some extent. Beyond that it is

Divine grace that makes things happen. We need to put in
efforts with an attitude of surrender. Even when we win a
competition, we need to bend our head and bow down to
receive the medal. Humility is the key that opens the heart.

The goal of every mahatma’s life is to guide others to find the

heaven within themselves. They show us that good actions
bring us closer to God. Through his life, Jesus Christ taught
the world that society rewards a spiritual seeker only with a
crown of thorns. All mahatmas have had to face many
challenges throughout their life, but because they had the
experience of the Truth, nothing could stop them. –Amma