Christmas Reflections from Religions for Peace Australia

A Brahma Kumaris Practitioner:

I guess for me, this is the time when two Festivals invoking light come together … Hanukkah and Christmas … and this year they come exactly together, Hanukkah starts on the evening of December 25.

My thought as a BK would be,

Many blessings for a special time of remembering that we are all the children of the Light, the Source and Ocean of Peace and of holding that awareness for our world and all our brothers and sisters.

Buddhist Reflection at Christmas

I’m pausing awhile to ponder what this Christmas means to me in Australia. The tradition of giving presents to near and dear family and friends makes me think of all those who have little or nothing to celebrate this year. It brings to mind the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Tonglen – exchanging self for others. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has stated the goal of “Buddhists is to save all beings. Even if we can’t expand our thinking to include beings living in other worlds, we ought to take all human beings on this planet into consideration, and in this way we have a practical starting point. When we practice initially, as a basis we control ourselves, refraining as much as possible from bad actions that hurt others. This is defensive. After this, as we develop certain qualities, then our goal is to help others proactively and effectively, not only in our prayers but in our daily lives. It is on the basis of these sorts of attitudes that World Peace can develop in a real and lasting way, as well as harmony between individuals.” The essence of Buddhism is that at best we should try to help others, and if we cannot help them, at least we should do them no harm. This teaching grows from the soil of Love and Compassion.

May All Living Beings be free from pain and suffering – So Hum.

A Baháʼí Reflection

As our Christian brothers and sisters pause and prepare to celebrate the birth and life of Jesus on Christmas Day, we Baháʼís reflect on the global significance of this day in the religious history of the world and the life, station, and ministry of Jesus. As a Manifestation of God, Jesus transformed the lives of individuals – both in His lifetime and for centuries after – as well as for humanity as a whole and to this day. His love and sacrifice infused the world with a new spirit. Blessed, indeed, are those in this world who recognise the immense gift of His divine teachings.

Of Jesus Christ, Baháʼu’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Baháʼí Faith wrote:

Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced, the influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the quickening power released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive, and resplendent Spirit.

We testify that when He came into the world, He shed the splendour of His glory upon all created things. Through Him the leper recovered from the leprosy of perversity and ignorance. Through Him, the unchaste and wayward were healed. Through His power, born of Almighty God, the eyes of the blind were opened, and the soul of the sinner sanctified… We bear witness that through the power of the Word of God every leper was cleansed, every sickness was healed, every human infirmity was banished. He it is Who purified the world. Blessed is the man who, with a face beaming with light, hath turned towards Him.

From a Hindu

Om Kristave Namaha, Salutations to the Christ!

Why do we give salutations? We look to the life of Jesus, his words, his actions, and the actions of his followers. This is the ONE who told – in Palestine – before the Romans arrived and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem that he was ONE with his Father. Perhaps it is meet and fitting to reflect on the path of Oneness with Divinity that Jesus taught in word and action, in dying and rising from the tomb.

Jesus advised one of His foremost disciples, Peter to live in love, for Love is God. Man can experience God only when he becomes the embodiment of Love, which doesn’t seek anything or expect even gratitude in return. Love becomes sacrifice and service, spontaneously. When Peter listened to such exhortations from the Master, he found a new joy welling up within him and a new meaning in the word joy. ‘J’ meant Jesus and the letter directed him to love Jesus first. ‘O’ meant others who must be loved next. ‘Y’ meant yourself who ought to be loved only last. But look at the human condition today. Man loves himself first, others next and Jesus last! When God occupies the mind, the objective world or nature which is only the product of the mind loses its validity and man, the wave on the ocean, lapses in his Source.

Jesus demonstrated and preached the power of faith and, ultimately, invited on Himself the supreme sacrifice of life itself. When His disciples started abusing His tormentors, His voice warned them to desist. “All are one, my son! Be alike to everyone.” By a vision He granted to Paul who was reviling him, He transformed him into a penitent disciple, full of faith and ardour. It is only when we look upon the universe as permeated by God that we acquire the strength to fight the forces of evil.

A Muslim shares the Quran about the birth of Jesus:

Nativity: The Birth of Jesus

The primary account of the Nativity found in the Quran takes the form of an extended narrative in Surah Maryam.

And mentioned in the Book, Maryam, when she withdrew in seclusion from her family to place facing east. She placed a screen before them; then We sent to her Our Spirit, and he appeared before her in the form of a man in all respects. She said: “Verily, I seek refuge with the Most Gracious from you, if you do fear Allah. The angel said: “I am only a messenger from your Lord, to announce to you the gift of a righteous son. She said: “How can I have a son when no man has touched me, and I have not been unchaste? He said: “Thus says your Lord: ‘That is easy for Me Allah. And (We wish) to appoint him as a sign to mankind and a mercy from Us Allah, and it is a matter which has already been decreed.” [The Noble Quran 19:16-21]

Regarding the actual annunciation of the birth of Jesus, the Quran makes it very clear that the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary in the form of a man. When Gabriel presented himself to Mary, she believed that he wanted to lie with her. Her reaction is a testament to her purity of character, for she sought refuge from him in Allah. The archangel comforted her in order to calm her down, since he took the form of an ordinary man. Thinking humanly, it was quite queer to bear a child without any sexual relations with a man, so Mary asks in astonishment: “How shall I have a son, when no man has touched me?” The angel explains that this is the result of a divine decree that has already been ordained to take place.

A Jewish Commentary:

I was brought up by my parents to appreciate what I have, to recognize that I am different, but not inferior, and that I have plenty to be grateful for and joyful about within my own religion and culture. While it isn’t always easy, that’s what I choose to focus on. Love, redemption, peace on Earth — who wouldn’t want to take part in a holiday dedicated to that?

Sure, as Jews, we won’t be picking out a Christmas tree, exchanging gifts with our entire extended family, breaking out the Advent calendar or decorating gingerbread houses (which I will assume is something that people actually do for Christmas, and not just a TV trope). But we have our own traditions. We get to light candles, eat delicious fried foods for eight straight nights free from judgement and commemorate a classic underdog story. Above all, just as it does for Christians, the holiday season gives us a chance to spend quality time with family.

✨✨✨The Great Invocation✨✨✨

From the point of Light within the Mind of God,
Let light stream forth into human minds.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God,
Let love stream forth into human hearts.
May Divine Light prevail on Earth.
From the center where the Will of God is known,
Let purpose guide all little human wills—
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the center which we call the human race,
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out,
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light, Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.
(The Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul, as written in the Alice Bailey texts, modern adaptation).