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 Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald
Walters), direct disciple of
Paramhansa Yogananda and founder of Ananda, is the author of over 100
books.
Additional online inspiration,
including Paramhansa Yogananda's spiritual classic "Autobiography
of a Yogi", as well as talks by Swami Kriyananda, are available on
the Ananda website.
Swami Kriyananda currently lives in India,
where he has begun Ananda's new work there. See the Ananda India website for details.
Why Celebrate Christmas?
by Paramhansa Yogananda
From Inner Culture, (Dec. 1934);
Is it right to use the birth of Christ for material rejoicings involved
in decorations, Christmas dinners and the exchange of gifts, or is it
right to worship the coming of Christ only in Spirit?
Christ is only suggested in social Christmas festivities, but He is
seen and felt as an everlasting, ever-joyous fact in the cradle of
divine ecstasy. Unless you make the effort to really get acquainted
with the ever-living Christ, born as new wisdom and new happiness
within you, I am afraid you will let the precious instructive Christmas
season pass by without heed.
I am not telling you to omit the social festivities. What I want is
that you not omit the paramount spiritual factor in your Christmas
celebration. Add to your social celebration of Christmas the
celebration of bringing Christ a second time in your meditative
consciousness. Prepare yourself to celebrate Christmas in the real way:
1. Make your heart an altar of Christ-love. Love all races as the
uniform dwelling place of the omnipresent Christ.
2. Forgive all your imaginary and real enemies even as Christ forgave
his adversaries.
3. Govern all the actions of your life with the honesty and
fearlessness of Jesus Christ.
4. Exchange gifts with the thought of giving Christ the gift of your
heart and receiving the gift of Himself in the cradle of your calm
consciousness.
5. Exchange spiritual gifts by giving your good qualities to those who
need them and by receiving the soul-qualities of those who are great
and who love you for your own good.
6. Make the unknown Christ known within yourself by seeing Him born a
second time as the ever-new, ever-increasing joy of your daily deep
meditation.
7. Behold the omnipresent joy of Christ in all men, in all saints, in
all creatures, in the star-peopled cosmos, and in the temple of your
own thoughts.
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