When we help someone, our heart expands. It reaches out to embrace someone as our own. This act alone opens up our soul, writes SANT RAJINDER SINGH
The festival of Christmas is a holy one. It is the day when Jesus Christ was born, on whose teachings Christianity is based. There are a lot of people in this world who follow his teachings and celebrate the merriment of this annual occasion. But what is the true spirit of ChristmasIJ
There is a beautiful story from Persia of a man who prayed to God to show him who was most devoted to Him. God appeared and told the man to visit the home of one of His devotees in a certain village. So the man set out to the place. When he arrived there, he found the devotee had never taken the pilgrimage to Mecca. “What sort of a devotee is thisIJ” the man wondered. When he asked the reason for his not visiting the holy city, the man told him that he had finally saved enough money to make the trip, but a neighbour approached him, begging for money for his starving family. The devotee gave him the money he had saved, and was not able to make the trip. The visitor then told him, “Your pilgrimage has been accepted. God has told me that you are His greatest devotee. By serving your fellow beings, you are the true devotee and servant of God.”
Every religion extols the importance of giving of one’s self for the good of others. There are anecdotes from different religions that relate how someone has found favor with the lord because he or she has helped one in need. Even if a person is not a saint or a holy one, his or her status is raised in the eyes of God due to a noble gesture which leads to the relief of another’s suffering. Christ too; like other great Saints, emphasised on leading a pure life. Dedicating to humanity, he said: “Blessed are the pure in heart: For they shall see God.” — Matthew — 5:8 (King James version).
If we just think about our own response to examples of service that we witness we can get an inkling of why it such an important quality. We often read accounts in the newspapers or magazines or watch stories on television about people who have taken heroic steps to help others. We are often moved and inspired by reports of those who have risked their lives to save someone else. We honour heroes who have died for their country. We raise to martyrdom those who have tried to help humanity and have lost their lives in the process. Service is one of the great acts one can do in this lifetime.
It is rare that the average person has to face the choice of giving up his or her life physically in order to save someone else. But there are numerous opportunities that offer themselves to us daily in which we can help someone else. The sacrifice may be of our time, of our money, of our resources, or of our skills. But there is no dearth of chances to give of ourselves for the good of humanity.
It is a high quality to have feelings of love for all people, both those we know and those who are strangers. It is one of the goals of spirituality for humanity to develop the quality of love and service to all. The Sufis say that God made human beings to give love and service to others. If He wanted devotion alone, He had angels. But human beings are the only form of creation that has the godly capacity to love and serve others. To become a complete human being, we need to have this ability.
It is love which opens our hearts to share in the suffering and joys of others. And it is humility which inspires us to reach out to the lowly and the poor, the forsaken and the forgotten. It is not the magnitude of our acts of loving-kindness that ultimately matters. It is the sincerity with which they are offered.
There is an actual incident which took place in a small church school which demonstrates the true meaning of humility and sincere love. Every year the church school put on a Christmas play and the children played parts connected with the story of the birth of Christ. One friendly young boy who was about seven years old was to play the part of the innkeeper at Bethlehem who turned Joseph and Mary away and forced them to take shelter in a stable where Jesus was born. His teacher told him to say his one line in a harsh tone: “There is no room at the inn.” But for two weeks the boy had trouble doing so. Finally, the big night arrived. His family and friends in the audience beamed with pride when he boomed: “There is no room at the inn.” But when the children playing Mary and Joseph turned away with sad faces, the boy couldn’t resist adding, “But come in anyway and have some cookies and milk.”
As we celebrate Christmas, let us do so in a spirit as open-hearted as that boy. If we but develop the eyes to see, we will find that every day is filled with opportunities to express love and compassion, and to perform acts of kindness which can bring joy to those around us. Every day is filled with opportunities to spread the fragrance of forgiveness and apply the balm of soothing words.
When we help someone, our heart expands. It reaches out to embrace another as a member of the one human family. This act alone opens up our soul. As our love for others flows out, God’s love for us can pour in. As this exchange takes place, our soul currents begin to rise up to the point at which we can experience the divine light within us. Our meditations receive a boost, and our soul, filled with peace and joy, transcends to higher states of consciousness. Thus, it is through selfless service that we speed up our progress towards the attainment of inner peace and ecstasy.
To give love consciously is not only a panacea for the hardships, the torments of modern life, it is an enriching experience for the giver also. It enriches the giver as well as the receiver; we all grow. So let’s celebrate this Christmas with its true spirit of love, humility and selfless service. Merry Christmas!
The leader is a spiritual leader