Christmas is a religious holiday where the birth of Jesus is glorified. On this day, traditionally, believers of Christ attend mass and sing songs of glory unto him. Unfortunately, only a handful take up christianity in a mood of prayer and worship while the majority lot are interested mainly in wrapped merchandise.
I want to share with you my realization of Jesus Christ and modern day christianity.
My introduction to Jesus happened rather at a very young age say about 7 or 8 years. I had two friends (both of them brothers) who were devout Christians. I and my brother used to visit their home regularly as they were our school mates. I remember them and their family as being loving, compassionate and very devout Christians. Every day, around evening time, the entire family come to gather to pray to the Lord. If I and my brother were there at that time, we would join the prayers as well. This sincere service to Jesus impressed me. Besides, their parents were more attached to their children than my own father were to me and my brother. I attributed their togetherness to their faith in Jesus. This positive experience opened up within me to know more about Jesus.
In India, Jesus is a minority. So it takes some effort to know him. Whenever i got the opportunity i learnt and appreciated the personality called Jesus mostly through popular media such as movies or television.
After taking up God consciousness seriously, i made efforts to understand christianity little more seriously. I read few books on christianity, watched documentaries etc. The more i exposed myself to Jesus and christianity, the more i realized that my naive understanding of the religion is not what it is in reality. Christians, today, are taught by the church to believe that there is no path to God but only through Jesus. Other religionists are simply destined to hell no matter how pious they may be, on the other hand, Christians are destined to heaven regardless of how they live. This philosophy i think does not fit with reality. This dogmatic approach to religion is why many relinquish it. Another aspect of the religion i found unsettling is to do with the scripture itself - The Bible. First of all there are so many variations of the Bible. Also, the four current gospels which tell the story of Jesus were handpicked by some scholars in the first century AD. Who were these scholars and who gave them the authority to pick certain gospels is not sure? Another interesting point is that the authors themselves (of the four selected gospels) are unknown to modern man. To me the divinity of the story teller is as important as the divine subject itself. Otherwise, there is no difference between the Bible and a mundane book.
So in more ways than one, i was disappointed to know how modern day Christianity evolved, is taught and practiced. Having said this, the personality called Jesus - i am still very much attached to. Although the veracity of Jesus can be questioned as i believe the current version of the Bible does not portray him in truth, i still believe Jesus was and is a divine person who came upon this earth to deliver mankind from his materialistic ways. To me he is a messenger of God who sacrificed his life to speak the truth about spiritual values. I see Jesus as a savior in the sense that he tried to enlighten and elevate people to a sublime state of consciousness. His sermon on the mount is a testament to this.
While the American and perhaps the world's notion of Jesus may be one of resurrection and salvation, I approach Jesus as my guide to a spiritual way of life. On his holy appearance, I offer respects unto him and pray unto him to give me the proper consciousness by which I can attain the Father In Heaven with great awe and reverence.
Hare Krishna
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