THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS -- PART THREE

The Nazarene, overshadowed by the Christ Principle, demonstrated, even if it was two thousand years ago, the way in which Humanity was expected to live, how it was to treat its fellow human beings, how it was to discipline itself, how it was to evolve as it lived in its physical body on Earth.

Misleading Dogma

The Piscean civilisation was given the example to follow if it so chose. Above all, the Nazarene demonstrated the Natural Laws of the Universe in which you live. His "miracles", which are described in the Bible, are all examples of Natural Law at work. You, too, could perform such acts if you possessed his wisdom and knowledge.

So the Nazarene is not to be placed upon a pedestal and worshipped as a god. His teachings should not be turned into a creed, a dogma, for he would not want that. He came as a servant to ground the Christ Principle for others to follow. He did not decree that his birth should be made into a celebration as your Churches have done today. He did not ask you to celebrate his birth. It is Humanity since then who, because it did not understand why he came and what he tried to do, has created this mystique, this aura, around the birth of the Nazarene.

Look at the Nazarene´s life. Read what he said, meditate on it, and then from within your own consciousness bring out its meaning. For each of you it will be different, for you are all at different stages of consciousness as your walk along the path of life.

The True Meaning

As you approach Christmas do not think of the Nazarene himself but of what he demonstrated. Think of what he taught and, by looking at his life, think of what he has revealed for those that follow. It is obvious that souls of a limited consciousness will not be able to walk his path. For most people, that lies far in the future, but all of you can strive, each to a limited degree, to follow that Christ Principle. Christmas, the Christ-Mass, is the anniversary of the birth of the Christ Principle, and I ask you to try for the first time in your lives to re-establish the true meaning of Christmas. It is the time when, helped by the influences of the planets, the Masters and High Beings around you, you can establish how you are to live for the rest of your lives.

Parents Indulgence

You are told that Christmas is for the children. It is not. Christmas is only for the children in that they see the example of their parents. It is the parents who must demonstrate the meaning of Christmas. If, on Christmas Day, the parents indulge in gross materialism as they have done throughout the rest of the year, then their children will follow their example. Christmas is not the decorations and lights, the receiving and giving of presents. This is merely what Humanity has made of it because of its limited consciousness.

A True Expression of Christmas

As Christmas approaches stop and look within. See if there, in all humility, you can see the Christ Light, that Light of self-sacrifice. See if you can discover there the recognition of your life as being purely the whole as opposed to the recognition of your life as being purely self-centred. Can you begin to sacrifice to the greater whole, to say that it is not what you want but what your Creator wants, it is not what your family wants but what the World wants?? Can you begin to recognise that Christ Light and to accept it??

Perhaps you could begin by recognising that the physical manifestation of Christmas as created by Humanity -- the glamour of the decorations, the tinsel and the lights, the giving of presents, the over-eating, the over-drinking, the creation of pleasure for the self -- is in complete contrast to the true expression of Christmas. Nevertheless, underlying all this superficiality and self-gratification there is a feeling of goodwill which Humanity finds hard to explain. All you know is that it comes at Christmas, it lasts for a short period of time and then disappears.

For a few priceless days you have unknowingly known of the Christ, for by changing the outward expression of your very being, by altering your views on life, if only for a few days, you have begun to understand the meaning of the Christ and how It can transform not only your own lives but also this Earth on which you live. What you all feel at Christmas should not be the exception but the rule, for in those few days you may know how life on this Earth should be lived throughout the whole year. That feeling of goodwill towards all people should exist not only at Christmas : it should be eternal !

All Year Round

Therefore be aware that at Christmas you have the responsibility of saying that you will make the Christ-Mass live not for a day, not for a month, but for a year. It is for you to so motivate your beings that, enhanced by the Christ Light, you will recognise that the spirit of Christmas should exist not only at this time but throughout the whole year. Be aware that it is YOUR evolution and no one else´s, that it is YOUR consciousness and no-one else´s, that is responsible for determining the way you lead your lives thoughout the rest of the year.

Next Christmas, can you begin to lead your life as it should be led throughout the year and, once you have reached that pinnacle, once you have reached and experienced that point of understanding, can you maintain it so that in future you may look back and say truly that you have been worthy of that which has been given to you in a sacred trust : the Christ Light ??

Changing Christmas

I ask all of you to think of how you can change your Christmas so that it will not be a Christmas of the past, so that it will not be a Christmas of indulgence, of excess. Let it be a Christmas of real giving, of real helping, of real consciousness. Try to use the influences that rain down upon you at that time so that you may all increase your consciousnesses, reflect the love of your Creator, and then goodwill will indeed return to this Earth.

This article is from The Fantastic Teachings of Ramala.

THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS -- PART TWO

When, in the Christmas story, you are told of the Virgin Birth, it is to the birth of Humanity that the story refers, not to the birth of the Nazarene. The Nazarene was not born outside Natural Law: he was born from the union of man and woman.


Humanity´s Evolution

On Earth perfect Man, if I may call him that, lived and dwelt with the angels, with those beings of perfection who transmit the will and love of your Creator around His Universe. For aeons of time Man dwelt in perfection with the angels. Then, for reason which I will not go into now, for you cannot conceive of them, it was decided by the Lords of this Solar Body that to further Man´s evolution, to enable him to advance his consciousness, to be a perfect imitation of his Creator and to exemplify His wisdom and His knowledge, Man was to be given the divine gift of free choice. He was to use this gift to advance his consciousness. He would, by exercising his free choice, learn. He would learn right from wrong, light from darkness, joy from sadness, goodness from evil, and through aeons of time he would advance his consciousness along the slow path of evolution.

Whilst recognising that this was not an easy task, not something which could be accomplished in the twinkling of an eye, but at the same time remembering that spiritual time is timeless, Man was reborn on the Earth possessing the inherent qualities of his Creator. He had to develop them, he had to perfect them, but he possessed, just as each of you do today, the potential of his Creator. It was up to Man, as he incarnated on the various levels of existence within this Solar Body, to advance his consciousness.

Because of the nature of his task, Man was not to be alone. He had the angel hosts to guide and advise him, as well as the beings who dwelt on the other planets of the Solar Body who had been in existence long before him. They may not be fulfilling similar functions to those of Man on the Earth, they may not have the same forms of life as Man, but in their particular evolutionary fields they have advanced a long way and so are able to help Man if he so desires.

Gift of Creation

When he was given free choice Man was also given the gift of creation. He was one of the few sparks of consciousness in this Solar Body who was given the right to reproduce himself. Man could create when he wished. This was a gift to which the angels, who were sent to guide him and who walked hand in hand with him, were attracted, for they do not possess it. So, as you read in Genesis, the first sin took place when some of the angels cohabited with Man and created from their own consciousnesses rather than in imitation of their Creator. From that moment erroneousness, imbalance and disharmony were introduced onto the Earth and Humanity lost its spiritual purity.

Lack of Understanding

Aeons of time went by as Humanity slowly evolved and developed its consciousness. Civilisations rose and fell. There were periods of great spirituality followed by periods of darkness when the love of your Creator was not reflected by His servants on the Earth. As great civilisations came and went Humanity, through its greed for material possessions and desire for power over its fellow human beings, through its lack of understanding of the true nature of both its and the Earth´s existence, through its inability to see beyond its present life, reduced the vibratory level of the Earth to the stage where it was so much out of balance that it was affecting the other members of the Solar Body.

As a consequence, the Lords of the Solar Body met with the Lord of the Earth to decide what should be done so that Humanity could be shown the error of its ways and could be redeemed, so that Humanity could see the purpose of its existence on the Earth and could see what it had to achieve and the way in which it could achieve it. Your Creator, Who so loves this planet, this reflection of His love, then made the supreme sacrifice by offering to send a part of Himself onto the Earth to show those who dwelt on the Earth the example they had to follow.

This spark of life, this aspect of consciousness, the wisdom of your Creator, was called THE CHRIST. So you will see that the term Christ does not refer to a man. The Nazarene was not The Christ. THE CHRIST IS A PRINCIPLE, A REFLECTION OF THE WISDOM OF YOUR CREATOR.

The Christ Principle

Throughout the Ages, as civilisations, came and went, as the astrological influences on the surface of the Earth changed, as the four major races came and went and fulfilled their functions, so the Christ Principle was sent down at intervals onto the Earth through the aid of great Masters, such as the Nazarene. These great Masters offered to come down to ground the Christ Principle upon the Earth so that Humanity could see the Christ Principle demonstrated for it. The Nazarene is not the only Master who has demonstrated the Christ Principle. Western Civilisation is not the only civilisation to have had the Christ Principle demonstrated to it. It has been grounded many times, for with the birth of every new Age the Christ Principle is demonstrated so that Humanity may be presented with the example which it may follow according to its point of consciousness.

Obviously, today, you are only aware of the Christ expression as It was displayed by the Nazarene for the Piscean Age. You are rapidly approaching the end of that Age, and with the dawning of the Aquarian Age the Christ Principle will be grounded once again. There will be a return of The Christ.

Part Three follows....

This article is from The Fantastic Teachings of Ramala.

THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS -- PART ONE

It would be true to say that in the Western World today the spiritual significance of Christmas is lost on most people. There are only a few who think it necessary even to recognise the event, and those who do, because they are so bound up in the dogma of their respective churches and beliefs, fail to see what was intended by the birth of the Christ Principle. So I ask you all, no matter what creed or tenet you hold to, or even if you hold to none at all, to consider the spiritual meaning of Christmas with me.


The Creator´s Intention

People are by nature conservative. They are loath to give up the customs and practices that they have adopted. They are reluctant to reject the traditions, the beliefs, the ideologies of the World into which they have incarnated and which have been instilled into them as they have grown from childhood to adulthood. However, as you approach the period of the year which you call Christmas, I ask you to look for once with a new eye, with a new vision.

Try to erase from your memories everything that you have been told concerning the meaning of Christmas. Forget what your Churches have told you. Forget what your parents have told you and have handed down to you. Forget the commercial aspects of Christmas. Place all that aside and try to examine Christmas for what it is, not for what you would like it to be, not for what you have been told it should be, but for what it was intended to be by your Creator.

The Christ Principle

Christmas should not be looked at in isolation and considered only for a few days around December the twenty-fifth, then to be forgotten with the coming of the New Year. It is Humanity alone who limits Christmas to this short period of time and who then ignores it for the rest of the year. Christmas, the Christ-mass, is meant to be celebrated on every day of the year. The importance of the period known as Christmas is that the astrological influences which affect the Earth, the vibrations of great Beings not only from within your own Solar Body but from Solar Bodies beyond your own, flow down upon the Earth to revitalise the Christ Influence, the Christ Principle. It is a time when you should all consciously strive, more so than in your normal everyday lives, to consider what it meant by the Christ Principle, to remember why it was sent down onto this Earth and to examine the extent to which you are following it.

Christmas is meant to act as a yearly reminder to all of you to measure your spiritual progress in the year that has gone, to examine your consciousnesses, to assess how far you have evolved, to consider the ways in which you have lived, and to prepare yourselves for the year that is to come.

Lost in Translation

You may well say, "What has this to do with the Christmas story which I know so well, of the man born two thousand years ago in a stable amongst the animals, of the shepherds who came to visit him, of the wise men who came to herald his arrival, of the star that shone over Bethlehem, of the whole story that is written in the Bible??" I am not going to say whether or not this particular story as it is written in the Bible, is entirely true. That is not to say that the events mentioned in the Bible did not actually happen but rather that, because the writers of the original manuscripts wrote in an ancient tongue, as the years have passed by so much of the meaning has been lost in translation.

Therefore, as Humanity´s consciousness has expanded or diminished, as it has failed to understand or desired to expand upon the story in the Bible, so Humanity has changed the story to suit the Age in which it is living. So I would advise you not to place absolute faith on anything that is written in the Bible. Read it, yes. Meditate on it, yes. Extract from it that which your consciousness permits, but do not slavishly adhere to every phrase that is written in it. Do not make it into a dogma, a creed, that separates you from your fellow human beings, for that was never intended by its writers.

Universal Love

This Earth on which you dwell was created by the Being who in the Western World you call "God". However, you do not really comprehend what that term means. Each of you understands it according to your own consciousness or according to the way you have been taught by your religious teachers, for with your limited consciousness you cannot comprehend your God, your Creator, Whose spirit dwells in the Sun, the one true star in your planetary system. You cannot comprehend His power, His majesty, His wisdom or His love, but it was He Who created the Earth, just as He created the other parts of the Solar Body, the planets.

The Earth was the last of the planets to be created. As a child born on the Earth comes from the womb of its mother, so the Earth came from the Sun, as indeed did all the other planets. Your God created this Earth with His Love. He created it through His consciousness for the purpose of reflecting Universal Love. With the aid of His servant, the Lord of the Earth, who dwells within the Earth, He created all the creatures and the conditions of life which exist on the Earth, and everything was perfection. Into this state of perfection your Creator placed Humanity.

Part Two follows....

This article is from The Fantastic Teachings of Ramala.

THE TRUE SIGNIFICANCE OF EASTER -- PART TWO

 
Every year the Christian Churches mourn the death of the Nazarene. On Good Friday the aura around the Earth is filled with the black clouds of wrong emotion, of wrong thoughts, of wrong beliefs, of erroneousness in every way.

From the Unreal to the Real

The Nazarene in his moment of death was passing from unreality, which is physical life, to reality, which is spiritual life!! He was simply returning from the unreal to the real. He was throwing off the limitations of physical life, of this school of life which Humanity comes to experience, and was returning to his natural existence. In that crucifixion the Master Jesus shed the restrictions, the sorrows, the trials and the turmoils of physical life. In that crucifixion he gave to Humanity the "key" which could open the doorway to its own resurrection.

Death really is a birth!! For as you die so you are being born again and, therefore, as you celebrate birth with joy and festivity so you should celebrate death in a like manner. By his act of death the Nazarene was demonstrating the return to a normal spiritual existence which awaits you all, and therefore all the sorrow that you express for his death is wasted energy caused by your misunderstanding of what he was doing.

Intended Demonstrations

From the Bible you read that the Nazarene, knowing that he was to go to Jerusalem, told his diciples that certain events were to happen, that certain plans had been made. In all the Gospels of the New Testament you may read where Jesus told his disciples of what was to happen, on every level of existence from the providing of a donkey to the room where the ceremony which you call the Last Supper was to take place, from his disciple Peter denying him three times to his trial and eventual death. If all these incidents were fixed in time and were destined to happen, were they not intended as demonstrations to Humanity of certain spiritual principles??

Looking Behind Recorded Events

Try to look behind the story of Easter and see more than that which is demonstrated by the recorded events. You can read the story of the Nazarene´s death as you read any other book and can say that a man went to Jerusalem, was betrayed and falsely arrested, was given a mockery of a trial and, although innocent, was condemned to die a most painful death. But let us examine a little of the significance behind those events.

This Master went to Jerusalem. Even though he knew that a painful death awaited him he still proceeded towards Jerusalem because he wished to carry out the Will of his Creator. He knew that he had to go there, not for himself, but for Humanity as a whole. He was a teacher demonstrating certain facts of existence for the benefit of his pupils. He knew who was to betray him. He knew how that man was to betray him.

Exemplifying the Christ Principle

Remember now, that a less evolved soul can never take away the life of a more evolved soul, so you can deduce that Judas Iscariot who betrayed the Nazarene must have been of equal soul evolution to him. They were, indeed, true affinites, and in that incarnation they both came into matter at the same time, the one to exemplify the Christ Principle and the other to be the cause of the Nazarene´s physical death in order that Humanity could be awakened and the Christ Knowledge spread as It has spread to this day. So, by betraying the Nazarene, Judas too was performing the Will of his Creator.

It was not an act of evil. No other disciple but Judas was of the evolution to betray the Master Jesus, to deliver him to death for, ultimately, it was the act of Judas which resulted in the Nazarene´s arrest and death. Although the soldiers who crucified him carried out the physical process of death, it is the one who is responsible who bears the ultimate responsibilty.

A Major Creed

Consider the fact that the Nazarene was convicted and sentenced to death for demonstrating and exemplifying the Christ Principle which Humanity has since developed into a major creed in the World today. The religious men of his time, suspicious and bound by there own dogma, would not accept his teachings, and so the mockery of his trial took place. You also have the civil leaders of the time, exemplified by Pontius Pilate, who washed their hands of the whole affair and, knowing his innocence, still allowed him to be crucified. There is symbology in that for your modern World.

Part Three follows....

This article is from "The Fantastic Teachings of Ramala"