You Must Commune with Christ
--From a talk on November 17, 1940 in the first Self-Realization Temple at Encinitas, California--
Let this Christmas be celebrated by exchanging gifts of spiritual as well as material value, that you may give something lasting. Through good books, mark your Christmas with gifts of wisdom, the eternal spiritual and moral truths that from time immemorial have uplifted and sustained the human spirit. In addition, give to others something of your immortal self--shining soul qualities of love, kindness, encouragement, and divine inspiration.
Those who love God should work for Him. There is too much suffering in the world because of delusion: people imagine they can find happiness without following God's laws. Everyone should get busy to help drive that delusion away. The building of this civilization has taken years and years, and now some of the nations are rejoicing in each others' destruction. Others have just begun fighting. Such is the folly of mankind. We who love God, and who know His ways, must preach peace more than ever before. Fire has never quenched fire; water quenches fire. Why not talk peace, first, and strive together for world harmony and cooperation, to prevent this terrible war and suffering?
You must all work as angels of God. You who are sincerely seeking Him are especially privileged to know His laws. Those who have consciously or unconsciously wished to know Him are much more spiritually developed than those who have never thought of God. You are far ahead of the crowd. They are way behind, because they have yet to begin following His laws.
The urge for God is the gate to salvation, but if you don't take the first step to enter that gateway, how can you get there? You must start now. Devote more time to meditation. During this Christmas season, and every Christmas, religiously pass one day in meditation--hours and hours of deepest devotion and concentration on God--until you feel His presence within. As the Christ Consciousness was born in the body of Jesus, so may you feel the birth of that infinite consciousness within you. There must be communion with Christ himself, and it is possible in this twentieth century, if you take these Self-Realization teachings seriously. --Paramahansa Yogananda Self-Realization Magazine, Winter 1975 |