{"id":798,"date":"2011-12-20T09:05:21","date_gmt":"2011-12-20T14:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/awakeintheworld\/?p=798"},"modified":"2011-12-20T09:05:21","modified_gmt":"2011-12-20T14:05:21","slug":"yogananda-on-the-true-meaning-of-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2011\/12\/yogananda-on-the-true-meaning-of-christmas.html","title":{"rendered":"Yogananda on the True Meaning of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Let us meditate until we perceive the Infinite Christ reigning in our own hearts.\u00a0 Let us learn to love those who love us not; and to forgive those who do ill against us. Let us break all our mental boundaries of color, creed, and nationality, and receive all-even our inanimate and animal brothers-in the endless, all-embracing arms of our Christ Consciousness. This will be a true and fitting celebration of the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth.” – Paramahansa Yogananda\u00a0 From The Second Coming of Christ<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Transcendent Indian masters have often seen the beauty and power of the symbol of Christ and drawn our attention to his deeper meaning. As many get caught up in the material madness of the season, returning to reminders like those of Yogananda on the spirit of the season can help us to reconnect with the energy and consciousness of love, compassion and kindness that it includes. Yogananda was an Indian spiritual teacher who moved to America and inspired many with his ability to accept, love unconditionally and promote selfless service to humanity. At one point when he was robbed on a New York City street, he handed his wallet to the thieves with a smile and said, “Take it please.” The robbers were so distraught by his fearless and compassionate reaction that they fled from him without taking his wallet or any money. His action was in the full spirit of Christ Consciousness.<\/p>\n

What actions would you like to take to move more deeply in tune with the Spirit of this season?<\/p>\n

Bio:<\/strong> Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life<\/a>. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she\u2019s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind\/body\/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Let us meditate until we perceive the Infinite Christ reigning in our own hearts.\u00a0 Let us learn to love those who love us not; and to forgive those who do ill against us. Let us break all our mental boundaries of color, creed, and nationality, and receive all-even our inanimate and animal brothers-in the endless,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,10,4,26,125,3],"tags":[346,538,536,345,537],"class_list":["post-798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-faith","category-inspiration","category-meditation","category-oneness","category-spiritual-practice","tag-awake-in-the-world","tag-christ-consciousness","tag-christmas-spirit","tag-debra-moffitt","tag-yogananda"],"yoast_head":"\nYogananda on the True Meaning of Christmas - Awake in the World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2011\/12\/yogananda-on-the-true-meaning-of-christmas.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yogananda on the True Meaning of Christmas - Awake in the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"“Let us meditate until we perceive the Infinite Christ reigning in our own hearts.\u00a0 Let us learn to love those who love us not; and to forgive those who do ill against us. 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